Haddonfield and Camden County officials recently announced several major infrastructure investments in the borough.
The three projects were selected by the county and equal almost $6 million. They include a $4-million investment into improvements for Haddon Avenue, from Lincoln to Marne Avenues; $1.7 million for improving Coles Mill Road, from Farwood Road to Grove Street; and $250,000 to create a pedestrian crossing across Kings Highway in front of Haddonfield Memorial High School.
Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich helped to secure some of the funding for the Kings Highway and Coles Mill Road projects, while the Haddon Avenue work has been a longer process.
“Haddon Avenue was a long-standing project that had been years in the making, because it’s a county highway or county road,” she explained. “The first meeting I went to on that project was back in 2019, shortly after I was elected the first time, and that was essentially because the quality of the road and the need to do it from end to end of the county really was at play.”
The design for the project has been worked on and ready for implementation for years; it awaits county funding to pay for utility work and enable construction to begin.
“And then, we contribute funding for things because we’re in the historic district,” the mayor noted. “For example, if we want to consider upgrading to things like bluestone curbing instead of concrete curbing, which is traditional.”
The Haddon Avenue project is set to extend through several county towns. Such county investments are usually secured either by officials reaching out to municipalities within their borders, or mayors themselves going to the county to advocate for projects they want to prioritize.
Bianco Bezich actively advocated for funding for improvements to Coles Mill Road in collaboration with Police Chief Jason Cutler. Her concerns were with the road’s lack of sidewalk, its grating and stormwater runoff, and were compounded by the number of children and families who live on and regularly use the road.
“I have a child who attends a school in that neighborhood, and I walk frequently throughout that part of town, and I know how dangerous Coles Mill Road can be,” Bianco Bezich stated.
Cutler and the mayor offered the county input on the design of the new Coles Mill Road, and they asked for added sidewalks, signage and crosswalks once funding was secured. The Kings Highway crosswalk is another investment Bianco Bezich and Cutler advocated for, in an effort to improve pedestrian and traffic safety.
“We knew that in front of Haddonfield Memorial High School, there is an odd crosswalk, and it’s a really busy area,” Bianco Bezich explained. “It’s that confluence of young drivers or teen drivers, parents doing drop offs, and then you have kids walking and biking.”
The majority of borough investments and improvements is based on safety for those who use the roads. Since the projects have each taken at least a few years to be funded, Bianco Bezich – who chose not to run for reelection – is glad to see improvements are finally in their beginning stages.
“I’m really excited to have these projects come to fruition, finally, because I’m leaving office,” she acknowledged, “and there they were, pet projects of mine, at least Coles Mill and the Kings Highway crosswalk …
“It will make Haddonfield a safer place to be, and that’s something we’ll have for generations.”
