JACKSON – While traffic continues to be an issue, having all public school children in town going to the same high school has made the problem worse, residents have said.
The merger of the two high schools has established Jackson Township High School (formerly Jackson Liberty High School) and this has impacted traffic flow in that area. At a recent Township Council meeting, resident James Silecchia said that decision, which was made by the school district, “put new pressure on roads that were already strained.”
“We need proactive planning. We need transparency in how these decisions are made and accountability when they fall short because when you ignore community input during major changes and only respond when problems become the headlines it sends a clear message that the voices of the residents are secondary to optics,” the resident added.
He asked that the council share the traffic study publicly and “explain how it will inform real solutions not just temporary fixes.”
Referencing the high school consolidation, he said residents, parents, teachers and township police officers raised these issues “and yet the response back then was silence – or worse – dismissal.”
Council President Mordechai Burnstein responded saying former Mayor Michael Reina and members of the council along with representatives of the police department had spoken with the township’s Board of Education regarding the potential traffic flow issues that would be associated with the consolidation.
“They (township officials) did not feel that was the best place for the consolidation. The town didn’t have veto power over that. The traffic isn’t there just because the school is there. The school contributes toward it. The traffic patterns have changed there. Even if the school wasn’t there, we would have an issue that would need to be resolved. We do hear you and hopefully we will do a better job going forward,” the council president added.
Several ordinances were introduced during that meeting. Ordinance 2025-44 concerning vehicles and traffic unanimously passed introduction. Burnstein said that it added a “no parking or standing restriction to both sides of Hyson Road – specifically between the westerly side of Scotland Drive and the easterly side of Hanover Road which is a paper street.”
Paper streets exist only on maps, but they might become real roads if development is done.
He added, “My understanding is that a condition of approval by the Planning Board would be for the applicant over there would make the request to the governing body to ban parking.”
Burnstein also explained Ordinance 2025-45 which repeals a former ordinance “which had established a special event permit process.” The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs better known as the DCA determined the prior ordinance, 2121, conflicted with the state’s administrative code and was thus unenforceable.
“The DCA has been in communication with the governing body since 2023 with some concerns. This came from the DCA and hopefully this will provide some relief to the residents in that neighborhood.”
