The following are ‘Ask The Mayor’ questions submitted to TLS, and the Mayor’s responses. Email your questions for the Mayor to AskTheMayor@thelakewoodscoop.com.

Question:

Good afternoon Mr. Mayor,

I would like to thank you, the Township, and whomever else deserves credit for giving me a brand new 2017 Mercedes Benz for my daily commute.

Well, not exactly, but it FEELS like I’ve received such a gift….

I live near Route 88 and drive on the stretch from Clifton through New Hampshire numerous times a day. The repaving of this stretch makes it a real pleasure to drive on this roadway. Comparing it to the ripped up, pot-hole ridden, puddles-the-size-of-lakes ride of the past, it makes my drive feel like I am driving a brand-new luxury vehicle!

Thanks so much!

Response from Mayor Coles:

Hi David,

I wish we could take credit for it, but the state DOT are the ones who did the work. They have also promised to do some intersection upgrades at several intersections in the next year or so, so the trip should get even smoother.

Thanks for writing,

Ray

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Question:

Dear Mayor Coles,

I have recently moved to Lakewood and I am so impressed by how efficiently the town runs, keep up the good work!

My concern is the Main St.(Route 88)/Clifton Ave. light (specifically driving from Cedar Bridge. The light is extremely short for the Clifton Ave./Cedar Bridge Ave. traffic causing a major buildup on Clifton and Cedar Bridge Avenues. Another source of frustration is the turning signal onto Main St. from Clifton Ave. I sit by this light every day making my way to yeshiva from the Arlington area and the turning signal onto Main St. is only long enough to allow 2-3 cars to proceed through. I was wondering if there is anything you can do to lengthen the light on Clifton Ave. to allow the massive amount of traffic to move at a more realistic pace.

Thank you for your time,

Response from Mayor Coles:

Good morning,

We are actually working with the county & state to completely redesign that intersection to increase traffic flow in all directions. Unfortunately that will take time. I will ask the engineer to have the county look at the timing of the lights to see if we can get some temporary improvement

Thanks,

Ray

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Question:

Thank you, Your Honor, for providing us with this vehicle to address issues that affect the town.

As Route 88 Eastbound approaches New Hampshire, it acquires a second lane. Vehicles can make a right turn on red onto New Hampshire from that lane. I find that very often a single vehicle (heading east on Route 88) waits at a red light in that lane, preventing a long queue of cars behind from proceeding with that right on red. Would Your Honor consider asking the County to change the right lane to a right-turn-only lane?

Thank you

Response from Mayor Coles:

Route 88 is a state highway. We have asked them to do improvements at several intersection along 88. I will make sure that New Hampshire is on that list. We will also ask the county since New Hampshire is one of their roads, but ultimately we need permission from the state

Thanks,

Ray

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Question:

Hello,

I know this is not in your hands, but maybe you can follow up with the correct parties.

9th street and 6th street traffic lights always worked together for as many years as I can remember (that’s 30+ years) sometime, approx a year ago, 4th street joined the 6/9th streets instead of 2nd street lights sometimes worked together , sometimes didn’t (after traveling these lights a few times almost every day, I still haven’t figured out what exactly the change was – as it was NOT consistent. Time of day? day of week? not sure.)

Recently, a change was implemented that 6th street no longer works together with 9th street and I see this as extremely dangerous. people are used to crossing at crosswalks on 7th and 8th street, (usually when the lights were both red) that is no longer safe. Making a right turn onto rt 9 with ability to make a left at the next street has become a nightmare.
why was this done? And is there any way to reverse it back to how it’s always been?

Thank you in advance.

Response from Mayor Coles:

I have passed your comment on to our traffic engineers. We have not made any changes to the timing of these lights. That is not to say another agency has not. We will look into it.

We are working to add some turn signals along Rt 9 and to make sure the timing of the lights works to help traffic flow. not hinder it. The advancement of computer controls of traffic lights is allowing much better timing and traffic flow

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Question:

Hon. Mayor Coles,

Thanks for affording us the opportunity to communicate directly with you!

I notice that whenever any work is being done adjacent to a roadway (lighting, tree trimming, sidewalks…) there is always one police car, along with an officer, and sometimes two.

Most often, these officers are not involved with directing traffic. Their sole function seems to be to see that the lights on their vehicles are flashing so as to alert drivers and enhance safety of people performing the work along the roadway.

My question: Why can’t mechanical means be used? And where that is not suitable, why can’t less costly personnel be used. What we are doing is very expensive, both in terms of vehicle and personnel cost. On any given day, there are several of these locations using police vehicles and personnel.

I’m told that the contractors reimburse the township for this. However, we know that these costs are passed onto us – the citizens of Lakewood. JCPL, NJAW raise their rates when their costs go up. Developers build these costs into the sales prices of the homes they build and sell.

Can’t we use our personnel and equipment more smartly?

Thank you for your efforts on our behalf.

Sincerely,

Response from Mayor Coles:

Good morning,

The police officers are at construction & other work sites to provide safety for the public & the workers. When necessary they are there to direct traffic to keep things flowing, but that is not their only function. Chief Meyer related the following story to me:

“Just a few weeks back an officer was out directing traffic and observed one of the holes caving in because it was close to the open roadway and the officer was able to yell over to have them stop, one worker jumped out of the hole the other was partially covered but was pulled free. IF the officers were not there it could have ended tragically.”

You are correct that these costs are paid for by the contractor or utility company and not paid directly by the taxpayer. While it might be possible to use other means, you cannot replace the training and dedication of our officers and it is impossible to quantify the lives saved and injuries avoided by having them supervise these projects.

Thank you for reaching out to me.

Ray

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Question:

Hello Mayor,

Thank you for all that you do for the residents of this town and for coming on this forum.

Having moved to the south side of the lake a dozen years ago we had a little secret how to get back to the north side without sitting on route 9 and that was Cross Street well sadly those days are long gone. With a dozen schools having opened there and more coming it’s not a quite road any longer. That brings us to the light of Cross and James if you are making a left turn from Cross onto James you can have 1 car holding up 50 cars or more (that’s no exaggeration I’ve seen it) and that is besides for all the cars trying to turn into all these schools across the road which also stops traffic.

I do not know who owns this road but I implore you please see if someone can put some turning lanes on this road at the bare minimum we must have one at that one intersection Cross and James. I know you are a busy man but please keep an eye out for us on this no longer sleepy road.

Shloime

Response from Mayor Coles:

Good morning,

We are working with Ocean County to have Cross street widened along it’s entire length. We told them this is the most important project they can do in the township and they have agreed to expedite it. I have also asked our engineer to see of there is a temporary widening fix they can install until the full job is done.

Thanks,

Ray

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Question:

This is a great feature, and I’m sure you’ll be highly lauded if you can work on this:

I notice a LOT of very bumpy roads in Lakewood and I feel that my car is really getting a workout. I don’t live on these streets, and mine is actually smooth, but when will they get around to paving more streets in town? Today I had a roller coaster ride on Buttell, Spruce, Williams between Buttell and James, and Oak between New Hampshire and Albert. I thought I saw a long list of roads to be paved but it seems like there is a lot more to do. Thank you.

Response from Mayor Coles:

Thank you,

You are correct. There are an awful lot of roads that need to be addressed. We are currently working on a plan to get all roads brought up to current standards and paved on a regular schedule. We are currently paving many roads in town and are putting together next year’s list. I will make sure these streets are considered for next year’s program.

Thanks,

Ray

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Question:

Hi,

Just a small suggestion that will make a big difference to a lot of people.

Washington can get very backed up at certain times with people waiting to turn onto pine St. A lot of the traffic comes from people trying to make a left turn onto Pine from washington. If there would be a right turning lane (the street is wide enough to do this) then everyone waiting to make a right onto pine would not have to sit there waiting behind all those trying to make a left turn.

Thanks!

Response from Mayor Coles:

We are currently designing improvements that will provide turning lanes at this intersection. If all goes well, construction could be done next year

Ray

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Have a question for the Mayor? Send it to AskTheMayor@thelakewoodscoop.com