Should a Mayor address the increase of traffic in our town?

The Vermella Buildings in town are absolutely gorgeous! The landscaping is welcoming and the fountain they are working on is stunning! We are excited to welcome our new neighbors and get to know them!

With the completion of Vermella One and the high occupancy rates, Garwood Borough has seen a substantial increase in traffic and the amount of time to takes to get to local Garwood businesses and events, especially if you have to cross town under the train tracks.

As if this increase in traffic isn’t enough, within no time two new residential development projects in Westfield, one on South Ave and one on North Ave will house 100’s of new residents to the area and their cars. Garwood residents should expect an increase in the current traffic traveling through our tiny town.

Westfield and Cranford have thriving downtowns and Garwood is experiencing unintended consequences each day as surrounding neighbors drive through our town every day.

Soon Vermella Two will be complete and we will welcome more new residents and lots of additional cars creating even more traffic and eventually we will see even MORE increase in traffic as a result of the new development and MORE cars belonging to new residents at the paperboard site.

At the debate this past week, both candidates were asked how they planned on addressing the traffic issue.

Jen Blumenstock’s plan for addressing the traffic issue in Garwood is to focus on enforcement of traffic laws.

How will Blumenstock focus on the enforcement of traffic laws? Isn’t that the job of the Garwood Police Chief?

• Is Blumenstock planning on creating a volunteer police squad to focus on traffic enforcement?
• Don’t you need training and experience to be on the police force?

Chief Wright has plenty of experience in managing his department and he does a very good job at enforcing traffic laws.

The traffic issue is not a result of people not following the traffic laws. The traffic issue is a result of increased number of new residents using their cars like we do.

Question: Why wasn’t there a plan for how to deal with so many extra cars when Blumenstock and her council approved the final development plans of Vermella?

Question: Prior to the approval of the Vermella Project, the Mayor and council knew the intersection of South Ave and Center had an F rating from the state and yet they approved the Vermella Development project with no traffic plan in place.

Kim Salmon states that it will be imperative to work with a traffic engineer to look at traffic flow and make concrete changes such as certain streets being one way to help with the flow on certain streets and intersections.

Kim Salmon had been trying to raise awareness about the consequences of the additional cars in our town and the potential dangers to the safety of our residents prior to the Mayor and Town Council approving the Vermella Project.

When you consider which Mayor would be best qualified to address the traffic issue in Garwood, ask yourself, is this something the Mayor and town council should have addressed long ago?

It’s time for a CHANGE. Let’s vote in a Mayor and Town Council members who LISTEN to residents’ concerns and strive to work together for an inclusive Garwood. Vote Column A! Kim Salmon, Steve Napolitano, Brenda Caffrey November 8th!