On Tuesday morning, a pedestrian crossing Bloomfield Avenue near Cumberland Avenue was hit by a car. By the evening, Josh Jacobs, who owns the nearby businesses Hearth Realty and The Collective Bookstore, had set up a petition drive to get Essex County to improve traffic safety on Bloomfield Avenue. It is a county road, and the accident occurred near the entrance to Verona Park, which is controlled by the county. (The Verona Police Department said Wednesday morning that the injured pedestrian, who was transported to University Hospital, is having leg surgery but is alert and doing well.)
“Despite numerous appeals from Verona’s council members and the police department over the years,” Jacobs wrote in the petition, “the Essex County Executives have yet to address and prioritize the dire need for improved traffic safety in this area.”
Jacobs says that he has repeatedly reached out to Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., Public Works Director and County Engineer Sanjeev Varghese, Essex County Public Information Officer Anthony Puglisi, and Daniel Salvante, director of the Department of Parks, Recreation, And Cultural Affairs, highlighting the dangers of the intersection. “However, Verona has yet to witness any actions from the county in addressing these concerns,” Jacobs noted.
There is neither a traffic light or nor a dedicated pedestrian crossing at the park entrance on Bloomfield Avenue. The downhill stretch of the avenue between Park Avenue and Lakeside is a designated a 25 mile per hour speed zone, but traffic speeds regularly exceed that. There are traffic lights at both Park and Lakeside, though that has not prevented pedestrians from being hit at either location. Last December, a middle school student was hit by a car while crossing at the Park Avenue light.
In his Change.org petition, Jacobs is asking the county to:
1) Introduce a traffic light at the entrance to Verona Park.
2) Establish a designated pedestrian crossing at the entrance to Verona Park.
3) Install speed limit signage, supplemented with road markings, to caution drivers about the posted speed limit and impending areas with heightened pedestrian activity.
“While our town council and police department have been proactively advocating for these changes at the county level, it’s imperative that we, the residents of Essex County who cherish Verona Park and the safety of our community members, amplify these calls for change,” Jacobs wrote.
I work on Bloomfield avenue and a car came flying down Fairview through the parking lot and totaled my car. I hate driving on Bloomfield avenue as I see way too many close calls daily. I’ve signed the petition and will share.
So, I grew up in Verona. When I was a teen, sometime around 1996 – 1998, I got hit by a car in roughly the same location on Bloomfield Ave. My left hip was hit. My friend was with me
now Mrs. Luisa Hirsh the spanish teacher at Brookdale and FN Brown. I was able to walk but in pain. This is a long- neglected problem! Thank you for taking a stronger role in bringing this to the correct attention!
I agree crossing Bloomfield can be a nightmare. Has there been any thought into an elevated pedestrian crossing (ie. Pedestrian bridge) over Bloomfield?
Won’t be a problem shortly with all the build up in and around Verona. Soon Bloomfield Ave will be a massive parking lot. Keep in mind that the Country has refused for years to place a traffic control device at Fairview and Sampson.. always surprised there isn’t more accidents at the HS during drop off.