Downtown Haddonfield celebrated candlelight shopping hours during the holiday season.
Haddonfield is starting off the new year with implementation of the senior parking pass, a move approved in 2023.
The passes – of which more than 200 have been sold – allow residents 60 and older to pay $20 for an annual parking permit so they can bypass the hassle of paying via app or kiosk each time they park downtown. Registration for the passes is available at the borough police department’s website, haddonfieldpolice.com.
A pass is good throughout 2024 and will need to be renewed annually. Applications are accepted Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the lobby of police headquarters.
In board of education news, Michael Nuckols was reelected for another term as a member and will serve alongside incoming colleagues Jessica Drass and Sharheban “Nousheen” Yousuf-Sadiq. The two will fill the seats of outgoing members Heather Paoli and Lynn Hoag.
While the borough was unable to hold some of 2023’s planned events, Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich is hopeful that can be rectified in the new year, with Haddonfield’s first music festival and continuation of the mayor’s wellness event.
“Those are huge economic drivers and huge, incredibly important ways that we put our community on display and we draw economic investment when we host these celebratory and cultural events,” the mayor explained. “So I’m really excited to continue putting resources, time and energy into those.”
Among projects that got underway in 2023 and will continue this year are a new headquarters for Haddonfield police and construction of The Place, a 20-unit affordable- housing project that has been in the works for 15 years at Snowden Avenue. Bianco Bezich wants to find ways for more borough development.
“One of the other grants that I really want to write is a grant to identify the land not developable at Bancroft,” she noted, “to ideally create a benefit to the entire community there with passive recreation that’s also environmentally friendly.”
For the new police station, the borough got $5 million state funding in 2023, a three-year process. It was one of the things the mayor said she was proudest of last year.
“We finally got it and we’re looking at 18 to 24 months from now being able to host a ribbon-cutting – hopefully,” she noted.
Bianco Bezich also anticipates renewal of the Environmental Commission’s Sustainable Jersey certification. And by the end of the year, borough commissioners anticipate learning whether they can continue or will need to pivot on development of the historic Boxwood and Lullworth Hall properties.
Still in the works are revamping of the master plan and updates to the Haddonfield website. Both Bianco Bezich and borough communications officer Joana McDonnell are exploring both an internal and external communication plan for the new year.
Officials also want to acquire grant funds for firefighting gear and for Safe Route for School. The latter would enable the borough to delineate new road striping; signage; sidewalks; and safer crosswalks, of which there are currently none.
Haddonfield will also work with the county to redesign and improve traffic and safety on Coles Mill Road, with help from $1.4 million in federal transportation funds. Utility work along Haddon Avenue will be aided by county and borough engineers.
“Those are huge improvements to the town,” Bianco Bezich said.
In the new year, Commissioner Frank Troy will prioritize taking down and trimming unhealthy trees to assuage storm damage and plant more in the future. Commissioner Kevin Roche noted that officials are still working to properly cap the landfill at Crow’s Woods in accordance with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“This isn’t always an easy job,” Bianco Bezich acknowledged of being mayor. ” … I’m grateful that I’m sitting next to two people who understand what it is and are respectful and that we can work together. we’ve achieved a lot.”
