The Vauxhall neighborhood is a vibrant and active neighborhood within the Township of Union. Springfield Avenue is the commercial core and community hub for this neighborhood. Springfield Avenue serves two, often conflicting, purposes. First, it is the commercial core of the neighborhood, used by community members for their day-­to-day needs including socializing, dining, grocery shopping, access to transit and more. Second, Springfield Avenue is also a regional arterial road, carrying a significant volume of vehicles between Maplewood, Union, Irvington and Newark. As with many regional arterial streets, the Springfield Avenue corridor has struggled to create a vibrant and inviting pedestrian environment while accommodating heavy vehicular traffic volumes.

Arterial was approached by the Township of Union to analyze the corridor and make a series of recommendations to create an inviting and safe pedestrian environment and begin to help transform this corridor into a vibrant community hub. A “Capital Improvements Plan” was developed that outlined a series of improvements that included a new gateway sign and branded furniture, sidewalk improvements, lighting, public art, traffic calming, roadway striping wayfinding and signage and other elements. The plans were communicated through a collection of color renderings and precedent images, a phasing approach, order of magnitude costs and other elements that helped the township in pursuing outside funding sources and grant opportunities to implement these improvements.images, a phasing approach, order of magnitude costs and other elements that will aid the township in pursuing outside funding sources and grant opportunities.