Scotch Plains should strongly consider adopting a "Complete Streets" policy to make our community safer for all.

Congratulations to David Sherman for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout... well done sir!

The really silly thing about speeding on these local streets is that it doesn't even get you where you are going any faster. It just gets you to the next stop faster, wears out your brakes, and hurts your gas mileage (and also obviously increases your chances of getting into an accident).

The road is a major passage between Rahway, Terrill, and Martine ave. No children are playing on the road and the limited sight intersections are becuase of trees and bushes that are on property the town can hire a crew to trim or remove. Further if you know the area it would be better to acutally fix the sidewalks that are mostly impassable for people who would walk on them instead of reducing the speed limit. It's just going to make the town some more money via tickets. I did not see any detail in the traffic survey related to accidents directly or partially attributed to the 35mph current limit. Even at 25 people will go 35 just like on westfield rd.

Unfortunately, until the speeding issue is realized first-hand....i.e. an accident, nothing will change. 10 miles per hour can make the difference between life and death. Nearly 60 percent of pedestrian fatalities from 2000 to 2009 occurred on roads with speed limits of 40 mph or greater. Pedestrians have only a 15 percent chance of surviving a collision with a car traveling 40 mph. This is alarming as the average speed on Cooper Rd was found to be 41mh. How many other streets in Scotch Plains bearing a 35mph limit have such high average speeds. Cooper Rd is not exactly an inviting speedway as it is narrow and plagued by wear and tear. Fitting streets for all intended users is the best thing a municipality can do. Sidewalks, curbs, bike lanes, etc can all lead better pedestrian safety as well as increased property values as it make real estate more attractive. Roads were meant to be used by pedestrian and cyclists....not just cars.

Residents should be able to get to schools, transit, parks and places or worship safely.

I encourage council members, the mayor and residents to seek the implimentation of a Complete Streets policy.

At the very least, I urge the mayor, council members and town engineers to explore the positive impacts Complete Streets can have in Scotch Plains.

You're correct John, the road is in a wooded area thereby reducing sight lines. As I assume most people. myself included, enjoy the feel of the more rural aspect of keeping the road this way there won't be any changes to the trees and shrubs that obstruct views.
You are also correct that this will only lead to increased revenue for the town. Why lower the speed limit? Is there an inordinate amount of accidents occuring on Cooper? Did we run one of the towns famous studies to investigate this? Isn't it odd how Cooper Rd speed limit gets reduced so quickly yet roads like Shady Lane waits for something to be done for not years but decades. How about Hetfield Ave? Kids are on that street daily and it's like the Indianaplois 500 there with speeders. Guess you have to be among the richest in town to get action.

It is my understanding that the proposed idea for Shady Lane is a "no thru traffic during certain hours" which, in my opinion, does not "fix" the problem people were talking about. It only causes more problems on neighboring streets. Plus, I think the Shady Lane report of "1800" cars a day, if I am correct in my recollection, seems to be way too high.

Sounds like there needs to be a general look at safety on an all Scotch Plains roads. No one road should be more important than another. No one resident's safety is more important than another's.

The roads have not kept up with development. We have way more people in our towns than the roads are designed to handle. Not to mention, the roads are not designed to accomodate all users.

Reducing speed limits does not require changes to infrastructure, and are thus not cost prohibitive other than to manufacture different speed limit signs. Thus, that may be one reason this change to a Scotch Plains road occurred faster than addressing Shady Lane.

Sounds like many of our roads should be placed in a "road diet."

Agreed, I'm a 30 year resident and live near Shady. It already had time limitations in the past and that plan was scrapped then. Why revive a failed plan? I travel Hetfield daily as well. It is out of control with speeders but nothing is done.

Good question. When the original Shady Lane issue was posted, I thought the issue was speed. Then I read the patch update and the focus seems to switch from "speed" to "traffic" with no explanation. Those are two entirely different problems.

I see nothing wrong with lowering a speed limit on a residential road. Watch your speed, and you don't have to worry about a ticket. The road is less than 5 miles long. Lowering the speed limit by 10 miles and hour in hopes of making the road safer for everyone seems like a small sacrifice to make for safety.

If there are other streets that need attention, I say, rally the troops and bring it to the attention of town council, that's why they are elected.

bgporter: Have you formally requested a copy of the study? Just a point of clarification, are you speaking of the Shady Lane study or the Cooper Rd study?

I'd like to hear which engineer signed off on the speed limit change. A proper traffic study is the right starting point to set a speed limit, but a speed limit is supposed to be set as close as possible to the 85th percentile speed, which is the speed 85 percent of drivers travel at or under, on that road. The only reason an engineer should certify a lower speed limit than that is if there are characteristics not reasonably addressed that are producing an unacceptable level of accidents. That is not the case on Cooper. If there are site distance issues created by trees, the town should consider removing those trees. Changing the number on a speed limit sign is not going to change the driving behavior. Road design, not signs, are what lead drivers, most of whom are reasonable individuals, to drive at a particular speed. You'll always have the exception where a careless driver will drive at an unreasonable speed. Don't punish the masses for the sins of the few. It doesn't work.