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Ridgewood defers South Pleasant bike-lane after residents raise parking and safety concerns
Summary
After multiple residents and parents warned that a proposed bike lane on South Pleasant Avenue could eliminate scarce parking near Hawes Elementary and introduce safety risks, the council removed the item from tonight’s agenda and said it will consult with NJDOT, police and engineers before revisiting the plan in December.
The Village of Ridgewood on Nov. 12 deferred action on a proposed bike lane for South Pleasant Avenue after parents and residents told the council the change would remove limited parking close to Hawes Elementary and could create safety hazards for school drop-offs.
Sean Sweeney, co‑president of the Hawes Elementary Home and School Association, said the lane, as proposed, risks being routinely blocked by parked cars and seasonal leaf piles and questioned how enforcement would work during school events. "A bike lane that is regularly blocked by vehicles or compromised by obstructions seems to counter the stated goal of improving safety," Sweeney said.
Several other residents who spoke during public comment, including Janet Phillips, urged the council to reconsider the plan and said neighborhood outreach was insufficient. Phillips said the proposal did not make clear whether parking would be allowed in the lane and warned that removing parking from South Pleasant would push cars into narrower nearby streets, creating visibility problems. She also said the project relied on a $270,000 DOT grant and asked what would happen to the funding if the lane were changed or removed.
Deputy Mayor Pam Perrin and other council members responded that the item was pulled from the meeting agenda so officials could speak with the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the police department and engineering staff. Perrin said the council will discuss the grant implications and public‑safety details at the ordinance working group and expects to return to the issue in December. "Right now, it is not moving forward until we have further discussion," she said.
The council did not vote on the bike-lane proposal tonight. Officials said a more thorough outreach process and an assessment of how the DOT grant would be affected are next steps before any formal action.
The deferral leaves open several questions residents raised: whether the lane would extend to the cemetery as originally proposed, whether Somerville Elementary pickups would be affected, and how enforcement would handle seasonal debris such as leaf piles. Council members said they will try to clarify those details before the next public discussion.
For now, the project remains paused while staff and council members evaluate grant constraints and enforcement plans and conduct further outreach with affected neighborhoods.
