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Resident urges action after near‑misses; township engineer and police recommend enforcement, not immediate lower speed limit
Summary
A Franklin Park resident told the council two recent collisions and urged lowering posted speeds and adding a blinking crosswalk; the township engineering report noted private-road constraints and recommended enforcement and possible further study rather than an immediate statutory speed‑limit reduction.
A Franklin Park resident asked Franklin Township’s council on March 24 to address “increasingly dangerous traffic conditions” at Beekman Road and nearby private streets, saying recent crashes and infrastructure damage make immediate safety measures necessary.
“Reducing the posted speed limit from 35 to 25 would be an important first step,” the resident said, urging installation of a blinking mid‑block crosswalk and offering signatures and police reports.
Town staff responded that a speed study was completed and that some of the requested crossings involve private roads and homeowners’ associations. Township engineer Darren Massey said initial review did not show pedestrian volumes that would warrant a flashing beacon at Chelsea Court and Lindsay Court and noted that the mid‑block location is technically an HOA responsibility when two legal “right‑of‑ways” do not intersect.
On data, staff summarized a one‑week speed study: the average speed recorded was 32 mph; the 90th‑percentile (high percentile) speed observed reached 46.9 mph and the 85th/80th percentile was near 39 mph. “While I understand the gentleman’s concerns about lowering the speed limit, the recommendation was made from the engineering department to the police department that the appropriate action would be increased enforcement for speed on the street,” an official told the council.
The police traffic division said it has performed 43 traffic‑law enforcement actions in the study area this year and that, over the prior five years, there were about 8–14 crashes in the area with only one identified as speed‑related. Staff explained that statutory speed categories in New Jersey depend on property frontage and roadway classification: a 25‑mph statutory residential zone requires defined residential frontage; suburban residential streets often carry a 35‑mph statutory limit.
Resident concerns included sidewalk and crosswalk markings, damaged street signs and a wiring box; the engineer noted existing handicap ramps need upgrading for current accessibility standards if a mid‑block crossing were to be installed. The engineer and police said enforcement will continue and that a second speed survey often follows enforcement to measure impact.
Next steps: staff said the recommended initial action is stepped‑up police enforcement and, if enforcement changes driver behavior, a follow‑up speed survey will be done before any statutory speed‑limit change is pursued. For private‑road crosswalk requests, staff noted the HOA’s role and described upgrades that would be required (ADA ramps, signage, and potential municipal ordinance for mid‑block crosswalks).
