Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles responds to your ‘Ask The Mayor’ questions: Multiple questions

The following are‘Ask The Mayor’ questions submitted to TLS, and the Mayor’s responses. Email your questions for the Mayor to [email protected].

Question:

Dear Mayor,

Thank you for giving us this privilege of communicating with you regarding issue we are passionate about.

The intersection of Chestnut St and New Hampshire Ave has been discussed in the past and I know you’ve told us that the state and county have plans to install a light, hopefully by next year. Is there anything that can be done in the interim to increase the safety of this intersection? It is one of the scariest intersections in town, with drivers needing to safely clear three lanes of traffic when attempting a left turn from Chestnut St. The longer drivers have to wait to make the left turn, the more likely they are to make a hasty and dangerous move. I will often drive ten minutes out of my way to avoid this intersection during peak hours.

Some thoughts I had:
1 – Perhaps there can be clearer signs regarding the need to “not block the box”. Many drivers are completely ignoring the junction box, thus aggravating the problem.
2 – I don’t know if its feasible, but a “Wait here on red” sign at the northern part of the junction box would allow cars to make a left turn when the Rt 70 light is red.
3 – During peak afternoon hours, a police presence directing traffic would be amazing.

Thank you for listening!

A Chestnut-NH commuter

 

Response from Mayor Coles:

I agree with you about this intersection. I will pass your ideas by Traffic & Safety and Engineering, then present them to the county, since we would need their permission to implement any of them. Thank you for continuing to be concerned about this area.

Ray

 

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Question:

Dear Hon Mayor,

Thank you for being accessible and responsive. It makes a huge difference.

I would like to bring up the traffic control by the stadium whenever there is an event of sorts. The officers who direct the traffic always close one lane in each direction on Cedar Bridge. This seems to enable them to help control the cars that are turning in and out of the stadium. I was wondering if a traffic engineer has been involved in planning this process. The traffic on Cedar Bridge gets extremely backed up and it would seem like, this can be avoided with a little better planning.

Thanks,

A grateful resident

 

Response from Mayor Coles:

The police department has tried several different patterns to control traffic in & out of the stadium on game days and will continue to try to make things more efficient. Hopefully with the new light coming they will be able to adjust things again to keep traffic flowing.

Thanks

Ray

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Question:

Dear Mayor

As a long time resident on Lawrence Ave, I believe it is time for the street to be one way. Cars are always parked on both sides of the street even though one side is supposed to be no parking, making it impossible for 2 cars to get down the street at once. I propose that Lawrence should be one way from 11th st to 10th St. 11th st should remain 2 ways. Entry to Lawrence should be from 11th only and Exit through 10th only.

What do you say?

Regards,
Lawrence

 

Response from Mayor Coles:

Good morning

I have forwarded this request to Traffic & Safety to look into. I don’t want to put more of a burden on you but many times a petition form the neighborhood can be a big help.

Thanks

Ray

 

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Question:

Just wanted to let you know you have a lot of fans on treeside lane! A bunch of ladies came up to me to thank me for writing to you about the water basin issue we were having (btw I love the ask the mayor forum). And I responded how you always get the job done quickly and make it seem like we’re not even bothering you. one lady said ” in all the years I’ve lived in Lakewood, I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about ray coles!” And all the other ladies nodded in agreement. So thanks again! Much continued success!

 

Response from Mayor Coles:

Thank you Goldy. I appreciate the kind words, but most of the credit goes to our public works department. I let them know where & what the problem is & they take care of it. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of men & women watching out for us.

Ray

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Question:

It was quite disturbing to read the previous question regarding the drunken driving incident this past weekend ! only six weeks ago, right down the block on Ridge Ave off Hackett st, this exact seen played itself out on our front lawn. severe damage was wrought on four vehicles as well as our property. is there a possibility that there can be a crackdown against drunk driving in our town

 

Response from Mayor Coles:

I agree with you. I spoke to the Chief and he is instituting extra patrols in the area. Our officers are trained to spot drivers who may be under the influence. Additionally we participate in drunk driving crackdowns several times a year.

Ray

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Question:

Hi Mr Mayor

Thanks for tackling these questions head-on we truly appreciate it!

I am writing about Finchley Blvd every time it rains the street floods -which department can look into the drainage?

Also part of Finchley got stronger street lights in April when do you think they will finish the rest of Finchley as its a very busy thoroughfare

All the best

Thanks!

 

Response from Mayor Coles:

Good morning

I have asked the Engineering Department to inspect the situation. Our engineer tells me that there is a contractor working in the area that has to repave a lot of the street and provide positive water flow. He will make sure that they do the job correctly. If additional work is needed they will put together a plan for the township to address it.

Committeeman Lichtenstein, our liaison to JCP&L, will contact them about upgrading the rest of the lights on the street.

Thanks for reaching out

Ray

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Have a question for the Mayor? Send it to [email protected]

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