A township traffic light that had been adjusted to address safety concerns has been changed back, pending a study of the area, following delays at the intersection.
Township manager Barry Lewis said that the change was made after hearing from residents, who were concerned about the frequency of accidents at the intersection ofNorth Livingston Avenue and McClellan Avenue.
During a Township Council meeting on July 10, Mayor Michael Vieira noted that the intersection had been the site of more than 40 accidents over the past four years, including seven so far in 2023.
“Mayor Vieira conveyed those concerns to Essex County, as Livingston Avenue is a county-owned roadway and Essex County owns, maintains, and controls the traffic signal at this intersection,” Lewis said. “In response, as reported by the Mayor at the July 10 Council meeting, the county engineers and traffic experts, after reviewing the history and current conditions, advised that they would be adjusting the signal timing and cycling to hopefully improve the current conditions.”
However, after the change was implemented, it was “quickly found to have unintended consequences of causing inordinate delays and long queues of traffic at the intersection.”
As a result, the traffic pattern was returned to its previous schedule, pending further study of the area.
“After only a few days, the county restored the original timing cycle of the traffic signal and continues to review other options to address the safety concerns while maintaining orderly traffic flow,” Lewis said.
