Based on the concerted efforts of the Roselle Park Police Department (RPPD) and Roselle Park News, a stoplight on the north side of Walnut Street and Westfield Avenue that has been sitting on a pallet since late last year has finally been repaired and set back into the sidewalk.
On November 16, 2014, a one-car crash involving a DWI damaged the traffic light. The Roselle Park Police Department (RPPD), as per their protocol, immediately notified New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) since Westfield Avenue – also known as Route 28 – is a state highway. NJDOT responded with the temporary fully functional traffic signal that rested on a pallet which itself was not secured to anything.
RPPD reached out to NJDOT since January of this year. RPPD officials even spoke with signal technicians who were in the area and inquired about the traffic signal.
After being made aware of the situation during the June 12th Special Olympics Torch Run, Roselle Park News reached out to state Department Of Transportation on June 18th and contacted NJDOT Communications spokesperson Daniel Triana. Mr. Triana stated, “NJDOT’s contractor is scheduled to complete work on the traffic signal at Route 28/Westfield Avenue and Walnut Street in Roselle Park by the end of the month. The traffic signal’s foundation is damaged and needs to be replaced.”
He added that the timing and scope of work for the traffic signal installation was to be coordinated with a repaving project at the intersection to make sure there are no conflicts.
Yesterday, July 1st, the traffic signal was functioning permanently in its original condition before the November 16th accident last year.
Thanks go to officer James Cantrell, Captain Daniel McCaffrey, and all other involved officers at the Roselle Park Police Department for their persistence to get the issue resolved and a special thanks to Daniel Triana from NJDOT for his assisting in getting the matter handled within two weeks of being aware of the situation.
At present, the only remaining issue left is if NJ TRANSIT is the responsible party to put up the bus stop sign that was also damaged.
