Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles Responds to Your ‘Ask The Mayor’ Questions: Rt. 70 and New Hampshire, Lane Closures, Vandalism

The following is an ‘Ask The Mayor’ question submitted to TLS, and the Mayor’s response. Email your questions for the Mayor to [email protected].

Question:

Hi Mr. Mayor,

I see a lot of construction vehicles parked on New Hampshire Blvd. Does the Dept of Transportation have plans to extend the southbound ramp from route 70 on to New Hampshire and are they adding a lane to alleviate the congestion of the merge. It seems there is a never ending bottleneck making it dangerous to get into the right lane from the turn onto New Hampshire Blvd, without getting stuck in the Right turn only lane. I appreciate the service that you provide to the community and the forum to communicate with you directly. Thank you. DToro.

Response from Mayor Coles:

Yes, the intersections at Chestnut and N. Hampshire and Rt 70 are being redesigned.

There will be a light at Chestnut and New Hampshire. The jug handle which allows folks traveling west on 70 is being replaced. Traffic will exit 70 and go to another light on Chestnut across from Andrews corner. There will be a new right turn lane to turn onto Chestnut from New Hampshire and an extended lane down to 70

Question:

On this evening of 9/10/24. There are multiple rt 9 road closures without notification to lkwd pd. Let alone locals. Pd only finding out that a road is blocked when they have an ambulance trying to navigate traffic to the hospital is ridiculous. Where is they’re accountability? Do we need to wait until someone tragically dies or is in series condition due to a hospital delay?

Thank you TLS and the mayor for constantly helping the community.

Response from Mayor Coles:

Thank you. Deputy Mayor Miller and Detective Guzman went out to speak to the contractors at night. The misunderstanding was that the could start earlier in Tom’s River than Lakewood. The situation should be resolved and the will not start before 9:00.

Question:

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your efforts to upgrade this park!!

There are a few points I’d like to make:

1. The new rubber floor was done and seems to be a bit high and the stairs are now very off on the large playset. Is this fixable?

2. New benches were installed. However, there used to be benches on the parking lot side as well. Is there any reason why the amount of benches were cut down almost in half? At very busy times there isn’t enough place to sit.

3. Some of the sidewalks were replaced (I believe 2 times already) but there are still quite a few cracks. Is there any way to get the remainder of the sidewalks fixed?

4. And some vandalism…

Thanks for all your help!

Response from Mayor Coles:

Good morning,

I got this from public works this morning

I want to send a big thanks to the overnight crews for jumping on this as fast as they did

And thank you for letting us know about this

2nd shift removed the graffiti yesterday. The sidewalk that was cracked near the corner has been replaced. We will check if there are any other areas that need to be addressed. We will add additional benches to the area. We will look into the area in question for the rubber matting near the stairs. It’s probably necessary due to the height elevation of a fall to be thicker in this area.

Response from Chief Greg Meyer:

We will have quality of life as well as the zones units keep a closer eye on the park.

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

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

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Lakewood Business Owner: “I Can No Longer Read TLS’s ‘Ask the Mayor Forum’ Because the Mayor’s Rapid Responses and His Incredible Efficiency Make Me Feel Like a Bumbling, Incompetent, Worthless Human Being!
    A NJ businessman who runs a huge business operation in Lakewood Township insists he can no longer read TLS’s ‘Ask the Mayor forum’, because, as he explained to reporters on Wednesday, “Every time I read the Mayor’s responses and I observe the way he addresses the most complex problems in a rapid and highly efficient manner, I begin to feel a huge sense of worthlessness creeping inside of me, because, let’s face it, I can’t come close to running my business operations the way the Mayor runs this township! In fact, I’m not certain I can accomplish ANYTHING in my life, except for sulking and submerging myself in absolute misery!”
    “I enjoy reading TLS,” the business owner clarified, “however, I can no longer read the ‘Ask the Mayor Forum’ because when I observe the Mayor’s unique ability to deal with a host of complex problems, and I juxtapose this unique ability with my disgusting ineptness and my nauseating inability to get anything done in my life – including the minute task of going out and purchasing a coffee maker so my employees can have a warm cup of coffee before beginning their work day – I get sick to my stomach!”
    “I mean, how difficult would it be for me to pick up a coffee maker for the crew?!” he asked. “I just can’t believe how grossly incompetent I am!”
    “Let me clear about one thing,” the seemingly agitated and dejected businessman said, “I am not telling other people not to read the Mayor’s forum. Quite the contrary, most readers will find the Mayor’s’ incredible efficiency and his rapid responses to so many complex problems to be powerful sources of inspiration that will motivate them to get off their backsides, to confront the tasks at hand and to achieve their goals. And, no doubt those readers will continue to read the forum and find it to be an incredible fountain of motivation and inspiration. However, that is not the case with me. In fact, if I continue to read the forum and I observe the Mayor addressing just one more complex problem in his typically rapid and efficient manner, I will lose every last ounce of self worth that I still possess within me and I will close down my entire business operation for good. I’m sorry, but no more ‘Ask the Mayor’ forum for ME! And that’s final!”

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