Speed Limit Set on Nutley's Franklin Avenue

Nutley officials are setting the speed limit on Franklin Avenuie at 25 miles per hour to make it easier for police enforce speeding violations.

The ordinance, introduced at the Feb. 19 Nutley Board of Commissioners public meeting, establishes a 25 mph speed limit on Franklin Avenue from the Belleville border to the Clifton border.

Mayor Alphonse Petracco and Commissioner Thomas Evans invited the township's traffic expert to explain the reasons behind the proposed change.

Jack Barry, a township employee who oversees traffic regulations, said the change was neeeded because the state changed changed the legal category of Franklin Avenue.

"We are establishing the residential speed limit of 25, since Franklin Avenue is no longer considered a suburban road," Barry said. "As a rule, suburban roads have a speed limit of 35 miles per hour, this has not been true for a long time. We have been enforcing 25 miles per hour for the last 40 years."

Officials said the change should improve pedestrian safety on the avenue, where so much of the township's businesses are located, since signs will be clear and motorists will be ticketed for speeding according to the new ordinance.

"In Belleville, down by Hendricks Golf Course, the road is much wider, which makes it more of a suburban street, so it makes sense for the speed limit to be 35 down there," Barry said. "But it chokes right down into one narrow lane in Nutley, so the change makes good sense."

The change will become official after a public hearing on the ordinance at the March 19 public commissioners meeting.