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:
Dear Mayor,
I want to start by thanking you for all the time, work and dedication you put in to help us, your constituents. I feel like we, the people that live here and those that travel through can gain immensely if we had a presence, a voice and an opinion listened to in some of the decisions put before the Township.
Yes, that’s what elections are for but … ya!
Unfortunately regular people can’t just win an election and besides, we have a lot more opinions than we do available seats on the Township.
I am willing & able to volunteer to serve as someone from the community with whom questions and opinions can be asked of. I don’t work for any corporation and have no ties to any 501c3 orgs. Just a common man that has lived here & drives the streets for a number of years.
When there is something of matter take traffic lights, traffic pattern changes or street pavings as an example, having an engineer come down and study the area or just doing similar to what other towns in surrounding localities do is not always the best solution.
Recently I was driving on Cedarbride (toward Main Street) and I noticed the other direction there is now a left turning lane into nowhere. ANYONE that has EVER driven there knows that the right shoulder lane was used as a turning lane onto MLK and when the light turned green the remaining cars all went straight so traffic “flowed smoothly.” Now that’s gonna be gone! So not only is there a turning lane to nowhere, they could have actually made a right turn lane. Oh well. To bad nobody asked us.
There’s a new idea to just throw up traffic lights.
You don’t have to be an engineer that studies traffic patterns to know that a light helps in a city with square blocks and are coordinated but doesn’t do much if the traffic is backed up on the road in front of where you are trying to turn. Can give 100 examples from around town but let’s take the corner of Miller & Hope. Sounds like a great idea but if you frequently drive there you know it won’t do much as it is almost always (during daytime hours) backed up thanks to the light from South Lake drive, so until we do away with that, this new one will be useless.
This is just 2 examples from traffic but there are many areas in which simple guidance and knowing the patterns, way of life etc would not just be an idea thrown at us but can actually be extremely impactful toward improving our Township.
Does anyone else actually care about what goes on in their Town or is it just me?
Response from Mayor Coles:
Good morning,
Venues such as this column are a great way for residents to reach out and let us know what their concerns are. Many of the questions I receive point out issues such as those you list in your letter.
This past week, in addition to a couple of emails, I received several phone calls relating to the new striping pattern on Cedarbridge Ave. I have found that many suggestions from people who live with the various conditions every day are more valuable than the plans formulated by engineers who believe what they write on paper is more accurate than the lived experiences of many residents.
We have already been in contact with the county about revising some of the striping based on suggestions from residents.
Ray
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At first I didn’t, but I actually agree with this guy.
We’re going book smart, lets add some street smart to it.
Pun indented lol.
The point about the left turning way to nowhere is completely inaccurate. If a vehicle is trying to turn left “into nowhere” (which is a mall with a restaurant and a liquor store) without the turning lane traffic is building up. But regarding turning right on MLK it’s very smooth and nobody is holding up traffic. If your heart rate goes up because the car in front of you is going straight and therefore is waiting for the light to turn green then take a deep breath and before you know it you are on MLK
Even if you are not familiar with the area just look at the pic posted with this letter & you can see for yourself, the lane/arrow Leads to NOWHERE!
Actually, the mall with the liquor store is one parking lot over from when this new turning lane goes. You can’t drive from that lot to the next, which houses Icon and a rug store. And that is it. Mad 50 people a day make a left there. Thousands a day make a right onto MLK.
What is the extra space next to some of the turning lanes? This has caused the drive thru lanes to be super narrow! For example, when making a right turn onto cedarbridge from Arlington ave. The lanes are so narrow-and thats in my car. Imagine the busses!
Regarding the cedarbridge plan,
for a year before they did the work they had published plans and were accepting feedback from residents.
If you cared enough you could have written in or called and complained.
I passed the Cedar Bridge plan today for the first time, and I was very excited about it because it looks very good- I always wanted a dedicated left turn lane from Cedar Bridge onto Martin Luther King so that the rest of traffic could go straight without getting mixed in.
But the reason I was so excited, was because I didn’t know about it beforehand. You’re saying that these plans were published somewhere. I never saw these things.
Does anyone know where these things are published and where I could see them?
Thanks Moe what if I tell you I did email them about this exact issue here is the response “the analysis of the traffic counts at MLK & Cedarbridge indicated that the intersection would operate acceptable level of service without the dedicated right turn lane.”
Haha their analysis?! How long do you think they spent studying our work schedule, way of life, yeshiva, baby sitters, shopping etc
The County Line Rd Westbound/Hope Rd Southbound left turning signal needs to be changed to a protected turn signal. 95% of the accidents at this intersection are caused by people from both directions trying to beat the light rather then stopping the eternity of 30 seconds for the light to change to green again. If it would be a protected turn signal then there would be a drastic drop in violent accidents there.
ZEVY-hes 110% correct. its a left lane turning to NOWHERE. NADDA!! theres no driveway to drive into that little barely used strip mall of 2.5 stores. the driveway is further up and not accessible from that huge long turning lane. this writer is so good! hes so on the ball!! everyone was wondering same thing-there goes our shoulder on the right for quick right turn on MLK drive. amazing how this twp does things again like MOISHEH KAPYOIYAH!!
The writer brings up a god point which the mayor failed to address.
Is there any way that the public opinion can be heard on matters where it’s feasible?
There are some absurd errors that make it through to our town to lack oversight” so to call it
Dear Mayor Coles,
With summer arriving soon I have (another) great idea to calm traffic & reduce accidents. What’s the one thing everybody loves in the summer? Ice cream of course. My idea is to place at busy & high accident intersections a free ice cream stand. People will gladly wait at a light & be patient with a free ice cream in hand (& holding an ice cream cone how will they hold their phones?).
I asked a few friends who assured me if the ice cream is Yoshon with a minimum of 4 local certifications & the cones are “Glatt” Kosher everybody will eat them.
Perhaps some of our “Kids in crisis” can be hired to give them something constructive to do.
It’s really a win-win for everybody.
I can’t wait to enjoy an ice cream cone from “Lakewoods Original Grampa Ray’s Ice Cream Shack”
Thank you,
Gamliel Getzel Gimpel G.
Eastgate
cedar bridge and Mlk a true embarrassment!!! what were they thinking??
Driving in the shoulder to pass a vehicle is against the law.. even to make a right turn. It was never a “dedicated lane to turn right on MLK”. Obviously the left turn labret is to get into 205 Cedarbridge Avenue, where I believe there’s a flower store and/ or a plumbing supply shop. If you want South side Sandwiches… good luck
Hope Chapel light at New Central is ridiculous. There should be a left only lane heading south.
This is absurd. They have been working on this intersection for months! I was SURE they were adding a right turning lane. This was done without any real thinking.