In recent years, Jackson has faced a growing safety issue on our roads, particularly around bus stops. After personally witnessing the dangerous situations children face—near-misses and cars speeding too close to bus stops—it became clear that immediate action is necessary. This is not just a minor inconvenience; it is a serious safety concern. And when it comes to the safety of our children, we cannot afford to take chances.
That’s why I, along with the Traffic Safety Department, have been working diligently to craft an ordinance that will provide the protection our children deserve. New Jersey’s Title 39 law prohibits parking within 50 feet of a stop sign, but in our township, this is simply not enough. Our roads, especially where county roads meet municipal streets, are too narrow to safely accommodate traffic, parked cars, and school buses all at once. School buses need more space to safely pick up and drop off our children, and extending the no-parking zone from 50 feet to 100 feet is a critical step toward ensuring their safety.
I understand that this ordinance comes with challenges. Parents will have to adjust, walking their children to bus stops, and residents near bus stops will require parking permits. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be perfect. But I believe that the inconvenience is a small price to pay to protect our children.
However, simply creating this ordinance is not enough. The only way to ensure it is taken seriously by everyone in our community is by increasing the fines for those who break these rules. Without strong penalties, we risk the ordinance being ignored. And ignoring it could lead to devastating consequences.
We cannot wait for a tragedy to occur before we act. If we don’t act now, what will we tell ourselves when the unthinkable happens? Will we look back and regret not doing more to protect our children? Or will we take responsible action now, before it’s too late?
I choose the latter, and I hope you will too.
Jackson Councilwoman Jennifer Kuhn
If my Children’s safety is so important, than why is my son’s bus stop on the corner of a road that has a 45 mph speed limit and on top of a hill with limited visibility? I need to stand there with my younger kids/babies waiting for him to come home and I’m in constant fear of them running into the street.
And I cannot drive and wait in the car, as I cannot park near the stop.
And by the way, I live 3 blocks from there, on a lovely quiet road.
PLEASE PLEASE work with the LSTA to make sure our childrens’ bus stops are in safe places.
Jennifer thanks for everything you do for the Jackson community
Jennifer,
Thank you for looking out for the safety of Jackson residents. While I support most safety measures, this one has me scratching my head.
1. Why wouldn’t the township first try enforcing the current laws before expanding out to 100 feet and additional fines? Does the township have any data on enforcing the current 50 feet rule that would support increasing it to 100 feet and increasing the fines?
2. On top of that, the driving in the township has gotten much crazier in recent years with people going well over the speed limit on quite residential streets, driving while talking on the phone, and many accounts of drivers passing school busses with their stop signs out among other issues. Based on the lack of enforcement on the aforementioned issues, I would guess that the PD is already stretching themselves thin.
It would seem prudent to enforce the basics first. Just my two cents.
Respectfully,
A Jackson resident
The opening comment of in recent years, should open your eyes to why our children are in danger. What has happened in recent years that may have caused this situation, hmmmm. It seems like the Hasidic children had their bus stops moved off dangerous roads but our children are continuously left in harms way. Now as election time draws near the problem is of upmost importance? Who allowed this to happen in our town and it’s continuing to occur at a rapid rate without any credence given to the infer structure that cannot support it. When are you all going to wake up and see what is happening in this township.
I’m trying to understand how you can have bus stops blocks away, with parents unable to wait in the car as is too far from the stop – so either stay outside in the rain, sleet, and snow of the winter and make the bus, or stay in the car and miss the bus. I am not a fan of having the bus stop so far from my house, and I am not going to deny that it will add somewhat to the safety if people would actually wait 50 feet away from the cub, but this ordinance puts us in a lose lose situation – either get ourselves and our children sick in inclement weather, or miss the bus on those days, which isn’t a great option for those of us that don’t have the time every day to do that. Can you please advise how you will address these concerns??