Maple Ave. Dead End Could Be Approved Tuesday

The issue of cutting off traffic between Route 46 and Interstate 80 on Maple Avenue, in Pine Brook, has not yet reached a dead end.

In fact, the solution has not yet been agreed upon by Montville Township Committee members after a new, cheaper option for a landscaped, curbed island was presented to committee members at the Sept. 25 meeting.

The committee will revisit the issue during Tuesday night's committee meeting after discussion on the topic was tabled until more residents of the neighborhood had the opportunity to hear the discussion in person and voice their opinions.

The latest design plan was presented by Interim Township Engineer Mark Mantyla and the cost of the island is about $9,300. Before consideration of the island, the township committee considered several cul-de-sac options, the most recent estimated to cost about $76,067. The first two cul-de-sac options the township committee considered cost 

Residents Herb and Marie Eggers, whose property is directly affected by whichever option the township committee chooses, spoke against the dead end option at the Sept. 25 meeting.

"Now we're talking about saving substantial amounts of money just by dead-ending my street and ruining my property," Herb Eggers said.

But Sylvia Walits, another neighborhood resident who has urged the committee to consider closing off thru traffic in the neighborhood for years, was not in attendance. Walits said Monday she plans to attend this week's meeting and that she is in favor of the dead end.

"I just want it to be safe for the children, whether it be a cul-de-sac or dead end," she said.

Walits has told township committee members that cars often speed through the area. A traffic study was conducted in the neighborhood that initially found the majority of cars to be speeding, but results of the study were later determined to be inconclusive.

Walits said she feels the children should be able to play freely and it should be up to the adults to keep them safe.

"Kids are impulsive, they should be young, they shouldn't have to worry about these things," she said.

The township committee will meet publicly at 8 p.m. at the municipal building.