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Town that closed streets to commuters gets court reprieve

The Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 4 months AGO
by The Associated Press
| March 10, 2020 3:18 PM

LEONIA, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey town near the busy George Washington Bridge has won a court reprieve in its effort to close residential streets to reduce gridlock from commuters using navigation apps.

Leonia made headlines two years ago when it implemented the closures, after the town passed ordinances limiting traffic on some streets to local residents or non-residents having business in town.

Apps like Waze and Apple Maps typically reroute some of the tens of thousands of vehicles headed to the bridge each morning, particularly when there is an accident or other disruption.

Police said in 2018 that studies showed that more than 2,000 vehicles often passed through the town of about 9,000 residents from just one of the three exits off Interstate 95, causing safety concerns and gridlock on side streets.

After the closures went into effect, local business owners expressed concerns about losing customers, prompting the town to replace “Do Not Enter” signs with what it called less menacing signs.

The state Department of Transportation ruled the ordinances were legally invalid, concluding that the town didn't have the inherent authority to adopt them. The town appealed, and oral arguments were held in December.

In a ruling published Friday, a three-judge panel ruled that the DOT didn't conduct an adequate investigation, including a review of supporting documentation, before it issued its finding and shouldn't have relied on a 1955 opinion by the state attorney general as justification for its decision.

“The Commissioner is statutorily obligated to review, not only the ordinance, but also the statutorily-mandated submissions, and to analyze same under the statute's criteria, before approving or invalidating the ordinance,” the court wrote in sending the matter back to the DOT for reconsideration.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Leonia mayor's office and the state DOT.

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