Parents Protest Proposed Traffic Changes Around Ridge Elementary

The proposed ordinance to prohibit left turns into Ridge Elementary School on West Ridgewood Avenue is an unpopular one, a parent told the Ridgewood Village Council last week.

"Almost everyone I've spoken to at Ridge is opposed to it, including the principal, all for different reasons," Madison Place resident Jane Remis said last Wednesday night.

The Ridge safety committee member told the council that the underlying issues at Ridge are two-fold –– the line that stretches along the west side of the street is "a mess," while other parents illegally drop off their children near the crosswalk on the opposite side of the street, near Maltbie.

The width of the street in the section near Malbtie only accommodates for one vehicle, causing traffic backups and impeded views of the crosswalk.

"If you're making more people line up coming west bound you're going to have more than a mess than we already have," Remis said.

"Several people have told me if I can't make a left into Ridge anymore, I'm going to drop my kids off near the crossing guard though that's not allowed," she added.

Ridgewood police and engineering officials have said the current traffic conditions represent a safety hazard. They've proposed the left turn be prohibited during school hours

Remis requested that the ordinance introduction be delayed until "a more permanent solution" was found, but it was introduced Wednesday with a public hearing and vote scheduled for May 8.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn said the ordinance could be approved as is, modified or even voted down. Two work sessions are scheduled before the vote.

"We do want to get this right and we've been getting a lot of input from folks," he said.