Businesses Should Have More Say

When the Hillside Township Council decides to go ahead with the Maple Avenue beautification project, the Council should do what it did not do with the Liberty Avenue project: give the residents and businesses on the street more say on what will be done.

It's not too much to ask. After all, the streetscape will have the greatest impact and effect on those businesses and homes on that street. And who knows more about the street than the people who live and run a business on it?

There has also been talk of standardizing the storefront signage along Liberty and Maple Avenues. While a neat and uniform look to our downtown avenues would be welcomed, it is still imperative that the businesses are involved in deciding just what "look" Hillside will have. Again, these are policy decisions that would affect merchants and their businesses.

Putting businesses and residents at the helm of these "beautification" efforts is the right thing to do. It will give property owners a say in what happens to their property and will foster greater respect and pride by these businesses for the community in which they do business. They should have a say.