TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Several Township Council members sounded the alarm about noise concerns Oct. 16 expressed by residents while they were out visiting local neighborhoods during election season.
At least three Township Council members urged the administrator to contact the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to find out if sound barriers might be added to help reduce ever-present traffic noise near certain neighborhoods adjoining the busy Garden State Parkway.
Council veep Steve Cascio said he spoke with residents on West Place, Fairfield Court and Carriage Court. He said Fairfield Court abuts the parkway, and two residents there had asked if either a sound barrier “or something more sturdy” could be put up to screen out parkway noises and address other safety issues.
Cascio requested administrator Mark DiCarlo reach out to the turnpike authority to see about possible sound barriers.
Council president Desserie Morgan said the noise concerns “extend much further” based upon conversations she’s had with residents. She said at Gardner Field on Ridgewood Boulevard North when kids are playing “you can’t hear anything” due to traffic noise. She said nearby homes cannot enjoy backyard barbecues due to the noise.
“You cannot hear anything with the noise that goes on there. We’ve been here talking about airplane noise. This is a constant flow of just noise, motorcycles, cars zooming by, radios, it is so loud,” she said.
Morgan noted there was a large stretch of property in Saddle River where sound barriers were put up that “made a significant difference in quality of life for those residents.”
Cascio said sound barriers were installed by a senior living facility, Washington Grand, that adjoins the parkway. “They have it there so I don’t understand why they can’t extend it down a little bit.”
Councilman Tom Sears said the Green Team applied for 45 Douglas firs to be put in on the parkway side of Gardner Field to help with screening and noise.
Morgan suggested a “solid barrier” between the parkway and nearby local properties, noting not having them created a “safety issue” for nearby property owners. Both said they did not want to talk about other concerns raised by residents due to sensitivity.
Councilwoman Daisy Velez said a couple years ago, residents on Kennedy Drive expressed similar noise concerns. Velez said she was told it was “very expensive” to install sound barriers and that the turnpike authority had stopped.
Morgan suggested State Sen. Holly Schepisi (Republican, 39th District) could secure funding for sound barriers, and Velez said she hoped to get “a better answer” from the authority on installing barriers. “We need some cooperation, something,” added Cascio.
Commuter lot update
DiCarlo said a pre-construction meeting on a proposed commuter parking lot and drainage improvement plan was scheduled in the upcoming week. On Oct. 2. Council approved a $469,500 bid for Matua & Son to complete the parking lot. The original lot was used for the footprint of the new $5.7 million Emergency Services Building complex. (See “Commuter lot gets green light,” Michael Olohan, Oct. 9, 2023, Pascack Press.)