FANWOOD — The borough council on Monday approved two traffic ordinances designed to improve safety on Martine Avenue and Tillotson Road.
One ordinance will establish “Don’t Block the Box” intersections along Martine Avenue to improve access to the roadway for emergency vehicles and other vehicles. Besides the existing box at the intersection of northbound Martine Avenue and Paterson Road, new ones will be established at the exit driveway from borough hall onto southbound Martine Avenue for police vehicles and in both directions at the intersection of Martine Avenue and Watson Road, primarily for rescue squad and fire department vehicles.
The second ordinance will prohibit parking on both sides of Tillotson Road on school days between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. This is being done to alleviate congestion near Brunner Elementary School when parents are picking up and dropping off their children. Parked cars also make it difficult for homeowners on Tillotson Road to safely enter and exit their driveways.
The council also introduced an ordinance revising the borough’s disorderly- conduct code to include a provision prohibiting the discharge of firearms in Fanwood. Lt. Dan Kranz told the governing body earlier this month that last July 4, a resident discharged his firearm outside his home, with the bullet going into a neighbor’s house. When local charges against the individual were approved, the police department was told it was not a crime under state statute, and it was recommended that the borough enact an ordinance specifically making it a prosecutable offense. Lt. Kranz said that “it kind of blew my mind” that Fanwood could not charge the resident last summer. The proposed ordinance, which will be voted on next month, also spells out that hunting in the Fanwood Nature Center would not be permitted.
Beech Street resident Michael Lewis asked if the ordinance would impinge on right-to-carry laws, but Mayor Colleen Mahr said the ordinance’s “focus is on the illegal discharge” of firearms.
Another ordinance was introduced this week codifying in local code some of the rules and regulations at the Nature Center off Cray Terrace, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year. Borough Administrator Jesse Moehlman said the ordinance will formally codify the existing signs at the center; if the ordinance is approved next month, new signs for the center will be procured, he said.
At the beginning of the meeting, the council issued various proclamations designating May 6 to 12 as National Nurses Week, May as Mental HealthAwareness Month, the week of May 19 to 25 as National Emergency Medical Services Week and May as National Historic Preservation Month and National Jewish American Heritage Month. Officers from the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Club spoke about the club’s “Stigma-Free Community” campaign to raise awareness of mental-health issues. The week of May 12 to 18 was declared as Police Week and May 15 was declared as Peace Officers Memorial Day. Lt. Kranz also described the commendations being given to a number of his officers for exemplary service over the past year.
