Bernardsville Police Chief Suggests More School Crossing Guards

More school crossing guards may be needed to help Somerset Hills schools students at three busy intersections in Bernardsville.

Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine told the Borough Council on Monday that crossing guards may be needed some of the busiest intersections where many of the school district's students are crossing to reach the Bernardsville Middle School or Bedwell Elementary School.

Listed by priority, Valentine said crossing guards might be needed at three additional intersections: Anderson Hill and Sycamore Hill roads; Route 202 by the high school; and Anderson and Mine Mount roads.

Each crossing guard would cost the borough $15,000, the chief said.

Under state law, a municipality is responsible for pedestrian safety while a school district is responsible for busing in hazardous areas, if determined to be required.

Valentine said there should be a “mutual effort” between the borough and the Somerset Hills School District to discuss the situation and develop a solution.

“I want to see if the board of education will help,” Councilman Michael dePoortere added.

At the meeting, council members also discussed the growing lack of storage for the police department and the borough's office of emergency management.

DePoortere said there is a need to find a place to store police equipment and files because the current space is full.

The borough rents space at Access Self Storage at Old Quarry Road but, Valentine said the facility can not be accessed during a power failure because of way its security system is set up.

Valentine also said the police department is running out of space to store files.

Councilman Joseph Rossi said the borough should perform a cost analysis to see if a storage facility could be built across the railroad tracks by the municipal complex. He said that equipment for the office of emergency management is now stored in trailers parked at the Department of Public Works building.

Rossi said that a lot of the equipment should not be stored outside and be exposed to the elements.