Ho-Ho-Kus January 28, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 21 Council not receptive to instructor’s recommendation by Jennifer Crusco A man who identified himself as a New Jersey driving instructor recently presented the Ho-Ho-Kus Council with a letter recommending that the borough create a traffic circle at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Franklin Turnpike. The council briefly discussed the letter, but is not interested in adding a rotary to the busy downtown area. Ho-Ho-Kus Mayor Thomas Randall said the letter writer, identified as David Wylie, is apparently unfamiliar with the history of the area. Randall said Maple and Franklin Turnpike are both county roads, which leaves them under Bergen County’s control. The mayor added that there is not a great deal of room for a traffic circle at that intersection, which is currently served by a traffic light. Councilman Doug Troast pointed out that traffic circles are being eliminated where they are still in use in New Jersey. He called rotaries passé. Wylie’s argument in favor of a traffic circle was based on environmental concerns. In his letter, he told the council, “The size of this intersection is about 1,000 square feet which is all black asphalt which is a huge amount of space and also acts as a huge solar heat sink, soaking up at least 800 BTUs per minute on a hot summer day. We all know about global warming and this type of absorption adds to the effect.” Wylie called a traffic circle a “green” alternative to the current configuration. He said rotaries are used throughout Europe, and are “passive traffic management configurations which allow cars to keep moving in a controlled fashion instead of waiting at traffic signals. This turns out to be energy saving because cars don’t have to idle at stop lights often when there is not traffic from the adjacent street.” He called a circle an ideal way to handle asymmetrical grids, such as the one at Maple and Franklin. Shared services (continued from page 6) Ridgewood recycling areas. Ridgewood also agreed by resolution to enter into a shared services agreement with the Waldwick Fire Department for the maintenance and repair of fire vehicles, and with the Borough of Midland Park to provide vehicle refueling, maintenance, and repair services for designated vehicles. The Ridgewood Village Council voted by resolution to approve a similar agreement with the Ridgewood Board of Education. Wyckoff is now exploring the possibility of joint services with Franklin Lakes and Oakland, the other two towns in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School consortium. Management professionals all over Northwest Bergen have advocated shared services as one way of reducing expenses. Meter issues January feast comes to ECLC Members of the Kiwanis of Saddle Brook recently visited ECLC of NJ’s Ho-Ho-Kus location to serve a buffet. Pictured are Frank and Dottie Wojno, Frank Racioppi, Kim Carroll, Edward Wilczynski, Harold Hawthorne, Danny Rasmussen, and Mike Mazzola. Originally planned for Dec. 19, the luncheon had to be rescheduled for January due to the snowstorm. A delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings was enjoyed by the students and staff. ECLC of NJ is a private, non-profit school for students, ages five through 21, who have significant learning disabilities. For further information about the school, call Principal Vicki Lindorff at (201) 670-7880. (continued from page 10) boxes. Foreign coins pass directly through the machine without providing credit, and the tokens that are used are high security devices manufactured by a company that makes chips for use in casinos. Under the previous system, which involved traditional meters located at each of the parking spaces in the lot, two DPW employees were required to unload the coins from the meters every two weeks and spent about two hours unloading the quarters. The cost of the new system was approximately $14,000 per machine. The 2006 municipal budget included $37,500 for the purchase of new parking meters. SHOP LOCAL Support Your Allendale Merchants Allendale Chamber of Commerce Visit us at www.AllendaleChamber.com Spotlights on new and existing members on a rotating basis. Find out about upcoming events and goings on in Allendale