Speeding Concerns Once Again Raised At Morristown Council Meeting

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The issue of drivers speeding down township streets was once more brought up to the council as a result of ongoing complaints from Morristown residents.

A local resident raised concerns about excessive speeding on Continental Avenue during the town meeting on Sept. 27 and requested that the town put in speed bumps among other preventative measures.

"I myself have almost been hit numerous times while walking my dog," resident Mary Morse said.

Morse claims that the traffic originates from Interstate 287 and the drivers move down South Street at a high rate of speed, many of them ignore the crosswalks that are in place.

"Mayor Dougherty was standing there with us once as one of the cars came blowing right through the stop sign. We had a speed sign put up on the telephone pole at one point, they said no one was going fast enough. I personally would like to see the results of that," Morse said.

The issue of speeding is one that has been brought to the council's attention several times this past year. Earlier in the summer, resident John Madden, a teacher at Morristown High School, petitioned for better speed regulation on Grant Street.

"Students being released from high school come speeding down that road. It's not everyone. I want to point that out. It's not everyone, but enough that at some point somebody is going to be killed or injured," Madden said.

His thoughts were echoed by Denville resident John Jones, who spoke out at a previous council meeting, also suggesting that speed bumps could help solve the problem. “Those young kids from the high school, they fly up and down the street, and they don’t care," Jones said.

According to Morse, the town had previously argued against the installation of speed bumps because snow plows couldn't operate as effectively on roads with them. "Well, then the rest of the streets that have speed bumps should have them removed also."

Jillian Barrick, the town administrator, responded to her statement by stating that although the engineering team had conducted a speed study in that specific neighborhood, it had been completed before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"What we can do is have the repeat the speed study and assess," Barrick said.

Mayor Dougherty also stated that, in addition to the new study, the council intends to discuss the issue further with the county because some of the roads that residents are concerned about are county roads.