A local business has partnered with the Linden Police Department to make significant traffic safety improvements along a heavily-traveled street.
Rosedale & Rosehill Cemetery, located on E. Linden Ave, has operated in Linden for over 100 years. Linden Ave, which was once just a dirt road, has become a major thoroughfare within the city; it is one of only four roadways that directly connect Park and Wood Avenues with an estimated 8,000 vehicles that travel on it daily.
The Cemetery has maintained a vehicle crossing to transport materials and equipment from their offices across E. Linden Ave to the cemetery since 1998. Over the years, the volume and speed of traffic has dramatically increased.
In 2019, Cemetery President, Jim Koslovski became worried for the safety of his employees, residents and surrounding businesses and contacted the Police Department to see what could be done.
“The Linden Police Traffic Bureau was very responsive to our concerns and we immediately began the process of developing a comprehensive plan to make the street safer,” Mr. Koslovski said.
New parking restrictions were adopted to improve visibility leading up to the crossing, and new signs were installed to make sure drivers were aware that vehicles could be crossing. A large portion of the work was delayed due to utility work, but last month the road was finally repaved thanks to a grant from the Union County Infrastructure program, and striping was added between Carteret St and Willow Glade Rd to reduce illegal parking violations and reduce speeding.
Rosedale & Rosehill Cemetery generously contributed over $18,000 to make sure that the improvements were made without impacting the city’s budget.
“Safety is a priority for our employees, clientele and the citizens of Linden”, Mr. Koslovski said. “We have seen a reduction in speed, increased awareness by drivers as they travel along Linden Avenue as well as adhering to the posted speed limit.”
“We have seen very promising results from these improvements thus far,” said Linden Police Chief David Hart. “Unfortunately, funding is not always available to experiment with traffic control measures like these, so we are very grateful to have a generous and invested partner like Rosedale & Rosehill Cemetery.”
Officers will continue to monitor the area over the next year, and similar measures could be implemented in other areas if the results prove to be successful.