TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Council approved parking restrictions on Wayne Place and White Birch Road — near Washington school — on Feb. 21.
Parking restrictions on a side street near the township’s major shopping plaza are set for a public hearing and Township Council vote on March 6.
Meanwhile, township administrator Mark DiCarlo revealed Feb. 21 that a proposal for public sidewalks along Wayne Place will be part of the 2023–2024 municipal budget proposal.
Sidewalks along the street, which is adjacent to Washington Elementary School, had been mentioned a couple times over past decades, said officials, but were never completed.
Previous efforts for sidewalks on Wayne Place were related to students’ and parents’ safety concerns during dropoff and pickup periods.
DiCarlo mentioned Wayne Place sidewalks may be included in this year’s budget following Wayne Place resident Matthew Dogali’s comments against sidewalks and his suggestion that parents dropping off and picking up children might better watch children traversing the street to improve safety and prevent accidents.
A resident since 1999, Dogali said that adding sidewalks to Wayne Place would “change the whole dynamics of the neighborhood; it’s like it’ll be ‘citified.’”
The council approved an ordinance to restrict parking along portions of Wayne Place and White Birch Road, which are both often congested with cars from parents parking to drop off or pick up children at a nearby elementary school.
At least a half-dozen residents with children in Washington Elementary School suggested that 450 Pascack Road, a 3.2-acre parcel sandwiched between Ridgewood Boulevard East and the school and Memorial Field, should be purchased to provide easier access to the school and possibly more parking.
Negotiations to purchase the 450 Pascack property have been discussed in closed sessions lately though the council has declined to vote on its purchase despite pressure from site neighbors and parents of elementary school children.
The potential purchase, advocated by Mayor Peter Calamari and questioned by Council President Desserie Morgan, remains uncertain. The Township placed a $430,000 bid for the property in summer 2021, under threat of condemnation, but has not filed yet for condemnation.
Ordinance 23-02, approved 4-0 by council Feb. 21, provides parking restrictions on Wayne Place and White Birch Road. For the entire length of Wayne Place west side, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., no stopping or standing is allowed, states the ordinance, except for Saturdays, Sundays and school holidays.
On the east side of Wayne Place, no stopping or standing is allowed from the south edge of 737 Wayne Place’s driveway to the School Street intersection, approximately 125 feet.
On the north side of White Birch Road, no stopping or standing is allowed from the School Street intersection approximately 650 feet north to the southern property line of 752 White Birch Road.
Also, Ordinance 23-03 was introduced to restrict parking on Finnerty Place, a side street adjacent to the Washington Town Center shopping plaza. The restrictions were long advocated by JulieAnn Lipnick, a Finnerty Place resident. The ordinance places no parking and no standing restrictions on the entire length of the south side of FInnerty Place at all times.
Previously, Lipnick had complained about landscapers parking vehicles on the street, going to stores at the mall, returning to vehicles parked on the shady street, and often lingering and littering in the area.
The township’s main shopping plaza has 36 stores and 475 parking spaces over a 14-acre tract, according to LoopNet, an online commercial real estate marketplace. It was built in 1959. The parking lot area is not shaded.
School dropoff concerns
Over recent council meetings, neighbors had complained about traffic congestion and student safety during dropoff and pickup times at George Washington Elementary School. On Feb. 21, resident Mike Proto said that police chief Richard Skinner recently noted ongoing public safety concerns during dropoff and pickup times.
He said acquiring the property at 450 Pascack Road might make joining two parking lots and traffic movement around the school easier.
Resident Ellen Dogali said there should be no parking on the street during school time. She said the township and Westwood Regional School District should consider options for making school children dropoff and pickup easier and safer.
Councilwoman Daisy Velez noted that parents must fill out a form if they plan to pick up younger children, such as kindergartners, at the door or whether they can be released on their own at pickup time. She said teachers cannot meet the kindergartners outside the school and parents must park and walk their children to the school.
Morgan said she hoped the school board “might be open to and amenable” to suggestions to improve traffic flow related to dropoff and pickup times.
Robinwood Road resident Toni Plantimura said sidewalks were proposed along Wayne Place in the 1990s and were not installed.
She said she was aware of an accident on Wayne Place, where a car ran over a student’s foot, when she attended the school in 1959. Later in the 1990s, a similar accident occurred, she said.
Plantimura said it is “a disaster over there” noting mothers often speed and double-park and she said that “nothing’s been done…nothing is going to change there, it should,” she added.
Other council news
The council also awarded a contract for 2023 grant writing services to GLD Associates, Warren. David Biunno, GLD Associates senior grants consultant, has attended recent meetings to discuss possible grants, including the $439,000 county Open Space grant and possible grant funding for 450 Pascack Road’s acquisition.
Resolutions were passed to approve certification lists for department members in the volunteer fire department and volunteer ambulance corps to qualify for the 2022 Length of Service Awards Program. LOSAP is a deferred pension system for volunteers paid for by each municipality.
According to the Department of Community Affairs website, “On Jan. 18, 1998, the Emergency Services Volunteer Length of Service Award Program was signed into law. This program is more commonly known by the acronym “LOSAP.” The statute defines a LOSAP as “a system established to provide tax-deferred income benefits to active volunteer members of an emergency service organization.”