| Author |
Message |
    
Dave
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 9389
Registered: 4-1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 2:31 pm: | 
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Who planned this mess?
Here's a hint: Block roads off if they're under construction. I saw two cars almost get rammed by large construction vehicles. Yeesh. |
Soparents
Citizen
Username: Soparents
Post Number: 302
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 2:35 pm: |
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I saw one do that earlier too.... I thought they had to be associated with it as no-one in their right mind would be silly enough to do that..
Obviously I was wrong...
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mrosner
Citizen
Username: Mrosner
Post Number: 2757
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 4:20 pm: |
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This morning I received two complaints about Ridgweood road being closed to traffic. I am assuming you saw some cars that claimed they had to be on Ridgewood road (house, etc).
Everyone wants the streets repaved, till they actually have to deal with the aggravation of construction.
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Lizziecat
Citizen
Username: Lizziecat
Post Number: 1221
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 4:24 pm: |
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I had a hard time getting out of and back into my dead end street yesterday. Both times I ended up in a screaming match with the road gang and the cop.
The cop should have been directing traffic, but he just stood there doing nothing. When I asked him why he wasn't doing anything, he just shrugged. I thought it was illegal to block access to a dead end street. What if there had been an emergency--a fire or a need for an ambulance? Precious time would have been wasted before those goons decided to move their trucks out of the way.
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Josh Holtz
Citizen
Username: Jholtz
Post Number: 425
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 4:25 pm: |
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Mark: Road work/curbing is one thing - but I heard a rumor that the contractor hit a sewer line last year causing the duck pond to back up with sewage somehow. It also created unanticipated delays. Is there any validity to that rumor? |
mrosner
Citizen
Username: Mrosner
Post Number: 2758
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 4:33 pm: |
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Josh: I am not sure that is exactly what took place but there were unanticipated delays.
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Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 4986
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 6:19 pm: |
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What's even worse if you try to go up to Wyoming and come down the other end by West Orange they are working on THOSE roads TOO! It took forever to get around it all. |
Nancy - LibraryLady
Supporter
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 3424
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 6:49 pm: |
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It normally takes me 5 1/2 minutes to get to work in the morning. Today it took 4 extra cause of the road work. I think I can survive that inconvenience for a short while for the sake of a paved Ridgewood Road. |
Josh Holtz
Citizen
Username: Jholtz
Post Number: 426
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 7:12 pm: |
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Mark: Thanks. |
Shanabana
Citizen
Username: Shanabana
Post Number: 386
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 7:33 pm: |
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 kvetch \KVECH, adjective:
1. To complain habitually.
noun:
1. A complaint.
2. A habitual complainer
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Nancy - LibraryLady
Supporter
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 3426
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 7:56 pm: |
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Can you imagine the "kvetching" from the S/MOLers if the Village DIDN'T repave the roads in the Spring???????????? |
Former Cowgirl
Citizen
Username: Formercowgirl
Post Number: 66
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 8:53 pm: |
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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this post.
I was about to post something myself tonight if I hadn't seen this thread.
I have to travel that route at least twice a day, if not more. The worst time of day is rush hour in the morning when there are commuters AND parents driving their kids to South Mountain school or the Gregory school in West Orange.
Yes...we want better roads, but the policemen (when they are there) who are "directing" traffic are doing are horrible job. There is NO signage at all for detours. Yesterday, I was traveling south from West Orange on Ridgewood. I was allowed to make a right on Luddington, a left and then a left onto Melrose Pl and right onto Ridgewood. I tried the same route today (because there was NO SIGNAGE) and was forced to turn around at the bottom of Melrose!!!!!! Adding even more time (not to mention the danger of the K-turn on Melrose with all the detour traffic).
Why not use signage telling the traffic WHERE TO GO, rather than just putting up a road block telling us there is construction?
Also, as a pp said: this has clearly NOT been coordinated with West Orange because there have been days when I literally have done a zig zag up to Wyoming or Gregory and back down to Ridgewood or Valley due to construction in South Orange and utility work in West Orange. It's a JOKE. A bad bad joke.
Okay...now that I've vented, I do feel a little better.
This is not just kvetching. It's dangerous and stupid and it could be coordinated a lot better. |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 4990
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 10:00 pm: |
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Nancy
It took me more the 15 minutes to get from the Middle School to my house this morning. Usually it takes me maybe three! I wouldn't have cared so much if they had dang detour signs up and warned us not to try to go down Walker... |
FlyingSpaghettiMonst
Citizen
Username: Noodlyappendage
Post Number: 116
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 10:08 pm: |
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JTA, traffic was extra screwed up this morning cause of the bear hunt as well.
Walker..isn't that in West Orange? What do you want our Trustees to do about that? Complain on WOOL if you want them to take some action but why post here about there? And you expect coordination between S.O., W.O. and Essex County (Wyoming is a county road)? YGTBK! |
Dave
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 9395
Registered: 4-1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 11:10 pm: |
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Blocking off the road would have helped a lot. What I saw (walking the route) were guys in big machines flipping off cars (while almost backing into them) because the cars had innocently wandered onto them from up the hill. I would also like to note the roads didn't need repaving. There were no pits or holes in them whatsoever. Plenty of roads above Wyoming and in Newstead are in way more need of repaving, IMO.
I think this is a county debacle, btw. |
Ligeti Man Meat
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 656
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 6:56 am: |
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Signs are not something NJ road planners and public works personnel are trained to think about. It's just not a part of the culture out here. |
Former Cowgirl
Citizen
Username: Formercowgirl
Post Number: 67
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 7:14 am: |
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What does that mean? "Signs are not something NJ road planners, etc. are trained to think about."
Do you mean detour signs?
And, yes, I know it may be an extraordinarily high expectation (insert sarcasm here), but I do expect some coorindation between towns within the county. The fact of the matter is Wyoming and Gregory ARE the same road to travelers because they are highly traveled inter-town roads. As are Ridgewood/South Valley.
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thegoodsgt
Citizen
Username: Thegoodsgt
Post Number: 970
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 7:46 am: |
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I've always disliked detour signs...in any community. They never tell you where to go. You just have to hope you see subsequent signs that give further directions. |
Cali6buff
Citizen
Username: Cali6buff
Post Number: 22
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 8:43 am: |
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Classic damned if you do, damned if you don't. All we need is for someone to suggest an immediate stopping of the Ridgewood Road construstion so we can buy a sculpture, and the "kvetching" circle of insanity will be complete.
Shanabana: That was perfect. |
Nancy - LibraryLady
Supporter
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 3430
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 8:46 am: |
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Drove down this morning and Ridgewood by West Orange was open and repaved. It's not like these projects take months (unlike some OTHER projects!) |
Old and Gray
Citizen
Username: Pastmyprime
Post Number: 350
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 8:47 am: |
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By the time the people who can fix the situation are aware of it...they do the old, well its almost done...so deal with it attitude.
How come the state and most Counties can notify people of construction well in advance, and get traffic through.
I think the contractors try to save money on the overhead with poor or lack of using police officers, police cars, and signage in the Village.
Every other construction site I drive through elsewhere is clean, typically easy to understand to negotiate, and have police officers and police cars.
I drove down ridgwood and saw a police officer in a (obviously his or her own car)jeep with tinted windows...you wouldn't know he was a cop if you didn't see his orange vest through the front window. |
vermontgolfer
Supporter
Username: Vermontgolfer
Post Number: 431
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 9:10 am: |
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I can add to this with my morning experience today.
Do you think it would be to much to ask that they NOT be ripping up the road in front of the Middle School at exactly the hour all the students need to arrive at school?
Nah, I guess that would be asking to much!
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Ligeti Man Meat
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 657
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 9:32 am: |
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You have to accept that when it comes to driving and roads, NJ is a different world. The necessity of street signs, even readable ones (just drive down Ridgewood at night, one of many examples) is not something our urban planners give much thought to. "Why?" is the thinking. Some NJ roads and highways have 3 or 4 different names, yet it apparently never occurs to anyone in the "planning" department to alert drivers to this fact.
In the other 49 states (and most Third World countries), the "debacle" on Ridgewood would have been handled with adequate signage, and warnings in advance.
One time on Vauxhall, I saw a traffic notice written in ball point pen on an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of paper and scotch-taped to a sign.
The NJ driver also stands apart from the herd. Turn signaling, stopping at cross walks (and it's not just refusing to stop; NJ drivers often give pedestrians an icey glare when they attempt to cross), turning on lights when it's dark, actually parking next to the curb -- these, too, are things many NJ drivers think to themselves, "What for?"
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Former Cowgirl
Citizen
Username: Formercowgirl
Post Number: 68
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 12:26 pm: |
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LOL, Ligeti. I totally beleive that Vaux Hall incident. Vaux Hall, which doesn't even have it's own sign when traveling toward it on Valley Road from Maplewood. I don't send people to 78 that way from my house because they inevitably end up in Springfield because there's no visible sign for Vaux Hall until you've already crossed over it!!!
Thanks for the further explanation on the signage.
Ridgewood WAS better today (5/11) but I still a horrible time getting where I needed to go. Traveling on Wyoming and trying to get down to Ridgewood to a friend's house on a side street there, I had to try 3 different roads before I could get access to Ridgewood. 2 of the roads (I think Beech Spring and Highland) had "road closed" signs at the top (THANK YOU!!!!), but the next two did not, and still did not allow me access to Ridgewood. I think I finally could get down and through to Ridgewood at Melrose.
I'm thankful for the nice new roads and willing to deal with construction, but not idiocy and poor planning. |
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