I have been meaning to address three issues that have been put on the back-burner.

Community Cleanups: At one of the Council Meetings, a Resident mentioned that when he was growing up, Residents were responsible for cleaning their own properties.

With the City periodically having City-Wide Cleanups, to me it makes the residents more complacent and say,”Why even bother to clean up when the City will do it for you.”

Educational programs are taking place in the schools to have students develop good habits to use trash receptacles to dispose of their garbage. They’re hoping that the kids will pass this onto their parents.

I find that it’s the adults that are the worst offenders. There are still some people who will still throw their fast food containers from their vehicles on to the ground in the parking lots when they are done eating. , I’ve seen this done even though there is a garbage can close by.

More garbage cans are needed, especially between Maple Street and Elm Street and Smith Street. McClellan Street needs a garbage can, too. There is often garbage all over the parking lot there.

It’s very good to have garbage cans for both recyclables and for trash, but people if they use them, don’t differentiate when they throw the trash. I guess we should be grateful they are using receptacles instead of throwing their garbage on the street.

Pedestrian Cross Walks: The Police Department is handing out laminated warnings explaining the new Pedestrian Safety Laws where they not only ticket drivers, but pedestrians as well. I don’t know how they are going to enforce the pedestrian summons.

The Police Department has been awarded grants to teach residents about pedestrian safety. Some of them are geared towards teaching school children the importance of crossing the street safely. This has been done through the distribution of flyers and other printed materials in schools.

I remember about 8 years ago, in Fink Park, they actually had representatives of the Department of Transportation distribute literature that was placed on tables and also in colorful, large bags. They also had representatives from the Perth Amboy Police Traffic Division involved.

In spite of these efforts, I find that pedestrians are more brazen than ever. If I were driver, I definitely would have a dash-cam  to show the pedestrians who cross the street in front of cars who have the green light. It’s almost if these pedestrians are challenging the cars to go ahead and hit me.

According to literature that I obtained, pedestrians caught doing so would get a warning the first time, then a $54 fine for the second infraction. My question is, “At what age group do you start fining people and what ID will they have to produce? What  happens if they don’t have any ID on them or they refuse to show it? I think that the Council should request that the Police Department have a presentation of how they are going to enforce these pedestrian laws?

Handicapped Parking Committee: This one I’m still scratching my head over. This committee was formed after City Clerk Elaine Jasko told the City Council that she and members of different City Departments were not comfortable determining which applicants who wanted handicapped placards/spaces should be issued one. After much tossing and turning, it was decided that perhaps it would be best the City should not make this determination. It was advertised on the City’s website that any residents who were interested in serving on a Handicapped Parking Committee to fill out an application. There are 3 residents who were selected to be on this committee.

At the last Council Meeting, one of the Council Members asked what was the status of the committee. As of yet, this committee has not had a meeting to view any requested handicapped applications. City Clerk Jasko answered that a lot of the applicants did not complete all the required questions on the form and their forms were returned back to them. Why have a committee of laymen formed when the applications are going to be pre-screened anyway? To me, common sense would be to just let the DMV at the applicants physician make this decision. All the police need to do is to determine whether or not the space will be a safety issue. This committee is not needed. C.M.