JACKSON – Speeding, particularly around residential areas near school bus stops, has been the subject of concern by residents for years now and while more focus has been put to the issue, residents are still frustrated about the problem.
Police Chief Matthew Kunz and Public Safety Director Joseph Candido have both been hearing from residents about areas of the township that are particularly plagued by speeders.
Resident Maria Murdaco shared some of her e-mail correspondence between herself and Candido on social media encouraging other Jackson residents to send emails to try and get the speed limit in problem areas of the township to be enforced or lowered.
Brewers Bridge Road is one street that she said has a problem. “This is a residential area and we have cars, school buses, and trucks speeding on this road all hours of the day and night. As the building continues, the traffic will get heavier and the road will become more and more dangerous,” Murdaco noted in one of several emails sent to Candido.
She added, “it’s getting to the point where just trying to turn into my driveway is an accident waiting to happen. How many more people need to be injured or killed before you, Jackson Police Department and our governing body does anything to make the roads safe for the citizens of Jackson?”
Candido responded explaining that he would forward this on to the police department’s traffic and patrol division to increase enforcement as call volume permits.
He noted that as far as changing the speed limit, “this has to go through the Department of Transportation once a study is done and numerous other requirements are met. The speed limit was lowered some time ago to reflect the roadway. I will ask the Traffic Division what is involved to see if a reduction in the speed limit is warranted.”
During a recent township council meeting, resident Cliff Talmidge of Bartley Road brought up his concerns about the problem in his area stating he had visited the mayor’s office and spoke with the police chief several times.
“We have a serious problem going on along Bartley Road with traffic situations and concerning public school busing. Numerous times these people aren’t stopping for the buses. They are passing them illegally on a double line and one almost nailed a bus this week that my grandson was on,” he added.
He said the chief has had additional police patrols out to the area resulting in “hundreds of tickets being written on my street alone. This problem is continuing and getting worse. They are not obeying traffic laws.”
Councilman Giuseppe Palmeri said that children were exiting off busses from the street side. “It is an ordinance we passed.”
Council President Jennifer Kuhn corrected him interjecting, “no we didn’t.”
“We voted on it once,” the councilman added.
“No, we have not. We were discussing creating an ordinance that children would no longer (have to cross major roads to get to a bus),” she added.
“That is still happening on my street,” the resident said.
“That was something proposed from Traffic Safety. All departments have to be involved with this and LSDA which is the Lakewood School buses, the Jackson school buses. We have to come to a meeting and are looking to enforce it next year,” the council president explained. There are a lot of rules that have to be followed to change this law and the town wants to do it right before bringing it back to vote.
“That would be a good idea especially on my street,” the resident noted.
“Your road would have to be an add on because (that street is not currently on the planned list of roads),” Kuhn added.
Council Vice President Mordechai Burnstein asked the resident “you said the cops came out and there were hundreds of tickets given. I assume all the buses should have video cameras. Has the PD reached out to the Board of Education with those videos?”
The resident replied that he had reached out to those who head the bus companies that service his street “and the Board of Education and I have hit a brick wall. They are not doing it.”
He added, “the bus driver who picks up my grandson went 25 yards on Scarlet Road and goes down a cul-de-sac and in the process of her making that turn a car came flying down the hill and at the rate of speed that he was going if the bus driver didn’t stop her turn and catch him at that time, I’m not an expert but in my personal opinion if he had nailed that bus people would have gotten killed and that bus would have been upside down. That is how serious this is.”
Burnstein suggested that a follow up be done with the police department as to why “we aren’t getting the video footage so we can get this enforced. It is state law.”
The resident said the time factor was early in the morning and that his grandson is generally picked up between 8:30-8:35. “In that time period there is at least five buses within spitting distance of my driveway that are picking up children.”
Kuhn said the information about this would be sent to the proper police officers and the school superintendent and requested the resident provide a photo of the bus.
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