Safety Improvements To Long Valley Crosswalks In Progress

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The Washington Township Committee will discuss an ongoing effort to the Long Valley Center crosswalk initiative, which aims to ensure the safety of all pedestrians in the town center.

In collaboration with the Washington Township Police Department, the town has been working on introducing trail crossing signs and improvements to the crosswalks in the center of town.

Washington Township Police Department Chief Jeffrey Almer stated in a letter to Mayor Murello that, in addition to re-striping all crosswalks, the police have changed their internal protocols so that an officer is present from approximately 3:25 to 3:45 to first assist with any student pedestrian traffic, and then with the buses if possible.

"This is dependent of course on call volume and if officers are on calls, but it is part of our protocol right now," Almer said.

In addition, the county has agreed to conduct and pay for a pedestrian survey of the intersection to assist with light timing. According to Almer, this will give people more time to cross, and it may include an "all red" period after the crosswalks turn green, allowing people to walk in all directions.

The county has also agreed to pay for the repair, upgrade and resetting of the crosswalk signs.

"I would also like to implement a "no turn on red" for East Mill Road turning onto Schooley's from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, to help with pedestrian and bus traffic as well," Almer said.

Such a change would necessitate county approval, as well as Long Valley passing a resolution in support of the change.

According to Almer, the county has agreed to help the town with trail crossing signage and to pay for the installation of flashing crosswalk signs. Where possible, the signs will be hardwired or solar-powered.

"I am pushing for more, but initially they are talking about doing 3 or 4 to start, then more in future years. Initially, I am looking to do Schooleys, West Mill, Naughright, and if we get another maybe North Four since that is a popular site for walkers coming from the end of the trail, and all the kids and buses commute through there," Almer said.

The one caveat is that once the county pays for and installs them, it is the responsibility of the township to maintain and replace them as needed.

Some research was conducted with the assistance of Administrator Coppola, and it was discovered that if one was destroyed or stopped working, it would cost between 1500 and 2000 dollars to replace it completely.

"I did follow up with Long Hill and Montville, both of whom had the county do this for them in 2018, and they have had zero maintenance costs since then," Almer said.

Changes like a potential "no turn on red" for East Mill Road are being considered, but they would take time to be approved. "The above will take months on the county side to implement and get done, but at least we will have the ball rolling," Almer said.

Members of the Washington Township Committee intend to discuss this issue at the Oct. 12 Work Session Meeting, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. Click here to view the full agenda.