Hi everyone,

I wanted to let you all know that our mayor and township council were very receptive to residents' concerns about road safety and asked good questions (and also thoughtfully prioritized the subject early in the meeting, despite it not being on the previously approved regular agenda). 

Captain Ives gave an update on the police department's interim efforts to collect data on Park Avenue speeding and patrol the road more frequently for enforcement. He expects the accident investigation to conclude this week and will send out a release to inform residents about the conclusions. He said the next step is for the town to approve an official safety study conducted by a traffic engineer, which is required by the state and county to ensure it new speed reductions can be enforced. While he acknowledged that government bureaucracy can make things slower than he'd like,  he is looking at things that can be done immediately without additional approvals, such as better signage for the school zone and existing speed limit. Business administrator Liza Viana brought up the possibility of getting grants for more digital speed monitoring signs.

Mayor Devanney has been working with the county to obtain Slow Down in Our Town yard signs and recycling bin stickers for residents and we'll be getting an update on that program, perhaps as early as next week. 

While much of the conversation focused specifically on Park Avenue, other residents present brought up concerns about other roads in town and requested the council to look again at the town's Master Plan and determine ways we can make the whole town more walkable. 

We will also be sharing more information soon about a proposal in the works to have the town participate in the Vision Zero traffic safety program, which can offer practical solutions customized to our town's and individual neighborhood needs and also can help obtain grants to fund the solutions. Please be on the lookout for that.

Thank you again for your support and keep sharing with other interested residents so the council can see how much we want to take the next steps to protecting our kids and all of us!

Dana