SHAWN SULLIVAN/Courier-Post Selena Berdosh of Marlton sits on one of the new benches on Main Street that are part of the new streetscape.

By MIKE FRANOLICH and HENRY MONTAGUE
Courier-Post Staff

Work on the downtown's new streetscape is expected to be completed next month, officials said.

The project, estimated to cost about $1 million, includes new curbing and brick sidewalks, along with new street lights, benches, trash receptacles and bicycle racks, officials said.

``It's coming along very well,'' said Bob Hall, the township's director of community development. ``The design was intended to be eclectic. A mix of brick, concrete, and aggregate was used.''

``It should be done sometime in October. It depends on when the contractor finishes up with some last jobs. Some smaller brickwork, some lighting and some landscaping,'' Hall said.

Shoppers have begun to notice.

``It's welcoming. It's an inviting atmosphere,'' Noreen Duffy of Mount Laurel said as she emerged from a store.

Shopkeepers hope that the project will make the downtown a destination that more shoppers are willing to journey to.

``I think it's bringing a lot of attention to Main Street,'' said Chuck Perkins, the owner of Perkins Paint on East Main Street.

Perkins said business has been good since he moved to the Main Street storefront earlier this year after Wrights Hardware closed.

He hopes newer stores moving in and the streetscape will help entice new shoppers.

He holds hopes that there a renaissance in the offing for the downtown with the new streetscape and new stores that have begun moving in on Main Street.

``The trend has been to build big box stores (such as Home Depot). There's been some back lash because of lack of service. Now we're seeing shoppers we wouldn't have seen otherwise,'' he said.

Sarah Wedgwood, 26, owner of Mrs. Wedgwood's Tearoom, which opened here this year, said she draws many customers from Philadelphia.

``I like to send them down to the other stores,'' she said. She said that more out-of-town customers would come if there were more specialized shops along Main Street.

William Newborg, vice president of the Moorestown Business Association, thinks the streetscape is a better showcase for the stores.

``Hopefully more businesses will look at Moorestown as a place to locate,'' Newborg said.