According to the Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld , “The PRIMARY purpose of the new LED sign is to serve as an emergency public information tool to communicate with the public. The village is constantly refining its Emergency Operations Plan, including the Emergency Public Information component of that plan, working in conjunction with Bergen County’s OEM and following all the recommended practices of the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA. The installation of the sign was carefully planned as part of the village’s overall communications strategy during times of emergency, especially in the event of a widespread power failure where other means of communication are unavailable. ” Roberta goes on ,” the location of this sign was carefully chosen and has been evaluated by the RPD and Village Engineers. Thankfully we have not had a crisis situation since Sandy but If we were in crisis mode this would be a place for residents to come and know the steps that are being taken to address an emergency situation.”
Many residents have again voiced concern that the sign is yet another distraction , A study conducted in 2006 by Virginia Tech for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that anything that takes a driver’s eyes off of the road for more than two seconds greatly increases the risk of a crash. The same study also concluded that nearly 80% of all crashes involved driver inattention just prior (within three (3) seconds) of the crash.
According to the Village Manager , the cost for the sign was approximately $13,600, inexpensive by Ridgewood standards ,but still these things add up . Whats seems even odder is that the Village has and “Electric Sign ” ordnance which clearly states that any electric sign had to be placed a certain distance from the public roadway. Clearly this sign is in violation of the Villages own ordinance.
Vulgar sign from vulgar, stupid council. And a damn waste of money. I will never shop and dine in Ridgewood now except for the supermarkets.
What is this. Times Square? Roberta really understands class and understatement. Her origin and bringing up betray her.
With the upcoming election I would not be surprise to see “Albert J. Pucciarelli for Mayor” on this sign.
It’s one sign, not a massive parking garage or an overbuilt hospital.
Get over it! Many residents are happy the town is improving communications.
A total and complete waste of taxpayer money, by a group of people that think there is a money tree in the backyard.
Councilwoman Hauck stated that she supports having the signs. She believes the signs are becoming life-saving message delivery systems, and she believes that they are more aesthetically pleasing than the mobile signs that are seen around municipalities. There is a way to make the signs discreet, as well as to make them fixed parts of the landscape. The messages should be controlled, because the signs should not be used as advertisement for every commercial event that is held. They should be used for informational purposes, and for life-saving purposes, as well as to promote and enhance public safety. Sharing emergency information and community news should be the purpose of the signs.
Good Morning Roberta (7:31) Thanks for your comment
To 7:31. But don’t you get it. She wants the huge parking garage; the high density housing etc. She wants to turn Ridgewood into another vulgar over crowded Times Square -like environment. She has no understanding of anything but the dollar bill.
The big vulgar sign fits with Roberta.
I wonder if the money spent includes a generator when the power goes out.
Is this a gift for the restaurants that supported the garage?
The taxpayers should not be promoting dining and shopping!!
It truly is vulgar, but I suppose not from the perspective of a majority on the council that wants to demolish the downtown and turn it into a mini-city. I suppose we should be thankful it doesn’t flash pictures of the mayor. That would truly cause accidents.
This is an emergency message? Last thing we needed…our money used to bark out orders, Dine and Shop in Ridgewood, on an LED sign. The people running this town need to read their own damn sign. It’s the VILLAGE of RIDGEWOOD not city!!!!!! On another note….Why is the sign green and not burgundy like our Village color? Is it another thing on the radical change list?
The simple solution is to turn the sign OFF until there is a need to communicate something to the residents.
Then they could turn it ON and display the message.
Can anyone tell me what the vote on this sign was ( Resolution #14-331) I have searched but cannot find a vote. Was it 5-0 or 3-2?
7:36 – maybe to Gwennie girl, eating out is a true emergency.
Next we will see. “Visit me on http://www.paularonsohn.com“
Surprised we didn’t see VOTE YES FOR PARKING in flashing neon colors.
Let’s start a pool and see when the first car takes the sign out.
You will be disqualified if you purposely run down the sign to win our imaginary jackpot.
I’m going with February 27th.
Put me in for New Years Eve.
I know the RPD are well trained professionals, but can they be used as an authority with regards to the placement of a sign? That is not their responsibility.
I agree with you S.
Welcome to south waldwick
This sign is an embarrassment and WASTE of tax dollars. It is ugly, distracting and the information on it is available on the Internet. How could this come from the same village debating TIto’s new paint color? Take it down!!!