Ridgewood Village Council Attempts to Balance outdoor Dining with Walkability in the CBD

photo by ArtChick

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, while many Ridgewood residents love all the outdoor dining experiences in town ,some residents with mobility issues have voiced concerns of overcrowded sidewalks and the inability to move around town. 

The mayor was asked via email :

“The statement that places that have no public parking can extend further towards the street.  I know I’m not as swift as I used to be but, does that mean that the safe walking areas of certain places can extend further to the street?  For instance, the Greek place has no parking because their wall prohibits anyone from getting out of the car and because of that issue, they were granted a yellow stripe in front of their store.  A few other places on Broad Street, especially, have also made it impossible to park and open a door.  Not that I walk in town much anymore, but lots of other people do. Will all of those places have to remove the barriers to the street so that there can be parking in front as well as the ability to walk through their open dining places? The ability to walk with a stroller, walker, or wheelchair?  That  is almost impossible without walking in the street now in many places.  My balance problems are so severe that I can’t walk safely in any of the areas in town that I might want to visit.  So I am not questioning for myself but for all the young mothers and older people who can still enjoy the many delightful places in town.”

Mayor Ramon Hache attempted to clear up some new changes the Village is putting in place to enhance walkability :

The changes we are proposing are meant to address safety and walkability issues in the CBD. For pedestrians, it means ensuring the 52” clearance in the right-of-way. For drivers, senior residents and folks with mobility issues, it means ensuring there is now a buffer between the edge of the curb and the outdoor cafés. In streets that have normal parallel parking, we are requiring a 30” buffer so that people can safely exit their vehicles. We may need a lesser distance for sidewalks where there is angled parking. On areas where there is no parking, we would only require a minimum buffer of 6”. We do not expect to add parking to areas where there are now yellow lines or loading zones. In the case of It’s Greek To Me, there is no yellow line or loading zone. There are parallel spaces in front of it but there simply isn’t any room to open your passenger side doors.