Stop the Mayor and Council from Permanently Closing South 3rd and North 4th avenues.

After more than two months delay and in blatant violation of the existing regulations, the Borough of Highland Park had finally complied with formal NJDOT's request to immediately open S 3rd and N 4th avenues for all public traffic.

One needed to live through a year and a half of a daily "traffic ordeal", maneuvering around closures, to feel how bad it really was.

Unfortunately, the current relief is only temporary!

Mayor and Council working tirelessly through various channels to make closures permanent, and we can't let it happen. They continue to spend public money for inadequate traffic studies, they continue to avoid addressing concerned residents, especially most affected ones living on S 3rd and N 4th avenues. The whole process is lacking proper transparency.

Our main opposition is due to the following major concerns:

1. Proposed closures will permanently impede traffic flow from the North to the South side of the town and along Rt 27 due to the reduced number of exits. The number of avenues one can use is cut 50%, from 4 to 2 (only 2nd and 5th are left). This is dangerous.
2. Greater Risk of loss of life and property due to impeding access to emergency vehicles.
3. Significantly increased traffic and less safety on side streets (Magnolia, Benner, and Denison).
4. Interfering with businesses, residents, and shoppers that used to park on S 3rd and N 4th.
5. Our small borough is not designed for and can't support a centralized meeting place. The proposed town square will increase noise, garbage, crowds, and negatively transform the borough from a quiet, family-friendly place to a raucous town focusing on concerts and protests. It will lower property values and defeat homeowners' expectations.

Now it’s time to do something. Let’s work together to stop this from happening. Make your voice heard:

1. Sign the petition, spread the news, encourage others to sign.
2. Contact the office of Mayor and Council Members (see detalis below).
3. Contact our elected officials:
   NJ Senator Diegnan. Chief of Staff: Greg Tufaro, his email is: GTufaro@njleg.org
   NJ Assemblyman Stanley. Legislative Assistant: Verinda Sood. Her email address is: VSood@njleg.org

Additional supporting documents obtained through OPRA request can be found here: OPRA Documents.

If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please email them to Highland Park Residents Against Street Closures at: Highland Park Residents Against Street Closures@gmail.com

If you want to act on your own, here are the people in charge of this.

• Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler – gbrillmittler@hpboro.com
• Councilmember Matthew Hersh – mhersh@hpboro.com
• Councilmember Matt Hale – mhale@hpboro.com
• Councilmember Elsie Foster-Dublin – efoster@hpboro.com
• Councilmember Phil George – pgeorge@hpboro.com
• Councilmember Stephanie Kim-Choan – skimchohan@hpboro.com
• Councilmember Tara Canavera – tcanavera@hpboro.com
• Councilmember Boro Attorney – Ed Schmierer e.schmierer@mgplaw.com
• Boro Clerk – Jen Santiago jsantiago@hpboro.com
• Boro Administrator – Teri Jover tjover@hpboro.com
• Boro Engineer –Bruce Koch bkoch@cme1usa.com
• Police Chief - Rick Abrams rabrams@hpboro.com

NJ Department of Transportation Contacts

• Diane Gutierre-Scaccetti – Diane.Scaccetti@dot.nj.gov
  Commissioner, NJDOT
  609-963-1935
   
• Vanessa Holman – Vanessa.Holman@dot.nj.gov
  Deputy Chief of Staff
  NJDOT – Commissioner’s Office
  609-963-1944
   
• Charles R. Reilly – CharlesR.Reilly@dot.nj.gov
  Supervisor, Traffic Investigations
  Bureau of Traffic Engineering
  609-963-1761
   
• Altin Aliaj – Altin.Aliaj@dot.nj.gov
  Supervising Engineer
  Bureau of Traffic Engineering
  609-963-1751
   
• Jamie Oplinger – Jaime.oplinger@dot.nj.gov
  Executive Manager
  Bureau of Traffic Engineering
  609-530-3854
   
• Megan Fackler
  Director, Government & Community Relations
  NJDOT
  megan.fackler@dot.nj.gov
  609-963-1982