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Residents press borough over county drainage work on Wyckoff Avenue, cite notice and safety worries
Summary
Residents said Bergen County's planned drainage work on Wyckoff Avenue (starting Aug. 24) was staged with insufficient notice and that heavy equipment placed on small residential streets risks pavement and utility damage, emergency-access problems and noise; borough officials said the county will post notices and police will coordinate traffic control.
Several residents urged the council to push Bergen County for clearer, earlier notifications and better staging plans after heavy equipment and materials appeared on nearby side streets ahead of a drainage project set to begin Aug. 24.
Tom Jager, who said he lives on Leacorp, said residents found heavy vehicles and stored materials on Lee Court without prior notice and that the borough must demand better communication: "They will be starting construction on the flood piping on Wyckoff Avenue, and it has an expected duration of 13 days…There have been no public meetings, and there has been no input from the community," he told the council. Jager and others described concerns about vehicle weight on residential pavement, noise from construction machinery before permitted start times, and contingency plans for emergency medical access.
Borough staff and council members said a pre-construction meeting with the contractor occurred, that the county will provide residents with letters and signage, and that police will be on site to direct traffic. "We will put information out…in our e-newsletter. We'll put it on our website," one council member said while acknowledging residents should have been notified earlier. The council agreed to press the county for direct communication and committed to follow-up with affected residents and the police department to clarify emergency-access procedures.
