A long-time Dogwood Avenue resident told the Egg Harbor Township Committee Tuesday that drivers, including school buses, frequently speed through the neighborhood and fail to stop at Alder Avenue, creating a recurring safety hazard near Greater Egg Harbor Regional schools. Police officials told the committee they have installed electronic speed signs on Blackman Road and are using remote data to guide enforcement.

“My name is Leslie Henry. I live at 304 Dogwood Avenue … I wanna get to my job at Greater Egg Harbor Regional safely every day,” Henry said during the public-comment period, describing multiple near‑misses and crashes and saying buses and motorists “speed through Alder Avenue.” She told the committee: “I can't be safe on Dogwood Avenue” and asked the township and police department to act before a serious injury occurs.

The police chief responded that the department would work with the complainant and the traffic engineer to evaluate options ahead of the school year. Chief remarks included an operational update for another corridor: since electronic speed signs were installed on Blackman Road (the signs went up on or about July 7), the traffic unit’s remote monitoring shows the average speed for measured vehicles dropped to about 36 mph, down from roughly 45 mph in 2021. The chief said the signs covered both directions and that the department recorded 121,465 vehicles on Blackman Road between July 7 and Aug. 12 (66,604 southbound and 54,861 northbound) and that the signs can help target enforcement times.

The chief framed the signs as a low-cost traffic-safety tool and said the data can be used to identify outlier high speeds, prioritize enforcement windows and justify purchasing additional signs for other corridors. “Those two signs up there, in my opinion … they're making a difference,” the chief said, adding the department can combine signage with enforcement and messaging to reduce crashes.

Committee members acknowledged frequent speeding complaints across the township and urged continued use of signs, enforcement and public education. The engineer and chief agreed to coordinate on potential measures at Alder and Dogwood, including targeted enforcement and additional signage during school start and dismissal hours.

The meeting record shows no formal committee vote on traffic changes during this session; the chief characterized next steps as department follow-up and coordination with engineering and school transportation. Residents seeking immediate relief were advised to report bus concerns to the school district and to the police department, as appropriate.