Fence Proposed to Control Downtown Pedestrian Traffic

If you cross in the middle of the block on Millburn Avenue near the Millburn Deli and Curate, a fence could be blocking your path soon.

County officials and police are planning to install a snow fence between Main Street and Tinga in order to control pedestrian traffic. Officials are saying the move is because school is to open soon and pedestrian traffic downtown is expected to increase. It remains unclear when the fence could be installed, but officials say it would be before school opens next Tuesday.

County officials are overseeing a project to remove and replace the bridge on Millburn Avenue just east of Main Street. The sidewalk on the south side of the road has been closed during the first phase of the construction, and people are crossing to businesses on that side of the road in the middle of the block.

"We're going to have a huge pedestrian issue down there when school opens," said Daniel Baer, Township Committee member who has been a liaison on the bridge project. "It's not a great solution... But we need to protect those kids... We can't wait for something to happen."

Police have told county and township officials something needs to be done to control the pedestrians from crossing in the middle of the block, and county officials said the fence was the answer, Baer said.

The parking in the area of the construction just east of Main Street has been removed as part of the project. The fence would extend to where the no parking area ends.

John Buccholz, Downtown Millburn president, said people will probably still cross the road where the fence ends. But the fence cannot go further because of the on-street parking. "We would force people to walk in the street," he said. "We could lose more parking."

Township Administrator Tim Gordon said there had been some discussion about a temporary crosswalk in the area, but someone would have to take on the liability.

"What if someone gets hit?" he queried. "Who is liable?"

Business owners in the area have sent their complaints to township officials, which include issues over the color of the fence. The orange fence, they say, will make the downtown area look more like a construction zone. Their concern is people will not come downtown to shop. There's also a Facebook page for those opposing the fence.

Officials are working with the business owners in order to accommodate them as best they can during the construction. Buchholz said he understands the importance of safety and how there could be dozens of kids arbitrarily crossing the street. Now they're trying to get a meeting to discuss if there is a compromise and find a "gentle balance" between everyone's needs, he said. Baer said the fence color could change.

"We told people there would be some pain," he said. "If people have another idea (on how to control pedestrian traffic), I'm all ears."

Both Gordon and Baer were critical of the county in not providing a second police officer at the construction site.

"It's their project on their road," Gordon said. "They could put a county cop there, but they say they have no money... We don't have any money either."

Baer said it was a battle to get the one police officer stationed at the construction project. County officials denied the initial request for one police officer, he said, but he knows another one is needed.

"I don't think the door is closed on another officer down there," he said. "We have made the case it will be worse (once school opens)."

Gordon's preference would be for a county police officer to be stationed at the bridge project near the Millburn Deli. It would allow a Millburn police officer to be stationed at the Main Street intersection to direct traffic, he said.