2025 10 29 WEH Traffic Memo

Chairman and Members of the West Orange Township Planning Board October 29, 2025 Re: West Essex Highlands, LLC (PB 24-01) Our File No. 115.WRP0179.V01 Response To Objector’s Traffic Review Page 3 Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS) Traffic Review prepared by Alexander J. Litwornia, PE, PP with Litwornia Associates, dated August 22, 2025: Conclusions 1. The Traffic from One Cul-de-Sac Roadway is Excessive. “The RSIS states that a cul-de-sac must have a maximum of 250 vehicle trips per day. The application will create a single cul-de-sac with an estimated daily traffic of over 5,100 trips per day when existing development is taken into account. This would be created with only one way in or out of the entire complex.” The average daily traffic for a 496-unit mid-rise apartment project is approximately 2,728 trips which requires a second means of ingress and egress. The proposed development includes two means of ingress and egress via Warner Road and Kuzik Drive as well as emergency access via Howell Drive. Therefore, as indicated within the Applicant’s Traffic Engineer’s testimony and Traffic Impact Study, the roadways should be classified as minor collector roadways with total traffic volume that should not exceed 3,500 trips. The Applicant has requested a de minimis exception from RSIS to allow for the closure of Kuzik Road, except for emergency vehicles. If the exception is granted by the Planning Board, Warner Road would be classified as a multi-family cul-de- sac with a maximum of 1,000 average daily trips which would be exceeded by the proposed development, thereby requiring the de minimis exception, as detailed within the Applicant’s request for the de minimis exception. 2. The RSIS Must Be Met – This Is Still a Cul-de Sac. “The amount of traffic to be utilizing Warner Road from the proposed development would be way in excess of the 1,000 trips per day that RSIS allows. It would be approximately 2,728 trips or about 2.7 times the allowed volume for a multi-unit cul-de-sac and quadruple (4x) the amount of traffic at one point at a loop roadway.” As indicated above, the Applicant has submitted a de minimis exception request for the closure of Kuzik Drive, except for emergency vehicles, to the Planning Board for consideration. The Applicant’s written request for the de minimis exception indicates that “the opening of Kuzik Drive to the normal flow

rive, except for emergency vehicles, to the Planning Board for consideration. The Applicant’s written request for the de minimis exception indicates that “the opening of Kuzik Drive to the normal flow of traffic to and from the proposed residential community will exact an unnecessary and undue hardship on the existing residents of the West Essex Highlands Condominium along Kuzik