Mahwah December 15, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Township will not pursue intersection upgrade by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Council has notified Bergen County planning officials that the township is not interested in a county plan to widen the Miller Road/Franklin Turnpike intersection due to the negative impact it would have on area business owners. The council took the same position in September due to the cost of the project to the township. After a lengthy discussion at a recent meeting, the governing body voted 4-3 in a straw poll to tell the county there is no interest in the plan at this time. Council Members Samuel Alderisio, Lisa DiGiulio, Roy Larson, and John Roth voted to tell the county they were not interested in the project, which includes the replacement of the traffic signal. These council members expressed the opinion that the plan to expand the intersection and take some property from the two service stations at that site would be detrimental to those businesses. Council Members John Spiech and Harry Williams and Council President John DaPuzzo voted against telling the county they had no interest in the project. They agreed with Mayor Richard Martel, who voiced the opinion that the intersection is in need of an upgrade, although he was also concerned about the plan’s negative impact on the two businesses. “The intersection is in dire need of some kind of improvement,” Martel said. “If we can satisfy the concerns of these two business owners we should move forward, but I don’t want it rammed down the throats of these two business owners if it will have such an impact.” Martel suggested the council wait until the new county government administration is in office next month to see if the new leaders would support a change in the plan that would not negatively impact those businesses. He cautioned the council that, if they did not proceed with this project, the widening of the intersection may be lost forever because the county has indicated that it will proceed to install a new traffic light there and not widen the intersection if Buy Christmas Trees, Not Holiday Trees 12-8-10 joan/janine AnthonyRaimo3x3(12-8-10) 3x3” the township does not want to pay for its share of the cost. According to Michael Kelly of Boswell McClave Engineering, the township’s engineering firm, Mahwah would have to pay between $600,000 and $700,000 for parts of the project, including design, required easements, police traffic direction during construction, and the upgrade of area sidewalks. The road widening project would provide a left turn lane on Miller Road heading east and one on Franklin Turnpike heading north. Kelly said the project would increase the level of service there, but he could not say to what degree. He projected that the work would take about six months to complete. Kelly explained that the project would take about five to six feet from the two service station properties, about three feet (continued on page 6) What makes our mailbox services better? Open a mailbox at the UPS Store and don’t you worry about a thing, with: Secure, 24 access* • Mail holding and forwarding** • Package acceptance from all carriers Package notification • Convenient Call-in MailCheck* and more At the UPS Store®, we give you a real street address, not just a P.O. Box. And that’s only the beginning. Stop in for details – and Save RAMSEY MAIN STREET PLAZA 120 E. MAIN STREET RAMSEY, NJ 07446 (201)995-1003 store5911@theupsstore.com The UPS Store Mon-Fri 8:30 am - 6:30 pm Sat 8:30 am - 4:40 pm * Available at participating locations ** Additional fees may apply 3 MONTHS FREE Celebrate Christmas with us… Christmas Eve, December 24th @6pm Our gathering is at Ramapo Ridge Middle School 150 Ridge Rd, Mahwah, NJ Restrictions apply. Expires 12/31/10 with a one year mailbox services agreement $ The UPS Store PASSPORT PHOTOS Restrictions apply. Expires 12/31/10 200 Off The UPS Store UPS AIR SERVICE 15% Off Restrictions apply. Expires 12/31/10 The UPS Store 11-3-10 Joan from Janine UPSStore3X3(11-3-10) 3X3 Rev1 ��������������������� ���������������� ���������������� �� ���������� ��������������������� ������������������ �������� ��������� ���������������� ������������������� ������������� � �������� ���������� ���������������� ������������������ � ��� �� ��� � 150 Ridge Road, Mahwah, NJ 07430 201- 425-3770 ��������������� ����������� The Plant Church ����������� ����� ���������������� ����� ����������� ������ ��� ������ ������������������� ��������������� ����������������� ������������� theplantchurch.org ������������������ ��������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������