West Orange Will Get Alisa Drive Traffic Light After Years Of Advocacy: BOE

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Are you one of the West Orange residents who have been asking for a traffic light at the intersection of Alisa Drive and Pleasant Valley Way? After years of advocacy, your hard work has paid off, school officials say.

The West Orange Board of Education released the following statement on Thursday:

“The Board of Education is pleased to announce that after several years of advocacy, including many meetings with the West Orange Pedestrian Safety Advisory Board and Essex County elected officials and a recent site visit with Essex County Freeholder Leonard M. Luciano, Board Member Laura Lab, Superintendent Jeff Rutzky and Principal Hayden Moore, we will have a traffic light at Alisa Drive.”

According to the BOE:

“Alisa Drive and Pleasant Valley Way is the sole access for literally hundreds of students and residents daily and for years the Board of Education and community members have been advocating for a safer intersection, particularly for the new student drivers attempting to exit the high school campus.”

The light is expected to be installed in the autumn of 2017 or early 2018, according to Public Works Director and County Engineer Sanjeev Varghese, a West Orange resident.

The West Orange BOE thanked Roz Moskowitz Bielski for her “passion and persistence in organizing the Pleasant Valley Civic Association and other community members to advocate for Pleasantdale and town-wide pedestrian safety.”

The BOE also thanked West Orange Municipal Engineer Lenny Lepore for presenting a resolution to the Township Council, who unanimously passed the resolution on May 23.

Both resolutions in support of a traffic light from the Board of Education and Township were presented to the Essex County Freeholders for their review, approval and execution, school administrators said.

"I am thrilled that we will have a traffic light at Alisa Drive and Pleasant Valley Way," said Superintendent Jeff Rutzky. "This is a very dangerous area and the traffic light will provide greater safety for our students, staff, parents and visitors. I am so appreciative to those who helped make this happen."

Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page here.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

File Photo: Shutterstock