The North Bergen concerned citizens Group roundly criticizes the town’s so called traffic study of Tonnelle Avenue, calling it a ”whitewash” intended to cover up the poor planning decisions of the town commissioners in permitting so much overdevelopment along  the main thoroughfare.

The study, posted on the town’s web site last week, is a “joke” said NBCCG co-chair Marissa Suarez.  “The study dismisses the concerns of the people who live in the area and who have to travel Tonnelle Avenue each day.”

The NBCCG said the town’s traffic study was deficient in several ways

1. It encompasses a study of just a one block area – 88^th to 89^th streets; when it is well known that traffic tie up and car accidents occur over a much larger stretch
    
2. The report attempts to undermine the serious economic impact of car accidents, calling them mere “fender benders”.
    
3. The report  excuses the traffic tie up and resulting accidents as no worse than any other major urban street.
    
4. The report offers no suggested changes that would improve traffic safety for the area.
    
5. The report was completed by the township police department which reports  directly to Mayor Sacco and the Commissioners, when  an independent, credible outside consultant should have been retained.  
    

“The report was obviously meant o quiet the public’s growing, legitimate  criticism of the town officials who continue to defend the poor decisions made by the town in allowing such intensive development along the avenue,” said  NBCCG co-chair Michael Krueutzer.  “It has very little validity.”

The NBCCG officials said the report trivializes many hundreds of reported car  accidents as  mere ‘fender benders’.  “I find the town’s remarks insensitive to people who have their cars damages and have to pay, hundreds, if not  thousands of dollars out of their own pocket  to make repairs to their cars,” said Suarez. “To them these accidents are not trivial.”

“The mayor and the town commissioners continue to defend the overly intensive use of the property by the developers of the strip malls along  Tonnelle Avenue. The parking space is inadequate and the traffic flow leads to a tremendous number of car crashes.

“These negative aspects to development are the result of inadequate review of the projects by the town planning and zoning boards and the mayor’s failure to put the town’s best interests ahead of the developers,” said Kreutzer.

Poor development decisions, says the NBCCG, aren’t limited to Tonnelle Avenue; they are present throughout the town.      

“Any economic benefits that the town officials want to claim from development are now outweighed by damage to people’s quality of life and safety, “ said Suarez.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxy67tyJDGE