NEW LANDSCAPING AT PLAZA ROAD TURNAROUND HELPS MAKE AREA CLEAN AND GREEN

Fair Lawn residents Jane Spindel and Ray Vuoncino helped spearhead efforts to partner with NJDOT to keep the Plaza Road North turnaround free of litter and attractively landscaped.

 

FAIR LAWN, N.J., August 6, 2009 – Ray Vuoncino of Fair Lawn passes the turnaround for Plaza Road North off of Broadway nearly every day. He remembered a similar area along a road in Clifton that was attractively landscaped and litter free and wondered how the Plaza Road North turnaround could be dressed up as well. Vuoncino, Vice Chairman of Fair Lawn's Property Maintenance Committee, along with fellow Fair Lawn resident Jane Spindel, who Chairs Fair Lawn's Garden Committee, soon found a way to make things clean and green.

The answer was NJDOT's Good Neighbor Planting Program, which provides the assistance of knowledgeable and cooperative professionals plus much-needed resources. Paul Pospiech, who manages the program for NJDOT as Section Chief, Landscape Architecture says it offers a clear win-win situation for everyone. “We are always looking for ways to effectively minimize the adverse impact a busy highway can have on a community and at the same time manage maintenance costs for things like cutting the grass and keeping the land we own beyond the curb clean,” he notes. “We encourage local business groups, neighborhood associations or other organizations and individuals to partner with NJDOT on projects like the one at Plaza Road. In fact, we'd gladly look at other partnering opportunities with local organizations willing to help us maintain other highway areas in Fair Lawn.”

With the help of the Good Neighbor Planting Program, the Plaza Road turnaround landscape improvement project became a reality, featuring an extensive weed barrier, mulch and planting material. Under the terms of the program partnership, NJDOT will maintain the landscaping for a period of one year. From that point forward, care and maintenance of the landscaping will become the responsibility of the borough's Garden Committee and other local community volunteers who will spearhead the effort.

Jane Spindel noted the support of municipal officials, including Councilmember Jeanne Baratta and Borough Administrator Joanne Kwasniewski, and how pleased local residents and business owners have been with the finished project. While the site is currently planted with spirea shrubs and juniper bushes, Spindel is already thinking about adding flowering plants to make the area even more colorful and attractive. Vuoncino has noticed an improvement in cleanliness with the site virtually litter free during a recent visit. A local business owner has offered a connection to his building's water supply to make watering the site easier, he adds.

That fits in with the ongoing landscaping and maintenance efforts of the Broadway Improvement Corporation (BIC), another supporter of the Plaza Road turnaround project. The turnaround is located in the Broadway Business District along Route 4, and keeping the area looking its best is important in creating a welcoming environment, says Bob Beshlian, BIC President. “This project exemplifies what an effective public/private partnership, like the one in Fair Lawn between local residents, municipal leaders, business and commercial property owners and in this case NJDOT, can do to positively impact the quality of life in our community.”