August 20, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Franklin Lakes County begins improving borough’s traffic circle by Frank J. McMahon Bergen County has begun construction at the traffic circle at the intersection of Franklin Lake and High Mountain roads which is adjacent to the Urban Farms Shopping Center and McBride Field. Yield signs will be installed at all four entrances to the circle, which will change the traffic pattern in that area because motorists at all four entrances will have to yield to any vehicles that are in the circle. The county will also be install- ing concrete diverter islands at all four approaches to the circle. The project is expected to be com- pleted before Labor Day. Currently, motorists on Franklin Lake Road travel through the circle while motorists on High Mountain Road have to yield to that traffic and the county claims that has led to many accidents at the circle. Changes to this traffic circle have been contemplated since the borough requested that the county make the changes after they were described by Borough Engi- neer Kevin Boswell at a council work session on Oct. 1, 2013. That was after an online resident survey was conducted in August 2013 on the question of whether the borough should consider removing the circle and installing a traffic light at the intersection for safety reasons. Over 800 responses were received to that survey, according to Franklin Lakes Borough Administrator Gregory Hart, with 60 percent of them in favor of keep- ing the circle and 40 percent in favor of its removal. The idea of changing the way traffic enters and leaves the circle from the two roads became apparent to borough and county officials, however, when they met at the circle during the morning and after- noon peak traffic times when the traffic to and from the High Mountain Road and the Most Blessed Sacrament elementary schools was at its peak. In November 2013, Mayor Frank Bivona made a recommendation to delay the improvement of the traffic circle so more information could be obtained about the traffic impact on that circle as a result of the housing development planned for the High Mountain Golf Club property, which would increase traffic on Franklin Lake Road. He voiced the opinion at that time that the traffic circle project should be delayed until the plan- ning board approves the site plan for the golf course development. However, the Bergen County Freeholders approved the improvements on Dec. 18, 2013, when they adopted an ordinance that autho- rized the county to proceed with the planned changes to the circle despite the borough’s request to delay the project. County officials explained the need for the improvements, pointing out that traf- fic on Franklin Lake Road approaches the circle as a through street while driv- ers entering the circle from the “stop” controlled intersection with High Moun- tain Road have an expectation that all approaching traffic will yield to them once they enter the circle. This “disconnect,” according to the county, led to 61 traffic accidents at the circle in the past five years, most of which involved right angle collisions in which a Franklin Lake Road driver “T-boned” a High Mountain Road driver who entered the circle with an expectation of safe pas- sage after entering the circle. The plan was delayed again this spring while borough and county officials reviewed a new plan for the circle after the borough’s concerns about the changes the county planned for the circle were conveyed. County officials then agreed to delay the changes and the county plan was merged with a new plan for the circle which was reviewed by the council, the borough’s police chief, the current police department traffic officer, and the depart- ment’s previous traffic officer. According to Boswell, the county will pay the cost of the changes to the circle. He said the county’s goal is to implement changes that will make the traffic circle safer.