Jun 12, 2007

Collingswood wants retail traffic to lumber westwardBy Dana FordeCourierPostOnline.com

Borough officials are introducing new retail sites and completing an ongoing construction project in an effort to expand the borough’s bustling main corridor.

The goal is to push more clientele toward the west end of Haddon Avenue.

The move comes amid concerns by some business owners that the west end is often ignored by consumers.

Mayor Jim Maley said he is confident that new retail activity slated on Haddon Avenue will ultimately produce more foot traffic along the thoroughfare.

A new bistro-style restaurant is slated to open in a few weeks on the west end of the avenue. And in recent months, at least nine new retail sites have opened or are scheduled to open along Haddon Avenue. Both developments will likely draw more locals and outsiders, Maley said.

Twelve new commercial sites, including restaurants and shops, also are scheduled to open on the site of an ongoing condominium construction project nearby called the Lumberyard, said John Kane, the borough’s director of community development. That site is close enough to the west end of Haddon Avenue that officials believe it will play a major role in increasing traffic along that part of the corridor as well.

“Continuing the line of retail down further creates more space for people to walk,” Maley said. “It’s more inviting as opposed to having a gap.”

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