Leonia's road closures challenged in court

An Edgewater resident is challenging the legality of Leonia’s new road closures in court, alleging that the borough has no right to keep nonresidents from its side streets during rush hour.

In a complaint filed Tuesday, attorney Jacqueline Rosa accused Leonia of infringing on her access to public roads and violating the public’s right to freedom of travel by restricting some 60 residential streets to residents of Leonia due to overflowing traffic from the George Washington Bridge.

“I am filing it because thousands of people are impacted by this and someone needs to have this ordinance overturned,” Rosa said. “If every town did what Leonia did, it would be absolutely ridiculous. Every single person would have to use a highway to get anywhere.”

Rosa said she regularly uses Edgewood Road, one of the closed-off streets, to drive from Route 4 to her home in Edgewater and now has to sit in extra traffic for five to 20 minutes.

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Leonia Mayor Judah Zeigler said he could not comment on pending litigation but emphasized that the borough’s traffic initiative, instituted last week after years of commuters cutting through the borough to get to the bridge, is in the early stages and open to adjustments.

“My job is to take action that I truly believe to be in the best interests of my constituents,” Zeigler said. “I’m not going to take actions that I believe are morally or legally wrong.”

Rosa’s complaint alleges that Leonia adopted the new law improperly, failing to consult with the state commissioner of transportation, provide notice to the county and adhere to a state statute that sets fines for violations of road closures at no more than $100.

Leonia will charge violators $200 fines after completing a two-week warning period that ends this week.

Rosa claims the restrictions have exacerbated traffic on the highways feeding into Leonia and will place an increased traffic burden on Fort Lee, Teaneck and other surrounding municipalities.

Officials from Fort Lee and Teaneck said this week that they have not experienced any adverse effects from Leonia’s road closures. Chief Keith Bendul of the Fort Lee Police Department said it was too early to tell the long-term impact.

The road closures are in effect nine hours a day, every day, from 6 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 9 p.m. Access is limited to Leonia residents, drivers heading to Leonia businesses and motorists who can provide a valid reason to access the restricted streets.

Email: shkolnikova@northjersey.com