BERKELEY – The governing body will be making some changes in several well-traveled roads in town, and are also seeking to protect neighbors from unruly rentals.
Jamaica Boulevard, Bahamian Drive and Tijuana Court is scheduled to be repaved by the end of August, the township engineer said.
The project was awarded to Earle Asphalt, with a proposal of $240,613.13.
The speed limit on Ocean Gate Drive will be changed to 35 mph on the majority of the road in Berkeley. The new speed limit will start at the intersection with Mill Creek Road and Veeder Lane and continue until the border with the borough of Ocean Gate.
This plan is scheduled to be approved at the August 22 council meeting, and would go into effect 20 days later, and when new signs go up.
Mayor Carmen Amato said that they had asked Ocean County to do a traffic study in that area and this is a step in the right direction.
The Veeder and Mill Creek intersection will get a traffic signal eventually. The project was approved, but probably won’t be built until late 2023 or early 2024.
Renters And Bad Neighbors
During the summer, shore towns fill up with tourists. While everyone expects them to party in Seaside and fill up the hotels and bars there, most people don’t expect them to be next door.
AirBNB and other companies are allowing people to rent out their property for a week or even a weekend. Thus, a large party could be heard in your neighborhood. This has been a problem in many Ocean County towns, where they are caught between allowing owners to make money off their property and keeping neighborhoods quiet places to live. Berkeley residents have spoken out at Township Council meetings sporadically about it, especially in the areas east of Route 9 in Bayville.
Councilman Keith Buscio said that the legislation committee (made up of council members who suggest changes to the laws in town) should focus on this.
Business Administrator John Camera said that their legal experts are already working on it.
“We can’t do everything people would want us to do,” but the town can make changes to protect residents, he said.
Councilman James Byrnes noted that there was one rental property that was recently fined $1,000 for this kind of problem.
