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Hawthorne police report drop in overweight truck traffic; council hears updates on road and utility projects
Summary
Police described targeted enforcement on Fairview Avenue since last year’s fatal crash and reported a noticeable reduction in overweight-truck traffic; the council also received engineering and administrator updates on local-aid paving, a completed galvanised service-line removal project, and an in-house water-main repair.
Council and public-safety officials updated the borough on truck enforcement, policing activity and ongoing infrastructure work at the June meeting.
Captain Joe Carr (police) reported that, following a fatal vehicle crash on Fairview Avenue last year, the department has implemented additional traffic-control measures and stepped-up enforcement focused on commercial and overweight trucks. The enforcement details resulted in summons and warnings and — the department said — a “noticeable reduction in the frequency of overweight trucks utilizing the area.”
Public-safety committee figures cited at the meeting showed 3,700 summons issued and 208 arrests from Jan. 1 through the end of May; the police chief noted the department answered 17,367 calls in that same period. Council members described ongoing coordination with neighboring police agencies and said enforcement efforts included 29 dedicated enforcement details in April and 33 in May targeted at the corridor.
On infrastructure, the borough engineer reported local-aid paving along Westervelt is scheduled to begin after school ends and that a gas main discovered beneath a guardrail required coordination with the utility. The galvanized service-line removal project (phase 4) was reported complete aside from some final driveway and sidewalk restoration; the borough administrator described a significant in-house water-main repair at Florence and Second Avenue completed by DPW without emergency contractor costs.
Residents raised safety and nuisance concerns related to commercial traffic and recent roadwork. Council members also discussed downtown tree plantings that are encroaching on wiring and steps the borough is taking with the contractor to correct poor maintenance practices.
Next steps: police said they will continue targeted enforcement, the engineering department will schedule paving with contractors, and administration will continue follow-up on contractor performance and tree plantings.
