Ridge High School's Traffic Solution a District Priority

Bernards Board of Education begins discussing this school year's goals, including solving the high school traffic problem that hasn't gone away.

New Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian and other Board of Education members began ticking off a tentitive list of goals for the 2012-13 school year — and along with consideration of additional Advanced Placement courses and generating revenue for the district, the goal that's been front and center for almost nine months is dealing with Ridge High School's traffic problem. If school officials had any doubts, three homeowners who live along South Finley Avenue near the main entrance to the high school at 268 S. Finley Ave. showed up at Monday's meeting to protest the school district's current preferred solution. Markarian said the township's traffic consultant already has asked Somerset County to add a left-turn lane on South Finley that …

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Eileen W

2:27 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012

I used to agree, but am now less convinced. I don’t see why Ridge High Administration hasn’t measured “travel time” (how long it takes to drive through the campus from point of entry to either exit/parking); taken steps within its control (e.g., a limited “blackout” period, extending dropoff points to include the area in front of the gym and ensuring that dropoff consistently extends to the …   more ›

Letter: Consider Other Options for Handling Ridge Traffic

Neighbor of Ridge High School asks for possible access to high school from Community Center, or more consideration of better traffic management.

Editor's Note: The following letter was submitted by Eileen Walsh, one of the speakers at last week's Township Committee meeting on the subject of a suggested cut-through from the municipal complex and other proposals for improving traffic flow at Ridge High School. To the Editor: I am writing in connection with efforts currently underway by the Bernards Township Board of Education to address traffic problems at and around Ridge High and [an] article in last week’s Bernardsville News. Following its rerouting of buses through Homestead Village earlier this year, the BOE commissioned a traffic study by Dolan & Dean to examine traffic conditions on the campus itself and at the Lake Road/South Finley/Ridge High intersection.  The bottom line …

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POLL: Should Township Allow Cut-Through to Ridge High School?

Township officials and the Board of Education have debated whether the town should pave a cut-through from the municipal complex to Ridge High.

Bernards Township school administrators, given the green light by school board members, already are moving ahead with the simple plans to improve traffic flow at Ridge High School before school opens in September, including better lane striping, a change in the timing of the traffic signal and raised humps to discourage speeders. But for a more long-term solution to traffic tie-ups at the school each morning, it seems other steps may have to be other taken. Cost estimates and more detailed proposals presented by the school district's traffic consultant Gary Dean in a board meeting earlier this summer outlined a number of proposals that are being considered. One is the construction of a sidewalk across the township property and the paving …

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School Officials to Ask Town Again for Cut-Through to Ridge High

Township and school officials to meet this week to discuss idea of having Ridge-bound cars enter via municipal complex.

Bernards Township school administrators, with the approval of school board members, already are moving ahead with the simpler plans to improve traffic flow at Ridge High School before school opens next fall. However, the board still is waiting to find a more long-term solution to traffic tie-ups that clog the school entrance on weekday mornings. School officials expect to meet again with representatives from the township later this week, possibly Thursday, to discuss one option that the school district repeatedly has asked to be considered: paving a gravel driveway located behind the municipal building off Collyer Lane that leads to the rear of the high school. Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian on Monday said that the school officials …

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Ridge Traffic, Summer Project Update Expected

Bernards Board of Education is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Thursday.

An update on the progress of summer repair and maintenance projects at five of the township's six schools, and a report on options for improving traffic flow this upcoming year at Ridge High School are due to come up at a school board meeting at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The summer school project is one of the first items on the agenda for the meeting scheduled to be held the Board of Education Office at 101 Peachtree Road. School officials also will be discussing intended improvements for traffic flow at the high school that are proposed or definitely planned, including striping to outline lanes and speed humps in front of the high school entrance, school officials said. The subject will be discussed as part of the board's facilities committee…

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Moms Talk Q&A

Moms Talk: What's Your Thoughts on RHS Traffic Options?

School officials moving ahead with most simple ideas for relieving morning traffic at Ridge HS, but beyond that, there's less agreement.

Sitting in the audience the other night, it seemed a safe bet to say that most (although maybe not all) at the meeting would like to come up with a better idea for relieving morning traffic than rerouting buses carrying students to the back entrance of Ridge High School. That partial solution, in place since Feb. 1, has infuriated many Homestead Village residents as Ridge-bound buses and cars head along their streets toward the Cedar Hill Elementary School. Following a very comprehensive report by a traffic consultant, which was presented at Monday's board meeting, board members at least were able to throw support behind some relatively small — and cheaper — solutions that might have a relatively substantial impact on how smoothly traffic …

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Emily Benjamin

5:57 pm on Wednesday, July 4, 2012

I didn't know the health dept. building was historic. Does that mean it's an historic landmark? What's the story behind the building? My feeling in this case is that we need to make room for the future and solve today's problems (which are years old) now. If the solution requires eliminating one small building then I'm for it; that's called progress - giving up a bit of the past to embrace the …   more ›

BOE Taking First Steps To Reduce RHS Traffic

Board of Education and public hear detailed report on many options, to tackle simple steps first.

With the goal of taking initial steps toward providing at least some relief for longstanding traffic jams on mornings when Ridge High School is in session, the Board of Education on Monday agreed to implement a few simple options outlined in a professional traffic study, to include placing traffic stripes and speed-reducing humps in front of the building, as well as retiming the light at the entrance. Board members reached that consensus after hearing a report lasting about two hours, which outlined a wide range of options for improving traffic flow at the high school and roads leading to the entrance of the high school at Lake Road and South Finley Avenue. The report was presented by traffic consultant Gary Dean of Dolan & Dean, …

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Traffic Report Details Options For Handling Ridge Jam-ups

Alternatives for reducing weekday morning at entrance to Ridge High School presented to public.

The presentation of a traffic consultant's report on suggestions for better handling of morning traffic flow at Ridge High School is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, at a special Board of Education meeting to be held at the high school at 268 S. Finley Ave. The report already is online at the Board of Education website. The report from traffic consultant Gary Dean of Dolan & Dean, commissioned by the board in March for a fee of $10,700, specifies that the most cost effective method of reducing rush hour traffic at the high school is the continued bus dropoff at the Cedar Hill Elementary School, which began this past Feb. 1. But the study acknowledged the opposition from Homestead Village neighbors, and suggested several other options — …

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