Mayor’s Message: Bernie Platt
September signals the start of a new school year — and it is the perfect time for a reminder to motorists everywhere: Drive slowly, obey traffic laws, and be conscious of your surroundings as you’re driving the streets of Cherry Hill.
Throughout my nine years as mayor of this township, the health and welfare of our pedestrians — particularly our children — has been a top priority. Whether they’re playing outside their homes, traveling to school or a place of worship, or going to the store, their safety is paramount.
With that in mind, this year, once again, my office has worked closely with the Cherry Hill Police Department to advance aggressive pedestrian-safety plans that include a significant investment in technology that will make it easier for officers to monitor traffic in our neighborhoods; the installation of improved signage in certain areas in town; and enhanced communication between my office, the Traffic Safety Unit, and residents within our neighborhoods.
In the last 12 months alone, the CHPD has acquired several pieces of technology that promise to enhance our existing traffic-patrol capabilities.
Among them: the purchase of new radar-based speed counters; electronic speed signs that alert motorists to how fast they’re traveling on a given roadway; and laser speed detectors for use by patrolmen.
Additionally, we’ve added three new radar-equipped, unmarked vehicles to the patrol fleet, specifically for use by the Traffic Safety Unit, and increased patrols in targeted areas where we feel enforcement is most needed, based on our police officers’ observations, and feedback sent to my office directly from the community.
One of the best examples of the township working together with residents to effect change can be seen at the intersection of Cranford Road and Astor Drive, in the Woodcrest section of town.
Several months ago, my office was approached by residents in the area concerned about the volume of traffic going through that intersection every day, particularly in light of its proximity to both an elementary school and a busy swim club.
Traffic studies and increased patrols showed that, indeed, volume and speed were concerns in this particular area.
And in June, the township installed new stop signs, “Stop Ahead” signs, and placed electronic message boards near the intersection to alert motorists to the changes, to ensure motorists knew about the new signs and obeyed them.
And we continue working with area residents and neighborhood civic groups to identify and improve areas of concern.
Right now, our traffic officers are looking at potential improvements to the very high-volume intersection of Kingston Drive, Abington Road and Chelton Parkway, just off of Route 70.
And as we move into the fall, the Department of Public Works is coordinating with the Police Department to complete nearly 5,000 feet of crosswalk painting and other road striping to further improve navigability and awareness of traffic laws on our roads.
All of this work has combined to result in a significant enhancement in pedestrian safety across town — the importance of which cannot be stressed enough.
And, because of that, on behalf of my entire administration and the Cherry Hill Police Department, I would like to express my appreciation to those people within the community who have brought their traffic safety issues to my attention. We hear you and we have responded — and you can rest assured that will continue into the future.
To report any concern or for more information on our traffic-safety enhancements, please call my office directly at 488–7878.
