Engineer: Traffic Light, Left-Turn Lane Safest Bet For Planned Church

A traffic engineer laid out his vision for a traffic light at the entrance to a proposed church on West Midland Avenue at the Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting Thursday night.

The plans to build a cathedral, classroom and assembly hall at 55 West Midland Ave., formerly home to the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, and establish a new headquarters for the Church's Eastern Archdiocese. 

The church also hopes to add a traffic light at the entrance to the church and the eastern entrance of the . Traffic engineer Judd Rocciola said he met with Borough Engineer Peter Ten Kate and Sgt. Vincent Pepe of the traffic bureau to review his plans for the traffic light.

Rocciola said a traffic light, in conjunction with a left-turn lane approaching the church from the west on Midland Avenue, would be the safest option for entering and exiting the church. He also proposed a left-turn lane for the western entrance to the Church of the Annunciation parking lot.

The driveways leading out of each church at the proposed traffic light would each get their own green time, limited to a few seconds, which would be controlled by a camera that changes the signal when it detects cars in either church driveway, Rocciola said. Cars on Midland Avenue would have the green light when the driveways are empty.

During busy times, like holidays, the Paramus Police Department could override the light to direct traffic manually. Rocciola said this would be better than having a traffic officer direct traffic in the middle of the street.

"Very efficient, and it's much safer for the police officer," he said.

Board engineer Elliot Sachs addressed concerns over how the church traffic light would work with a planned set of traffic lights at the intersections of West Midland Avenue and Country Club, Pepperidge and Abbot roads. Those lights are meant to alleviate congestion caused by .

Sachs said he didn't think the peak hours of operation of the churches and the college would coincide. However, he asked that if the church is approved, the Borough engineer and the Police Department would have a 2-year review period to refine how each set of traffic signals operates.

If the Board approves the church plans, the Syriac Church has to get approval from the Mayor and Council for the proposed traffic light.

The Board also heard from planner Richard M. Preiss, who addressed one of the major resident complaints about the proposed cathedral: its height, which is 47 feet at its proposed dome. Preiss said the existing building on the property, which is more than 70 feet high, would obscure the dome for residents to the east of the cathedral, while vegetation would help hide the cathedral to the west.

Residents living near the proposed church will get the chance to comment on the plan at the next hearing for the Syriac Church, which is Jan. 12, 2012 in . Steve Sullivan, Board Chairman, said the Board will likely vote on the application at that meeting.