| Author | Message | ||
     ril Citizen Username: Ril Post Number: 171 Registered: 6-2001 |
South Orange has been stationing an officer in front of the train station during the evening rush. He is warning drivers about not dropping off/picking up there, and directing traffic, making it much easier for those who need to cross. He really chewed out a driver who had the temerity to honk at the pedestrians! | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2376 Registered: 9-2001 |
I remember when Mrosner responded to the on-line requests to put the officer at that location. Thanks to him, its been a big success. I wonder if we'll ever have someone like a Mrosner on the Maplewood All Stars again? Ahh, I remember when...  | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 255 Registered: 6-2001 |
"A permanent location will keep the officer safe, dry, warm, totally visible to the public, and able to observe almost the entire length of the village and the train station from one location. " Well I dunno about seeing the train station, but for year Dr. Dobrowski's store has (or had?) served as a"safe, dry, warm, totally visible to the public" spot. Ever see how many chalk sticks are in his umbrella stand? If he is still there, he shoudl be recognized for his committment to MAplewood Police. ---John | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2377 Registered: 9-2001 |
Check it out for yourself, I believe the location is the best one in town to place a permanent police shelter ... Extuscan, be nice.... Listen, are you for or against the suggestion? I’m afraid I don’t know anything about Dr. Dobrosky, but the traffic issues at Baker Street pale in comparison to those in front of Kings. IMO, the location in question, across from the movie theater, an officer will be able to see everything he/she needs to, including the train station parking lot. | ||
| Joan Citizen Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 2401 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hank: According to our Police Chief, there are NO Auxiliary Police Officers in the MPD. Thus, no Auxiliary Police Offer who would be able to stand a tour of duty directing traffic in front of the cross walk at Kings/Post Office during peak traffic periods. We need to address the problem of Police Auxiliary recruitment, including possible incentives to get people to join the auxiliary, before we can consider placing an auxiliary officer at that location. This is really the subject for a separate thread and I will start one as soon as I can get to it. On topic: Another, though far less popular, solution to the traffic on Maplewood Avenue problem would be to turn the Village portion of Maplewood Avenue into a pedestrian mall during peak traffic hours. No cars. No problem. We would still need to address the question of how we would get cars into parking lots that open only onto the middle of the car-free area and where customers could park but I'm sure those little details could get worked out.  | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 4500 Registered: 5-2001 |
Isn't there usually a police officer on foot patrol in the Village. I often notice an officer walking around the Village during the day. and I have seen him hand out tickets to drivers who do the U turn into a parking space thing. Possibly the solution is simply to have him move traffic along when someone is waiting for a parking space, although this may just be discourteous as opposed to illegal. | ||
| Redsox Citizen Username: Redsox Post Number: 403 Registered: 6-2002 |
on friday night around 7:45p.m., some yuppie scum cut in front of me from the wrong side of the road to get a diagonal parking spot(and had to do a K-turn to get into the spot).......mortgage, work, & kids saved this guy......oh, only if i was in my 20's w/out a care in the world....... | ||
| doublea Citizen Username: Doublea Post Number: 418 Registered: 3-2003 |
Maybe the officer could be dressed like a London bobby, to go with the quaintness of the Village. | ||
| jmfromsouthorange Citizen Username: Jmfromsorange Post Number: 45 Registered: 7-2003 |
i think the traffic cop by kings would be a great idea! not only could he/ she keep the drivers in line, he could also remind those crossing the street to use the crosswalk! | ||
| Joan Citizen Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 2404 Registered: 5-2001 |
Thank you to JKelly, Chief of the Maplewood Police Auxiliary for posting a correction to my above post. On another thread s/he states that the Maplewood Police Auxiliary still exists, though in much diminished numbers. Qualification requirements are included in his/her post along with a web address and a phone number for those seeking additional information. I never did get the hang of hyperlinking but you can find this information in the Police Auxiliary thread in Soapbox (its the second post). Thanks again to JKelly for the info. Please follow up with the Police Auxiliary if you have the time available and the desire to make a real contribution to our community. | ||
| DrFalomar Citizen Username: Drfalomar Post Number: 141 Registered: 7-2003 |
I drove around for 15 minutes yesterday with a baby in the car looking for parking in the village. The nearest space to the post office I could find was up near Ridgewood. Meanwhile crummy drivers in both SUVs and midsized cars are parking on the lines in the lots and parking far enough from driveways that no one else can park between two drives. And most people will cut you off, in my experience, to get a spot in front of you, thinking that you're unlikely to confront them. It occurred to me that so long as the Village lacks an amount of parking equal to the traffic, people will fight over spaces and treat any opportunity to get one as golden, damn those who are inconvenienced. | ||
| Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 1947 Registered: 1-2003  |
DrFalomar, yes, but I don't think it follows that we should work to increase the amount of parking. I think the amount is about right. At peak times, there should be an inconvenience. If there isn't, it means we have overspent our resources. And as others have pointed out, the inconvenience isn't usually great. It is a shame people take advantage of your good nature. Rude people do that. Maybe we can do something about that, and maybe we can't, but if you're suggesting increasing the parking (and I'm not sure you are), then I'll disagree. Tom Reingold the prissy-pants There is nothing | ||
| canismajor Citizen Username: Canismajor Post Number: 254 Registered: 7-2001 |
I propose to make Maplewood Ave. a one way street between Durand and Baker. If that stretch was a one way, at least there would be room for vehicles to safely drive around the miscreants and keep the flow of traffic moving. It works (most of the time, at least) on Dunnell in front of the train station. Selfish, inconsiderate drivers are an unfortunate fact of life in these parts, and a police presence isn't going to change this. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2378 Registered: 9-2001 |
Joan, lets not get to far ahead of ourselves. Setting the police shelter is first; having it manned by the police officer that works the village is second, and building up an Auxiliary Police force last. FWIW, I think a pedestrian mall during peak traffic hours would cause more problems then it would solve. Tom, I don’t think there should ever be a time that we need to be inconvenienced. Directing the flow of traffic will minimize the inconveniences, and increasing the amount of parking will maximize the conveniences for all concerned. Canismajor, a one-way street between Durand and Baker?  Unfortunately, all that would do is push more traffic into the residential zones, and slow the vehicles even more. The longer we make the turn around time, the less likely the drivers would be to move along. IMO, the only chance to improve the problem is to provide a better police presence. | ||
| Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 1949 Registered: 1-2003 |
Art, I'm not saying inconvenience is a goal. I was just trying to put it in perspective. Imagine the parking problems at places like the Livingston Mall during Christmas shopping. Easy to say, "they should build more parking" but would you really like it to stretch out more by 50%? Can we all afford that, too? How can we improve the parking capacity in Maplewood Village? I can't think of much other than eminent domain, and no one would suggest that. Well, maybe a multi-level parking garage, but that would cost, and how much inconvenience would it really spare? Sorry, let's not talk about parking here. Let's talk about efficient and polite traffic flow. Tom Reingold the prissy-pants There is nothing | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2379 Registered: 9-2001 |
Let's talk about efficient and polite traffic flow. Agreed... So, are you in favor of having a police shelter in front of the movie theater, and instructing a police officer to stay there to politely and efficiently direct the traffic flow? | ||
| Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 1952 Registered: 1-2003 |
Yes, Art, I've already said so. Tom Reingold the prissy-pants There is nothing | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2381 Registered: 9-2001 |
Great, you’re right, thanks Tom. I invite everyone interested in this issue, who is in favor of having a police presence in front of Kings, to be at tomorrow nights township committee meeting. Be there, or be square... At the Public Comment portion of the meeting, I will suggest that the committee consider this matter and request the police department to temporarily station an officer, at this location, at the times when the traffic is heaviest. If in a reasonable amount of time we can all see an improvement in the flow of traffic in town, then maybe we can consider placing a permanent shelter at that location. BTW, less we forget, thanks Mem for bring this important traffic issue to our attention... | ||
| CioBella Citizen Username: Ciobella Post Number: 22 Registered: 5-2003 |
I hate when people are so lazy and park right in the crosswalk and then they have the never to make an illegal turn too. Something should be done about this. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2390 Registered: 9-2001 |
"At the Public Comment portion of the meeting, I will suggest that the committee consider this matter and request the police department to temporarily station an officer, at this location, at the times when the traffic is heaviest." DONE! However, the caveat is, if I want immediate results, AND I DO... it was suggested last night that it’s up to me to approach the police, or just wait until next month and bring it up at a Village Alliance meeting. I have to admit I’m disappointed. However, I agree that the responsibility of public safety and keeping traffic moving belong to the police. The issue of cars parked in the road and backing up traffic in this area is nothing new to the village, and it was apparent last night that a few members on the committee recognized that the problem is real. It’s not clear why such a straightforward solution as directing the traffic at this location hasn’t been implemented before? My suggestion to have an officer present there during certain hours when traffic gets backed up is a reasonable solution to the problem. I don’t believe this requires a meeting of the village Alliance, the Transportation Committee, or the Township Committee to decide how to deal with this issue. IMHO, it doesn’t “Take A Village” … Therefore, today I'm off to see the Chief, and or the officer on patrol in the village to see how they feel about stopping drivers from parking in the road, and thus backing up the clear flow of traffic... If anyone else is still interested, I'll be happy to post the results? BTW, it helps when the township committee can see that others beside myself are interested in resolving this issue. Last night it looked like I was the only person in the whole town who cared about this problem? |
