Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • October 3, 2012 Wyckoff Neighbors’ concerns lead to reduced speed limits by John Koster The Wyckoff Township Committee has introduced an ordinance to reduce posted speeds on a number of local streets in response to the concerns of neighborhood residents and police officers. After consulting with Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox, the township committee last week proposed the reductions, which will be considered for adoption at the Oct. 2 meeting. The speed limit on Clinton Avenue from Lawlins Road to Wyckoff Avenue, which is currently 35 miles per hour, would be reduced to 30 miles per hour. Chief Fox said Clinton Avenue is narrow, there are no sidewalks, and there are several hills that create sight issues. The change would match the current speed limit on Clinton Avenue between Wyckoff Avenue and Main Street. The 35 mile per hour speed limit on Eder Avenue would also be reduced to 30 mph. Chief Fox noted that Eder Avenue has no sidewalks, and that there is some pedestrian traffic due to Ramapo High School, which is located near Eder Avenue, but in neighboring Franklin Lakes. Hillcrest Avenue, which is also posted at 35 mph, would be reduced to 30 mph. Chief Fox noted that Hillcrest Avenue is a narrow roadway. Lafayette Avenue and Lawlins Road, both of which have 35 mph speed limits, would be reduced to 30 mph. Lafayette Avenue, Chief Fox noted, has limited sidewalks, which are narrow in some sections, has curves in the roadway, and intersects a roadway with a history of minor crashes. The residential section of Lawlins Road is very narrow, has no sidewalks in many areas, and is a truck route for businesses. Mountain Avenue, which is now posted at 40 mph, would be reduced to 35 mph. Fox said Mountain Avenue is a narrow roadway with one hill that creates a major sight issue for the adjacent street. The 35 mph limit on Newtown Road would be reduced to 30 mph. Fox said that road is very narrow, especially through the area of curves, and that a hill near one roadway creates sight issues. Ravine Avenue between Lafayette Avenue and Goffle Road, currently 30 mph, would be reduced to 25 mph. The avenue narrows substantially at one point, Fox noted, there are numerous intersecting streets, and the change would make the speed limit the same as currently exists on Ravine Avenue between Lafayette and Grandview Avenue. Two Wyckoff burglaries that police believe were inside jobs have cost one resident an estimated $40,000 in jewelry and another resident a $1,500 gold ring. Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox said one resident reported the loss of four rings valued at $40,000 taken from a bedroom closet. Another resident reported that a gold ring valued at $1,500 had been stolen from the kitchen. Lieutenant Charles Van Dyke and Detective Sergeant Michael Musto are investigating the thefts. “In most instances, the suspects are cleaning personnel, contractors working inside, carpet cleaners and installers, friends of the homeowners’ children, and many others who are given access to the home,” Chief Fox said last week. “The overwhelming majority of people that residents have working inside of their houses are honest, hard-working individuals. Thefts of this type are often not planned, and are simply crimes of opportunity. They only happen when the opportunity is there.” Chief Fox said that residents should secure articles of value out of sight of anyone who may enter the house as an employee or a guest. “Both residents this week reported that the jewelry was out of sight and believed it was safely secured,” Chief Fox noted. “Many thefts of this time happen when rings and watches are simply left out in the open.” A different type of theft by deception Burglaries result in large losses cost a Wyckoff couple in their seventies $15,000. The Wyckoff couple received a telephone call on Sept. 21 from their “son,” reporting that he was in New York Police Department custody after an accident in New York City. The caller said he had been charged with a DWI and other offenses, and needed $150,000 for his bail. The couple said their “son” sounded different than he usually does, but he reported that his nose was broken in the accident. A different man who said he was the son’s lawyer got on the telephone and agreed to accept $15,000 as 10 percent of the bail money if it were wired immediately. The couple then wired the money -- to what turned out to be a location in Georgia -- and the couple later heard from the “lawyer” who discussed defense strategy with them. When the couple later contacted their son, they found out he had never been arrested for a DWI and that the whole thing was a scam. “The chance of getting the money back is often quite slim.” Chief Fox said. “My best advice is this: Never, never, never, ever wire money someplace when you get an unsolicited phone call from someone, no matter what the story is. There is rarely anything so urgent that you can’t take the time to look into it further. They play on emotions to get the victim to act quickly and without giving it much thought. Check with the police department first. Check (continued on page 18) Squawbrook Road, currently 35 mph, would be reduced to 25 mph. Fox said that road is very narrow, has “S” curves, and there are currently no speed limit signs on the road at all. “Basically, you never want to create unrealistic speed limits that are artificially low, and will not be obeyed,” Chief Fox wrote in a detailed memo to the township committee. “This is a big problem in the area of enforcement...There is, however, flexibility in lowering speeds minimally as I have suggested. Speed limits that are too low cause driver contempt of speed laws, and are simply not obeyed. Monroe Avenue is a good example. It’s posted at 25 mph. Nobody is doing 25 mph on this street. It really should be a 35 mph street, although I have no intentions of suggesting that the speed limit be raised.” He added, “These reductions are reasonable, should be easily accepted by the motoring public, and will generally assist in driver and pedestrian safety, and because they are a reasonable speed limit they will be enforced by police officers,” Chief Fox said. Wyckoff Township Committee members generally agreed with the suggested reductions, though Doug Christie said he might like to have seen a tighter reduction on Eder Avenue, where there had been a fatality and several other accidents in the past. Brian Scanlan, in particular, approved the reduction on Ravine Avenue, which is in his neighborhood and is often subject to speeding.