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.
