Construction on improvements to the parking lot at The Woodland will begin on or about September 10, according to an email alert from the Maplewood Engineering Department.
The Woodland at 60 Woodland Road in Maplewood formerly housed the Maplewood Woman’s Club. The town, which has purchased the property, renamed the building The Woodland earlier this year.
The announced work on The Woodland lot entails reconfiguring and widening the entrance from Woodland Road, connecting to the Highland Avenue lot, drainage, paving, striping, landscaping and lighting. Portions of the parking lot will be impacted for a time during the construction.
In June, the Maplewood Township Committee decided to connect The Woodland’s parking lot to an adjacent municipal parking lot on Highland Place. The move will net eight extra parking spaces and, according to town officials, improve overall traffic flow in the Village.
The current plan was chosen over a more aggressive plan that would have razed a small wooded section behind the building and garnered an additional 25-30 new spaces. The town’s engineering and planning committee judged that that plan was not cost effective, plus it met with resistance from neighbors on Woodland Road.
The renovation will bring the total number of parking spaces in the Woodland lot to 59.
By creating a “small opening” between two lots, drivers can move between the two and enter or exit from either Woodland Road or Highland Place. In June, Township Committeeman Jerry Ryan said that because the connection was small, the committee did not envision speeding problems but would recommend traffic calming measures such as speed bumps if they are deemed necessary.
See the project plans here.
