You might want to investigate the process to get this on the planning commission's agenda and what the county/state requires to be shown to get the funding to the borough for a speed bump?

1) I took the liberty of attempting to send an email to Messrs. Parenti, Mitchell, Mahr and Szuch (the last because he actually was able to get something done about driveway widening) calling attention to the first set of postings. I did not receive an acknowledgment from anyone, although there is a problem with the Council email addresses on the fanwoodnj.org website (resent to what I thought to be the correct addresses after the first attempt bounced back). 2) Per the website calendar, the next Borough Council agenda meeting is June 6 and the next BC meeting is June 14. Certainly the point can be raised during the public portion of one or the other (I generally attend one or the other). 3) Planning Board Regular Meeting scheduled for
May 25 has been cancelled and next PB agenda meeting is scheduled for June 13. HOWEVER...(continued below...)

If you lived in a nearby unnamed town, you might propose to the borough government that your road be stopped cold in the middle with an earthen berm. It would inconvenience residents some, but entirely eliminate the speedway effect. Just make sure there's a pedestrian/bicycle path to get through the barrier, I bike on your street often, as a way to avoid traffic on South of course...

I'm a resident of the southeast section of La Grande Ave. where the speed limit is 25 mph as well and speeding is a big problem. We have many children that live in our neighborhood and I've personally witnessed vehicles speeding during all times of the day and have even heard what seems to be drag racing in the middle of the night.

It is my understanding that after conversations with town officials that a meeting will be announced for next week, I do not know the exact day, I do know it will probably be 7:30. I do believe flyers will be distributed on Shady Lane and I will also mention it to my immediate neighbors. I would encourage everyone who shares this concern to come out, because whatever decision is made will affect others. I really urge people to try and make the meeting. I will follow up with more details when I know them.
One thing I will add is that residents of Shady Lane should also practice what we preach by observing the 25mph ourselves. Summer is coming and our kids will be out playing, let's keep them safe.

Caleb raised an interesting issue. The fact is that Shady Lane was not always a through street. I believe that the development comprising the Scotch Plains side of Shady Lane was built in the late 50s or early 60s. Prior to that, the Fanwood part of Shady ended at a wooded area. If you drive down Shady from Martine Avenue you can see where the architectural style changes from small cape cods with garages under the living area (section 1) to slightly larger capes (section 2) to larger split level homes at the end. not until that final section went in was it a through street. I don't think you are going to get the town to close the street as access for emergency vehicles is always a concern. Why not speed bumps?

Shady Lane and several other streets in both communities, are and have been "short cuts" for several years. I am glad that Scott's main concern is pedestrian safety, but, I have two questions/points. If the residents are concerned about safety, a) would it not be wiser to simply put sidewalks on at least one side of the street?, b) remember that whatever calming devices are installed will have a greater impact on the residents of that street than on the non-residents and perhaps a third point c) non-residents will just find another street to use and thererfore, the problem will not really be solved, but simply moved to a different location.

I have read that many residents in neighboring communities that now have "speed bumps," although they have "solved" the problems, the residents have now asked to have them removed because they're noisy, annoying to those that live on the street and create challenges during snow removal.

No solution is perfect, the decision really rests in the hands of the residents as they will have to live with those decisions and the challenge may be to find the right balance. I wish you luck.

Please feel free to contact me at Tri-State Transportation Campaign. I am the NJ Advocate and I work on pedestrian safety among many other transportation, safety and smart growth related issues.
Janna Chernetz
janna@tstc.org

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I am also a resident of Scotch Plains!

I would think speed bumps would partial solve the problem , however I doubt this problem will be solved by politicians as they always sneak out the back door and ignor all problems and issues citizens have.

After south Martine Avenue was finished being repaved, I noticed that there are now signs restricting turns to and from Martine and Shady Lane during certain times. Is it making a difference?

A little. Although when I was out cutting my lawn(between 4-430) I saw a number of people making the illegal left. Traffic was backed up past my house, waiting for one minivan to turn left. I think eventually it will make a difference. Neighbors have been pretty dilligent keeping an eye out.

It's helping. It is a pleasure to leave my house (near Martine) and head up towards Hetfield at 7am without having someone whip around from Martine and tail me while I do the speed limit on my own street. I hope we can extend the hours.