Township Council Meeting — Agenda

TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE 25 LAKESIDE AVENUE, WEST ORANGE, N.J. 07052 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS ROBERT D. PARISI Tel: (973) 325-4160 Mayor Fax: (973) 669-9588 Email: Engineering@westorange.org LEONARD R. LEPORE Director, Municipal Engineer July 13, 2022 Mayor and Township Council Municipal Building 66 Main Street West Orange, NJ 07052 RE: AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 7, TRAFFIC SPEED LIMITS, SUBSECTION 7-29.1 MT. PLEASANT AVENUE TO JONES PLACE Mayor Parisi, Council President McCartney and Council Members: I recommend the Speed Limit on Mt. Pleasant Avenue between Prospect Avenue and Jones Place, a section under the jurisdiction of Essex County, be lowered to 25 miles per hour from 40 miles per hour. Earlier this year, Stat Trackers which measure vehicular volumes and vehicular speeds in each direction were placed at four locations along Mt. Pleasant Avenue. Three were placed between Prospect Avenue and Jones Place and the fourth was placed at Greentree Road east of Gregory Avenue. A summary of the results is attached along with the individual reports for each location. A crash survey was also performed along Mt. Pleasant Avenue in the vicinity of the curve located just west or uphill of house No. 237 and at the emergency entrance and exit to Eagle Ridge Villas. That information is also attached for the period February 2015 to December 2021. Based on the speed studies and the crash studies, I recommend lowering the speed limit on Mt. Pleasant Avenue between Prospect Avenue and Jones Place to 25 Miles per hour pursuant to N.J.S.A 39:4-8(b). The 85th percentile speed which is used to establish speed limits average 30.5 mph westbound and 30 mph eastbound for the two trackers placed by the bend in Mt. Pleasant Avenue uphill or west of Jones Place. But with the

sed to establish speed limits average 30.5 mph westbound and 30 mph eastbound for the two trackers placed by the bend in Mt. Pleasant Avenue uphill or west of Jones Place. But with the curve in the road a speed limit of 25 mph is justified, especially when examining crash data. From February 2015 to December 2021, eleven accidents occurred around the bend. Nine of those occurred from October 2018 to December 2021. While speed data is not part of the crash report, speed appears to be a factor in all eleven crashes. A reduction in the speed limit will benefit public safety. Attached is an Ordinance to establish the new speed limit of 25 miles per hour along this section of Mt. Pleasant Avenue. Since Mt. Pleasant Avenue is a County Road, the

consent of the Essex County Commissioners by Resolution is required. At this point lowering of the speed limit east of Jones Place to Gregory Avenue and to Main Street cannot be justified. However, I will request a meeting with Essex County to discuss restriping of the section of roadway between Jones Place and Gregory Avenue at Highland Place to provide traffic calming especially at the intersection of Mt. Pleasant Avenue and Gregory Avenue. If you have any questions, please contact me. Very truly yours, Leonard R. Lepore Leonard R. Lepore, Municipal Engineer Director of Public Works LRL/tb Cc: John Gross Richard D. Trenk Police Chief James Abbott Sanjeev Varghese

2692-22 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CHAPTER 7, TRAFFIC, SUBSECTION 7-29.1, SPEED LIMITS, GENERAL, OF THE REVISED GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE BE IT ORDAINED, by the Township Council of the Township of West Orange, in the County of Essex, State of New Jersey, that the Speed Limit on Mt. Pleasant Avenue between Prospect Avenue and Jones Place, an Essex County Road, be established at 25 miles per hour pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4- 8(b) under the Municipal Engineer’s Certification and License Number GE026706 as follows: Section 1. The Township Council of the Township of West Orange finds it in the interest of public safety to establish a Speed Limit of 25 Miles per hour on Mt. Pleasant Avenue between Prospect Avenue and Jones Place, an Essex County Road, pursuant to N.J.S.A.39:4-8(b). Section 2. The Municipal Engineer of the Township of West Orange has submitted and certified all the legislative requirements pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-8(b) and the criteria as set forth by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Bureau of Traffic Engineering and Investigations has been met. Section 3. Subsection 7-29.1, Speed Limits, General, of the Revised General Ordinances of the Township of West Orange is hereby supplemented and amended as follows pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39: 4-140 (italic type denotes deletion, bold type denotes addition): Name of Street Direction Speed Limit Location Mt. Pleasant Avenue Both 25 mph From Prospect Avenue to Jones Place Section 4. If any provisions of the Ordinance or application thereof, under any circumstances, is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect any of the provisions or applications of this Ordinance that can be given effect without the valid provision(s) or application and to this end, the provisions of the Ordinance are severable.

Section 5. All other Ordinances or parts of Ordinances inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby repealed. Section 6. Unless another penalty is expressly provided by New Jersey Statute, every person convicted of a violation of any provision of this Ordinance or any supplement thereto shall be liable to the penalty of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisonment for a term not to exceed fifteen (15) days or both, as per W.O.R.G.O. Chapter 7-4.2. Section 7. This Ordinance is subject to the consent, by Resolution, of the Essex County Commissioners. _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Robert D. Parisi, Mayor Susan McCartney, Council President ____________________________________ Karen J. Carnevale, R.M.C., Municipal Clerk Introduced: July 19, 2022 Adopted: August 9, 2022

2692-22 Legislative History The Ordinance, which amends the Traffic Regulations of the Township, establishes a Speed Limit of 25 miles per hour (mph) on Mt. Pleasant Avenue, between Prospect Avenue and Jones Place, an Essex County Road. The Municipal Engineer reviewed data on vehicular speeds and vehicular volumes along Mt. Pleasant Avenue and crash data. The Municipal Engineer under his Professional Engineer’s License GE026706 determined the criteria of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and N.J.S.A. 39:4-8(b) were met to establish a Speed Limit of 25 mph. Since this is an Essex County Road, the consent of the Essex County Commissioners by Resolution is required.

Location At Bend Back Entrance to Eagle Ridge Villas At Bend Back Entrance to Eagle Ridge Villas At Bend across from No. 233 At Bend across from No. 233 At Jones Place At Jones Place At Greentree Road At Greentree Road STAT TRACKER SUMMARY MT. PLEASANT AVENUE BETWEEN PROSPECT AVENUE AND MAIN STREET Direction Westbound Eastbound Westbound Eastbound Westbound Eastbound Westbound Eastbound MAY TO JULY 2022 Date May 18 to May 23, 2022 May 18 to May 23, 2022 July 1 to July 4, 2022 July 1 to July 4, 2022 June 3 to June 5, 2022 June 3 to June 5, 2022 May 18 to May 22, 2022 May 18 to May 22, 2022 Average Vehicles Daily 3,828 3,556 2,670 4,187 3,573 4,212 3,546 3,931 Average Speed 27.4 26.4 274 29.0 35:3 36.5 36.8 372 85'" Percentile Speed mph 30.0 29.0 31.0 31.0 40.0 40.0 42.0 42.0

STAT TRACKER REPORT DATES: 05/18/2022-05/23/2022 LOCATION: MPA @ Bend DIRECTION: Westbound Total Vehicles 22,972 Avg Vehicles 3,828 AVG SPEED 27.4 MPH 85% SPEED 30.0 MPH DIRECTION: Eastbound Total Vehicles 21,337 Avg Vehicles 3,556 AVG SPEED 26.4 MPH 85% SPEED 29.0 MPH

STAT TRACKER REPORT DATES: 7/1/22 to 7/04/2022 LOCATION: MPA at bend across from 233 DIRECTION: Eastbound Total Vehicles 16,749 Avg Vehicles 4,187 AVG SPEED 29.0 85% SPEED 31.0 DIRECTION: Westbound Total Vehicles 10,682 Avg Vehicles 2,670 AVG SPEED 27.7 85% SPEED 31.0

STAT TRACKER REPORT DATES: 06/03/2022 to 06/05/2022 LOCATION: MPA @ Jones DIRECTION: Eastbound Total Vehicles 12,637 Avg Vehicles 4,212 AVG SPEED 36.5 85% SPEED 40.0 DIRECTION: Westbound Total Vehicles 10,720 Avg Vehicles 3,573 AVG SPEED 35.3 85% SPEED 40.0