W. Caldwell Resident Pushes for 4-Way Stop Signal

About 25 years ago, West Caldwell resident Elaine Lodato helped spearhead an effort to install a blinking light at the intersection of Ravine and Westover avenues.

Now she's seeing red.

Frustrated by the speed of traffic that flows down her popular cut-through street, the Ravine Avenue resident requested last week that the West Caldwell governing body consider making the Ravine-Westover intersection a four-way stop.

"These last few months, Ravine Avenue has really been getting on my case," Lodato told the governing body. "What got me very upset was Memorial Day. The police put 'no parking' signs along Ravine Avenue and for five or six hours, the rate of speed and volume was unbelievable. I thought I was living on Route 80."

Lodato reminded the governing body that it took two years and several petitions for the installation of the blinking light in 1986 at the intersection, which is partially located in West Caldwell and Caldwell.

The light blinks red to reinforce the stop signs for traffic on Westover Avenue that crosses Ravine, while the light blinks yellow as a caution for drivers to slow down as they approach the intersection on Ravine Avenue.

Lodato's concern has been heightened since the Borough of Caldwell's governing body recently approved a parking restriction on the westbound side of Ravine Avenue up to the Caldwell-West Caldwell line.

According to West Caldwell Mayor Joseph Tempesta, his governing body was not aware Caldwell was considering the ordinance until the night it was approved.

"As a matter of fact, we found out by accident because we happened to be at the meeting for the approval of the contract that we did with them for the [Kiwanis] Oval and we saw it on the agenda," Tempesta said. "It was the first we knew anything about it. It was never discussed with us."

According to West Caldwell Police Chief Michael Bramhall, the parking restriction could increase the speed of traffic on Ravine Avenue heading into town.

"To some degree, parking does force you to slow down since you have to navigate through parked cars," Bramhall said. "If the parked cars weren't there, you might have the tendency to go faster."

Bramhall said his department conducts periodic speed enforcement on Ravine Avenue and has placed a speed monitor there for the past week.

However, only three accidents were reported in 2009 and two so far this year on the West Caldwell portion of Ravine Avenue, Bramhall said.

"With the amount of traffic and the amount of volume Ravine gets as a major cut-through and thoroughfare alternative to Bloomfield Avenue, I don't think that's a lot of accidents," he said.

The most recent accident occurred last month when a driver struck a bicyclist at the corner of Ravine Avenue and Annin Road on June 18 at about 2:30 p.m.

According to Bramhall, Thomas Cafone, 20, of Fairfield, was given a summons for failure to stop and yield for the accident that hospitalized Michael Lutz, 39, of Hamburg, for several days.

Bramhall said while Cafone might have stopped at the corner of Ravine Avenue as he traveled north on Annin Road, he failed to yield as Lutz road his bicycle westbound on Ravine Avenue.

According to Bramhall, Lutz struck the passenger's side of Cafone's vehicle and witnesses said he flipped over the hood before falling to the ground. Bramhall said Lutz complained of having difficulty breathing and was treated for internal injuries at a hospital for several days.

It's accidents like these that have Lodato and others in her neighborhood concerned. But Tempesta said creating a four-way stop at Ravine and Westover avenues will be examined.

"It's gotten to a point where we're tired of it and I want something done," Lodato said. "I think a stop sign will be a step in the right direction."