Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • September 9, 2009 Franklin Lakes Board concerned about Omaha Way truck route by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Planning Board has voiced concern about the extensive truck removal of soil and rocks from a steeply sloped rocky property at the end of Omaha Way where a three lot subdivision is planned. The property is approximately 14 acres in size and is surrounded by residential properties on three sides and by High Mountain Park in Wayne on the south side. Mark Built Homes, the developer, plans to construct estate type homes on the three lots. The subdivision of the property requires 33 truckloads to remove 490 cubic yards of soil and rock from the site. Between 1,800 and 2,000 truckloads are required to remove all the soil and rock during the total development of the site. Mark Built’s attorney, Jerome Vogel, and Andrew Hipolit, the developer’s professional engineer, advised that the route the trucks will take to remove the soil and rock will be west along Dakota Trail to Freeman’s Lane and north to Franklin Lake Road then west onto Long Hill Road and Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202) and to Route I-287 and on to the ultimate destination for the soil and rock. Vogel said the county roads were chosen as the most direct route to the interstate highway as opposed to using residential roads. He explained that county roads are constructed to handle this type of truck traffic, and the use of those roads does not require approval from the Borough of Oakland, through which the material will be trucked. Vogel said his client would like to use this truck route between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but several planning board members voiced concern about the impact this amount of truck traffic would have on traffic within the borough, and on safety in the community. The planners specifically noted the impact the trucks might have on school traffic in Franklin Lakes and in Oakland. A main area of concern in Franklin Lakes is the intersection of Colonial and Franklin Lake roads. It was suggested that the trucks avoid moving materials during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Hipolit said that could be done if the board allowed the trucks to travel from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. He added, however, the reducing the hours the trucks can travel could extend the project by six months to a year. “The more limits you give us, the longer the project will take,” he cautioned. Board member Joseph Medici said he believes the board has the right to retain a traffic expert to advise it on the impact of truck traffic, but Vogel responded that a traffic expert would not be able to suggest a better route than the board because of the board’s knowledge of the local roadways. He said, however, that the board is welcome to pick the route they want the trucks to follow. Board member Joseph Pullaro noted that the individual lots may not be developed for years, so any traffic study done now might not be valid at the time the lots are actually developed. He said he would prefer it if the board would focus on the immediate removal of trees from the property, and how that tree removal would be monitored and controlled. Medici said the study should be done now and he made a motion to have an expert review the application and testify at the board’s next meeting about the potential traffic impact of the proposed truck route. There was no second to his motion, however, and Vogel said his client would not provide more expert testimony on the traffic impact because he has already done so, and his client has responded to the comments and questions of the board’s engineer. He added that he did not feel another expert would satisfy Medici’s concern. After considerable discussion, the board decided to have its engineering firm, Boswell McClave Engineering, review the potential traffic impact of the truck travel, and Vogel offered to have his client’s engineer interact with the board’s engineer in that review. The results of that review will be presented to the board at its public meeting of September 16. 2 Locations Glen Rock & Passaic PASSAIC LOCATION NOW OPEN SUNDAYS! We Offer Line Of Credits And Financing Plans 201.345-5621