the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the decision to end a six-decade-long tradition of closing Clinton Avenue during Ridge School’s arrival and dismissal times has been met without complaints, according to Ridgewood Police Chief Forest Lyons. On Tuesday, Lyons shared that parents have expressed relief at the new arrangement, noting they feel safer walking on sidewalks rather than in the street.
“This is a sharp contrast to last year when we received numerous complaints in the first few weeks of school from these same parents about pedestrian safety on Clinton Avenue,” Lyons said.
From Sept. 3 to Sept. 9, officers stationed at the intersection of Clinton and West Ridgewood avenues reported no accidents, congestion, or major delays during school travel times. Chief Lyons noted that traffic volume on Clinton Avenue during drop-off and pickup was minimal, with only one or two cars passing per minute, a level consistent with other streets near Ridgewood’s elementary schools.
Earlier in the year, Lyons had raised legal concerns about restricting access to public streets. For decades, Clinton Avenue had been closed to general traffic during school hours, with only residents and their guests allowed access. However, the New Jersey Department of Transportation ruled that such an ordinance had no legal force without state approval. As a result, on Sept. 4, the Village Council rescinded the street closure, implementing parking restrictions similar to those around other schools.
In preparation for the change, a new $230,000 sidewalk was installed on the west side of Clinton Avenue in August. This project was part of a larger $600,000 initiative aimed at improving pedestrian safety throughout Ridgewood.
Ridge School Interim Principal Michelle Melucci praised the transition, saying, “The Clinton Avenue sidewalk and increased police presence to monitor and assist our families has been a smooth one. To date, we have not had any questions, comments, or complaints about the new traffic patterns and sidewalk installation.”
The combination of infrastructure improvements and increased police presence has reassured parents and made the shift a success. Ridge School’s new traffic and pedestrian safety measures continue to receive positive feedback from the community.
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Hopefully this will calm the hysterics.
They’ll just find some other non-cause to get upset over, until Dr. Feelgood ups their meds.
Imagine that. One-third of the entire budget for improving “pedestrian safety” in the entire village spent on one sleepy little stretch of road where nary a single accident has ever occurred. Did they spend another third of the budget just to screw the new stop signs the walls in the parking garage too? Jokers.
Seems like an appropriate use of funds to improve safety of children ages 5 to 11 who walk along this street every day.
Crawl back into your hole, troll.
Oh, to have such a simple mind. If you think sidewalks improve safety, you haven’t been paying attention to the fact that we have cars jumping curbs every other day in this town; into restaurants; into trees; into nail salons; into the WholeFoods into the train station; into Walgreens …
If you want to improve safety you’re going to have to sit down with your fellow smooth-brained Ridgewood moms and tell them to stop driving like psycho, entitled twits. And best of all, it’s 100% free.
That budget statement is false and it was publicly addressed by the village manager in a previous council meeting.
Time to move on. Or move out.
The headline is somewhat misleading. At a recent meeting of the Village Council it was announced that the street has not been closed for 60 years.
Wow
$230k for one side of street sidewalks.
Both sides of that street got work done. One side got a sidewalk installation and the other got curbs installed to remedy flooding issues some of those homes were having. In addition to poor drainage, the corner of Godwin and Clinton was also flooding and dealing with ice buildup which was addressed as well.
Both sides of that street got work done as well as it addressed flooding and ice build up issues to residents and pedestrians on the bottom of the hill.
I’d imagine that a street directly in front of a school would be the top priority in the budget for sidewalks, if any.
Why how much did they spend on that street?
The Village Council, Ridgewood Police Department, and Village Engineering and Management are to be commended for how they handled the process of addressing safety concerns around Clinton Ave for school children going to Ridge.
They were inclusive, and thorough, and gave residents and families many opportunities to engage, ask questions, and offer input. And then then executed the final decision swiftly and in time for the new school year.
Keeping our kids and families safe is always something to be proud of.
It’s great to see more streets getting proper pedestrian access.
What drunk poured the concrete on the western side of the street?
It meanders back and forth
And
Who allowed part of that same curb to be FIELDSTONES anfd not concrete ???
WTF is that all about?
That’s actually a purposeful improvement designed to assist children with sensory processing issues. The “meandering” pattern is meant to disrupt the monotony of typical pavement patterns, which can result in children “zoning out” and endangering themselves. The new, seeming irregularity provides greater visual and tactile stimulation to keep children more engaged with their surroundings.
It cost an extra $100k, but no price is too small for the safety of the children.
Relax Francis
Or on the pavilion at Habernickel to keep Healthbarn campers out of the rain?
Someone got scared.about removing the field stone
That street has been a problem for the past 25 years the political bullshit that goes back-and-forth
There are quit a few other places that need sidewalks added as well