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Residents press council on speeding, stop-sign enforcement and aging water mains; council pledges follow-up
Summary
During public comment, residents urged enforcement of stop signs and speed control on neighborhood side streets and asked about assessment of the borough’s aging water distribution system. Council members and borough staff said studies and asset-management planning are underway and promised follow-up.
Several residents used the meeting’s public-participation periods to press the borough for action on local traffic safety and on the condition of Highland Park’s water-distribution infrastructure.
Alan Liebman, a North Seventh Avenue resident, described repeated stop-sign noncompliance on side streets and requested more targeted traffic enforcement. “Drivers treat stop signs as yields,” Liebman said, noting motorists routinely ignore stop signs and crosswalks on neighborhood streets used by schoolchildren and pedestrians. He said he had emailed Council member George in December and asked for a follow-up; Council member George agreed during the meeting to take the concern to the Public Safety Committee and to follow up with the police chief.
On water infrastructure, Eric Lietman (Harrison Avenue) asked where the borough stands in assessing the need to upgrade or replace its water-distribution system. Borough Administrator Sarah (surname not specified in the meeting record) said the borough has an asset-management plan and is coordinating with its operator, Middlesex Water Company, to prioritize replacements and to align work with street projects where feasible. “We have developed an asset management plan,” the administrator said, adding that the borough intends to present a capital plan related to water infrastructure needs.
A Zoom commenter, Karen Analek, raised a separate but related traffic-safety concern about a flashing stop sign at Cleveland and Madison avenues that is active 24/7 and shines into residents’ windows; city staff said they are discussing options with the school and police to put that signal on a timer.
Council members said traffic studies and Safe Routes to School planning are being used to identify engineering and enforcement responses, and they noted potential grant-funded bicycle lanes and crossing improvements could have the side benefit of calming traffic. No formal enforcement plan, schedule or dedicated funding was established during the meeting; staff and the Public Safety Committee said they will follow up with residents and present options at a future meeting.
