A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF WESTSIDE PARK


Part I of an Exploratory Study to Establish a Special Improvement
District on Springfield and South Orange Avenues, Newark, NJ

Report to the Corinthian Housing Development Corporation and New Community Corporation

May 11, 1998


Physical Description


Since the riots in 1967, the city of Newark has been experiencing a continuous decline on its population and on its economic life. As a consequence, a large portion of its tax base has been lost with diminishing investments in city improvements. Our study area shows significant signs of this change through the decades, having it lost many businesses that once provided a good and solid economic base. Some of the signs that are visible when one visits the neighborhood are the large number of vacant lots (42 properties or 12.5% of the total 331 properties), abandoned buildings (total of 39 and 11.9% of the total properties), poor conditions in some of its sidewalks (138 or 42.3% of the conditions of the sidewalks in front of all the properties), and a weak level of new constructions in the area. The last one was recognized upon the completion of the physical survey of the area. Nevertheless, the efforts of local community groups and the opening of new businesses show some revitalization signs in the neighborhood. These are exemplified by the housing projects that have been built by local CDC, such as the New Community Harmony Houses and the Corinthian Phase I Project, and the existence of a few national franchises in the area, with the examples of Loews Theatres, KFC, Dominos Pizza, and Subway. Not only these big national chains causes a revitalization in the neighborhood, but also new smaller business causes an impact, which are seen on the longevity of the majority of the business located in the neighborhood (40% have been at present day location for longer than 6 years).

Street Conditions

The two main commercial corridors of this study project are South Orange and Springfield Avenues. It includes a total of 331 properties and spans a combined 10,640 feet of street length. The length and the width of the two corridors are shown on Table V below, while the land use on the properties are shown later in Tables IX and X.

Table V: Springfield Avenue vs. South Orange Ave.
Springfield Ave. South Orange Ave.
Street Width (Curb-Curb) 36 feet 30 feet
Street Length 5780 feet 4860 feet
Source: City of Newark


Based on the physical survey conducted, some descriptions can be made about the two avenues. First, Springfield Avenue is wider and has fewer traffic lights than South Orange Avenue. As a result, it attracts more traffic, higher speed and more car-oriented activities than South Orange Avenue. Second, using the land use types, Springfield Avenue also has more parking lots and spaces than South Orange Avenue. Third, when compared to Springfield Avenue, South Orange Avenue is more like a traditional neighborhood center, which is mixed-use and pedestrian-oriented and has small compact business cluster. Fourth, along Springfield Avenue, there are large continued vacant lots and buildings, with most of them located at the south side of Springfield Avenue. Finally, Springfield Avenue is, in general, a car-oriented commercial corridor while South Orange Avenue is more a pedestrian-oriented commercial area.


The physical survey, which updated the Project Community survey done last year, also analyzed the conditions of the street in front of each property and building/vacant land in the corridors. Conditions were rated and the findings are shown in Table VI.

Table VI: Street Condition in South Orange and Springfield Avenues

Street Condition Frequency Percentage
Not Available 23 6.9%
Good 29 8.9%
Fair 139 42.6%
Poor 106 32.5%
Bad 32 9.8%
Total 329 100.0%
Source: 1997 & 1998 Project Community Physical Survey


The following attributes were important upon deciding the conditions of the streets when in good condition: good lighting, trees, trash cans, defined crosswalk at intersections, clean and well maintained sidewalk, modulated and cohesive design of structure, and pedestrian are buffered from automobile were all important attributes that aided in defining the conditions of the street. As shown, over 51% of the street conditions were graded good (not missing any attribute) and fair (missing 1-2 attributes) according to the surveys taken by the Project Community. As described later, another survey done on local merchants showed that most agreed that the street conditions were favorable (65.4%). Local positive beliefs in the neighborhood are vital signs that can be used to draw their support in improving and promoting revitalization efforts in the community.

Building Conditions

The updated physical survey of the area also provided detailed information on the conditions of the existing infrastructure in the two avenues. Similar to the street condition, the majority of the building stock, or in this case 51.8%, were graded as good or fair in the physical survey while in this case only 35.5% of the buildings were seen in an either poor or bad condition. The attributes used in defining the building conditions were:
These findings are presented in the Table below.

Table VII: Building Condition
Building Condition Frequency Percentage
Not Available 41 12.8%
Good 51 15.5%
Fair 119 36.2%
Poor 85 25.8%
Bad 32 9.7%
Total 328 100.0%
Source: 1997 & 1998 Project Community Physical Survey


Transit Accessibility

The transit accessibility is another important characteristic of the area. Since this area presents a low car-ownership ratio, the public transit system becomes important in understanding the two commercial corridors. The following is a list of the bus routes and the local streets serviced in the study area.

Table VIII: Transportation Routes, West Side Park Neighborhood Study Area

Bus Routes Streets in Study Area
1 16th St. & Bergen Street
5 So. 10th St. and Springfield
25 Springfield Avenue
31 South Orange
42 18th Street
96 So.18th & 19th Streets
99 Bergen Street
Source: New Jersey Transit


As it is shown in the Table VII, 7 bus routes serve the study area. Springfield Avenue is mainly served by route 25, but in some instances other transit routes such as Route 5 and Route 42 crosses and serves a few blocks on Springfield Avenue. These bus routes are shown in the map "Study Area Transit Service" below.


Along South Orange and Springfield Avenue, there are a total of twenty-eight bus stops, with South Orange having twelve stops and Springfield sixteen. The distribution of the bus stops is shown in the map Transit Accessibility (See Appendix). This map also shows that while the bus stops are scattered along Springfield Avenue, they show a concentration pattern along South Orange Avenue. This information is relevant when analyzing the characteristics of the two corridors. South Orange Avenue possesses a more clustered business activity, which is reflected on the distribution of the bus stops along the Avenue. On the other side, Springfield is a more car-oriented street. Therefore, it is imperative to have a spread distribution of bus stops to better serve the avenue and the residents and consumers who utilize the transit service.

Although overall the car ownership is relatively low in the neighborhood area, there are some sub-areas in the neighborhood where the automobile is the primary mode of transportation used to get to work. This is mainly on the west-side of the study area, between 16th and 18th streets and South 20th Street and South 17th street. Furthermore, this area also presents a high number of housing units and a low car ownership (Please refer to maps of Travel to work pattern and car ownership in the Appendix). By comparing the auto ownership ratio with travel to work patter the three areas with the highest rate of car ownership do not present similar findings. The three areas are specified below (Please refer to maps of Travel to work pattern and car ownership in the Appendix):



In Area 1 and Area 2 the public transit is of equal importance as the automobile. The former area has a high population density (See map Certain Business with Population Density in the Appendix) while the latter has a low to medium density. Only in Area 3 is that the majority of the residents primarily rely on the automobile to get to work. Another point is the importance of car pooling in travelling to work.

Using the population density map (See map Certain Business with Population Density in the Appendix), it becomes visible the role of the public transit system in the population density of the area and the concentration of food business nearby. The two areas according to the map that have the highest population density are on the west-end of Springfield Avenue and on the west-middle area of South Orange Avenue. On the former area there is a large concentration of the food business, which is highly expected for that the demand is inelastic and large. In South Orange Avenue not only the same occurs but also there is a link with the convergence of the bus routes along 10th Street area. It is clear that here the public transit plays an important role in determining the location of the businesses in the neighborhood. Another example that confirms this relationship is another cluster of food-related businesses near the intersection of Springfield Avenue and 10th Street, where the area is serviced by more than one bus route and coming from different areas outside the neighborhood.
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