October 7, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Mahwah Resident prompts council to rethink bus stop by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Council has asked Mahwah Township Engineer Michael Kelly to look into a complaint by a 17-year resident who waits for the New Jersey Transit bus to New York at the intersection of Miller Road and Franklin Turnpike. The resident, Mary Cella of Vista View Drive, said she and other bus riders have to stand outside in all kinds of weather because there is no bus stop shelter at that location. Cella has written to the council several times over the years, according to Mahwah Township Administrator Brian Campion, and has come before the council on several occasions asking the governing body to place a shelter at that intersection, which is adjacent to Veteran’s Park. “In the winter, it is very uncomfortable,” Cella told the council. She claimed it is feasible to put a bus shelter in that location because it could be placed in an existing indentation, and it would not cost Mahwah anything because the bus company would provide the shelter free of charge if the township would agree to maintain it. The council had considered the possibility of placing a bus shelter at that location in 2007, but Councilman Samuel Alderisio explained that no action was taken because Bergen County was planning to renovate that intersection. He said those plans were later canceled by the county, but the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization opposed putting a bus shelter at that location. Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio said the township’s police department does not want a bus stop at that location, and Campion further explained that this location is not on the list of approved bus stops in the township’s code. When the council discussed the issue two years ago, the governing body decided not to include this location in the list of approved bus stops although the bus company put up a bus stop sign at the site. “The bus stop was in the Gulf station,” Alderisio told the council, “and then New Jersey Transit moved it up and it blocks traffic. We have the legal right to tell them it is not a legal bus stop and that it should go back to the Gulf station.” Alderisio added that placing a bus stop farther north on the side of the Gulf gas station would require input from the township engineer. DiGiulio said it would not fit there without losing two parking spaces, and that is opposed by the owners of the stores located in that area. In addition, she said the veterans don’t want the shelter there because there are plans to refurbish Veteran’s Park. “I’m getting older,” Cella told the council. “There are all kinds of stories, but no one says they are putting up a bus stop to protect the riding public. What are we doing for the residents who want to take a bus?” In response, Council President John DaPuzzo asked Kelly to see if there is a better place to locate a bus shelter in that area, and to return to the council with his opinion and recommendations. In March of 2007, the council expressed interest in placing a bus shelter at the Miller Road and Franklin Turnpike intersection, and in replacing the existing one on Franklin Avenue near the Ramsey border. At that time, New Jersey Transit was considering a new program with a national advertising agency to provide upgraded bus shelters at select locations in exchange for the right to place advertising on them in accordance with state and NJT regulations. Under that program, NJT was to supply the shelters to municipalities at no cost and the advertising agency would assume the responsibility for the overall maintenance of the shelters so there would be no cost to the municipalities. The council balked, however, at allowing advertising to be placed on the bus stops. The consensus of the council at that time was to pursue the offer by NJT to provide the bus shelters, but not to approve lights or advertising on those structures. Historian Kevin Wright will present “Suburbanitis” at the Mahwah Public Library on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Wright will discuss the borough craze, which swept Bergen County between 1894 and 1925. The speaker is past president of both the Sussex County and Bergen County histori- Historian to discuss ‘Suburbanitis’ cal societies. He has been a member of the Newton Historic Preservation Advisory Commission since 1987. This program, sponsored by the Mahwah Library and the Mahwah Museum Society, is free. The library is located at 100 Ridge Road. ������������������������������ ������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������� ������������������������� ����������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ��������������������������� ����������� ���������������������� Fall specials available now for a limited time only. Call Robin at 973-636-7000