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Tenafly officials agree in principle to speed tables on Leroy Street near Smith School
Summary
Brightview engineers and the police chief told the council prior measures (signs, enforcement) haven’t reduced speeding; staff recommended two speed tables by the school and council gave consensus to proceed with design and cost estimates pending final funding approval.
Tenafly officials signaled support on Feb. 24 for installing speed tables on Leroy Street after a Brightview engineering presentation concluded that signage, striping and enforcement had not produced lasting reductions in vehicle speeds.
"We still continue to have speeding," Brightview's engineer John said during the presentation, and the firm recommended speed tables to "improve the safety on Leroy Street" near Smith School. Police Chief Chamberlain — who said he has opposed speed humps for years because of emergency response concerns — said he supports the measure here given the data. "They are annoying, but they do work," the chief said, urging the council to weigh that trade-off in a school zone.
Council members pressed staff on alternatives and impacts: engineers said speed tables will be built to NJDOT-accepted designs and would include advance signage and striping, and the town's chief of police will pick two exact locations to bracket the crosswalk. Staff said the installations can be made removable if needed and emphasized they will not be the abrupt "tooth-extracting" humps some residents recall; "they're not gonna be the little things that that take your teeth out," the engineer said.
The council gave a consensus to move forward with design, signage, and an estimated cost to return for a formal funding decision. Staff will prepare the plan, show the required signage and striping, and return with estimated costs and a recommendation for final approval and appropriation.
Next steps: staff will finalize location recommendations with the police chief and return cost estimates and installation timing for a formal vote or appropriation.
