Berkeley Heights drivers on Mountain Avenue will face new 25 mph school-zone speed limits and a left-turn ban near Mary Kay McMillin School. The Township Council amended and adopted Ordinance 2026-23 at its Tuesday, Oct. 20 meeting.
The ordinance creates a center two-way left-turn lane on Mountain Avenue in front of the school. It sets a 25 mph school zone from Plainfield Avenue to Deerpath Lane during morning drop-off (7:45 to 8:45 a.m.) and afternoon pickup (2:45 to 3:45 p.m.), according to the township's meeting notice.
The measure also bans left turns out of the school's exit driveway onto Mountain Avenue on weekdays from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
The council amended the ordinance before the final vote. A meeting recap based on the official video transcript shows a motion to amend Section 3 of the ordinance, which covers speed limits on Mountain Avenue. The exact language of the amendment was not fully captured in the closed-caption transcript used for the recap.
Before the Oct. 20 vote, Berkeley Heights resident Michael Leblond wrote to the council and the Board of Education supporting most of the proposed traffic changes but pushing back on the left-turn restriction. Leblond argued the ban should apply only during school hours, not around the clock, writing in a letter published by nj21st in September. He said a full-time ban was unnecessary given the limited traffic outside school hours.
Leblond wrote that after a scout meeting at the school on a Monday evening, he turned left out of the parking lot with no delay or danger. Forcing right-turn-only exits at all hours, he argued, would push drivers around the entire town and add traffic near Columbia Middle School.
The adopted ordinance limits the left-turn ban to specific weekday morning and afternoon windows.
The council also approved an unrelated lease on a month-to-month basis at the Oct. 20 meeting, though the transcript-based recap did not identify the lessee or property.
Other items on the consent agenda included closing Hamilton Avenue west of Roosevelt Avenue on Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Fire Department hose testing and an application for a $25,000 Community Development Block Grant for the Senior Citizens Social Services and Health Program, according to the meeting notice.
The roll-call vote on Ordinance 2026-23 was not available from the transcript-based recap. Official minutes had not been posted to the township website as of Thursday, Oct. 22.
