WEST MILFORD – The Township Council wants to hear from residents living in the Crescent Park development to help it decide what to do about traffic on Union Valley Road and Camden Place.
Mayor Michele Dale and Township Council President Peter McGuinness are asking residents from that development to attend the April 3 council workshop meeting to discuss the problems with traffic signs on Union Valley Road.
According to township documents, residents in the area asked officials to address traffic signs and other issues on Union Valley Road, including the areas between Gould Road and Marshall Hill Road.
The Engineering Department inspected the signs along that stretch of road on Jan. 17 and found a total of 27 signs missing.
Those five “regulatory” and 22 “advisory” missing signs were then reported to police on Jan. 22, according to township documents.
The department also looked at accident data in the vicinity for the last 10 years and found a total of 27 accidents during that time, of which, nine were deemed to have been caused by wildlife or mechanical malfunction.
Of the remaining 18 crashes, about half involved a single vehicle going off the road.
The investigation reported that the number of crashes did not indicate that the service level of the road was poor, with less than 10,000 daily trips, but that complaints from residents’ have continued.
According to the documents, the causes include sight issues at the Camden Place intersection, which the township has previously prohibited left turns onto Union Valley Road.
As a result of the investigation, the engineering department recommends either dropping the speed limit on Union Valley Road to 35 m.p.h. in that area, or closing off Camden Place to through traffic.
According to the documents, closing Camden Place could be tried for a one-year period to see if it helps the traffic flow.
The documents state that there are two other access points to the Crescent Park development at Sussex Drive and Monmouth Avenue, which would mean no adverse impacts due to the road closing.
Before taking any action, however, council members and the mayor want to hear from residents in that development at the next meeting.
That meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the main meeting room at town hall on Union Valley Road April 3.