Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-March 2, 2011 Issue

March 2, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Franklin Lakes Borough ordinance to prohibit left turns by Frank J. McMahon A new ordinance that was recently introduced by the Franklin Lakes Borough Council would, if adopted at the council’s March 15 public meeting, prohibit motorists from making left turns at two additional locations in the borough. One of those new locations is the Colonial Road and McCoy Road intersection where a fatal accident occurred on Dec. 24. The other location is the Franklin Square Shopping Center on Franklin Avenue across from the Franklin Avenue Middle School. The no-left-turn prohibition at the McCoy/Colonial roads intersection would apply at all times and a sign has already been installed on McCoy Road to prohibit motorists from turning left as they exit from McCoy its southern intersection with Colonial Road. Local and county police will not be able to enforce that prohibition, however, until the ordinance is adopted. The action was taken quickly as a result of the fatal accident that occurred at that intersection when a vehicle was making a left turn from McCoy Road onto Colonial Road and was struck by a vehicle that was traveling south on Colonial Road. There is a rise in Colonial Road heading south and the road proceeds downhill just before the intersection with McCoy Road. Borough and county officials believe that road condition makes it dangerous to make a left turn from McCoy Road at that intersection because a vehicle traveling south over that rise in the road is difficult to stop if a car has entered the intersection from McCoy Road. Franklin Lakes Mayor Frank Bivona thanked Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and other county officials for addressing that dangerous condition. He said they are committed to both short-term and long-term solutions to avoid such an accident in the future. Short-term solutions include the no left turn prohibition on McCoy Road, which is a municipal road; a 25 mile per hour speed advisory sign on Colonial Road, which is a county road, to warn motorists of the upcoming intersection; and adding reflective tape on the warning signs to improve their visibility to motorists. Bivona said the neighbors of that intersection have also been contacted about trimming back their trees and bushes at the intersection to improve visibility. The county will also install a blinking light at the intersection at a high enough level so it can be seen by southbound motorists on Colonial Road. Longer term, Bivona said the county will conduct a study to see if something can be done about the grade of Colonial Road, which causes visibility problems to motorists traveling south. “So we are trying to dealing with this dangerous intersection and the county has been very receptive in support of us,” Bivona said. The no-left-turn prohibition at the Franklin Square Shopping Center would apply between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on weekdays in order to prevent motorists from making a left turn past traffic heading east toward Pulis Avenue when children and/or their parents are trying to cross Franklin Avenue on their way to or from that school. Council President Paulette Ramsey said she has witnessed children trying to get across Franklin Avenue at those times and is in total agreement with the left turn prohibition. Mayor Bivona added that exiting that parking lot and making a blind left turn with pedestrians crossing the road at those times has been cited as a dangerous situation. There are two other locations in the borough where left turns are already prohibited. One site is the Franklin Lakes Shopping Plaza, a divided mall located on the north side of Franklin Avenue, at its intersection with Colonial Road. That no left turn prohibition applies at all times to the westernmost exit from the shopping center that is nearest the flag park and the New York Susquehanna & West�� ern Railway tracks. The other location where left turns are currently prohibited is at the exit of the Colonial Road Elementary School parking lot. At that location, left turns are prohibited from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on all days school is in session. �� 2-23-11 Joan/Janine