Garfield Place would run one way west from Grant Place to the rear of the former Rassas auto dealer’s lot, located at the southeast corner of Garfield and Broad Street. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposal to make a Red Bank street that runs past the proposed Walgreen’s site into a one-way got a positive reception at the borough council Wednesday night.
Backed by a petition that was said to have “100-percent support” from homeowners along the affected streets, the pitch called for Garfield Place to become a one-way heading west from Grant Place until it meets the edge of the former Rassas auto lot, where Walgreen’s has proposed building a 14,2000-square-foot pharmacy.
From there to Broad Street, Garfield would remain a two-way.
The proposal is not expected to conflict with Walgreen’s plans, as representatives have previously agreed to prohibit right turns out of the property onto Garfield, if the company’s development is approved.
Christie O’Brien, of Garfield Place, asked the council to consider implementing the one-way plan “regardless of what happens” with the Walgreen’s plan, which is now pending before the planning board, with a third hearing scheduled for November 18.
She said the neighborhood is increasingly being used as a cut-through by motorists frustrated by traffic in the vicinity of Broad, Maple Avenue and Pinckney Road.
“They’re learning the tricks, and they’re cutting through,” she said, making what were “quiet streets” a hazard for children in the neighborhood.
“All your recommendations are reasonable,” Mayor Pasquale Menna told O’Brien. He said the proposal would be forwarded to the police department for review, with possible action by the council at a meeting rescheduled to November 25, from November 20.
Menna told another neighborhood resident that a request to rezone a portion of the Rassas lot to something other than “highway business” could not be considered while the Walgreen’s plan is pending.
