From the February - March 2001 Edition 

Ellington Road   You’ve probably driven on Ellington Road and didn’t even know it. This one-way street with well kept homes is only one block long between Midland Avenue and Plaza Road.  Its residents seem to have found themselves caught in the middle of all of Fair Lawn’s hot issues, none of them with easy solutions:  traffic, parking, Broadway revitalization, Broadway train station, and a proposed self-storage facility. Fair Lawn News talked with Keith Brown about his neighborhood recently; he’s an Ellington Road resident and also a member of the Broadway Advisory Committee.  Traffic and Trucks:   Oversized vehicles are banned on Ellington Road, but many truck drivers ignore the signs.  UPS trucks are only allowed to make local deliveries, but many drive down Ellington Road as a shortcut to their facility on Midland Avenue.   The signs banning oversized vehicles do not appear to deter drivers. Speeding is another serious issue.  According to Mr. Brown, the police recently clocked a driver going over 70 mph on the street.  Many drivers also use Ellington Road as a shortcut from Broadway to Saddle Brook (with its connections to Route 46, Route 80 and the Garden State Parkway). Mr. Brown said when police officers patrol Ellington Road, the street is OK.  He said that recently a police officer had to call for backup because there were ten oversized trucks pulled over waiting to get tickets. Mr. Brown said that the street needs better police enforcement but he admits “they can’t patrol all the time and it’s not their fault”.  One Ellington Road resident recently suggested that fines could be increased to discourage truckers.  Some neighbors would like the street blocked off, but they realize it’s not feasible.  Parking:  Since it is close to the Broadway train station, Ellington Road has a two hour parking rule after 8:00 am on weekdays.  According to Mr. Brown, the regulations are largely unenforced.  Apparently, drivers choose to park on Ellington Road to avoid paying for a train station parking permit.  The parking situation is exacerbated because Midland Avenue does not allow on-street parking and patients to Midland Avenue medical offices often park on Ellington Road. Broadway:  Mr. Brown said "Broadway is not doing well. It is a mess. It has no character and charm.  That went away many years ago."   He said that in order to revitalize Broadway, the parking needs must be addressed first.  He would also like to see uniformity of signs and facades.  When asked what he thought about residential development near the train station, both Mr. Brown and his wife Joann, said they wouldn’t want to see apartments, because renters are not as likely to care about their neighborhood and take care of their property.  See Broadway Advisory Committee Report See Broadway Station Article Proposed Self-Storage Facility:  The self-storage unit proposed at the southwest corner of Broadway and Plaza Road would replace a empty building that was once a supermarket and later a Columbia Savings data processing facility.  The developer met twice with the Broadway Advisory Committee and Ellington Road residents recently to solicit community support.  The developer is proposing to keep the vacant building and build a new one behind it.  Mr. Brown said that he is neither opposed nor in favor of it.  On the positive side, little traffic will be generated and it will not be open all night.  The developer promised that there would be no entrance on Ellington Road.  On the negative side, some neighbors think that people will store drugs and weapons at the facility.  Mr. Brown is concerned that if the self-storage facility does not fare well, they could be left with an empty warehouse.  Mr. Brown is also concerned that construction of the new building (behind the existing one) would mean the loss of approximately two hundred badly needed parking spaces.    See information about self-storage facility provided by developer What do you think?  Send an e- mail to the Editor (Phil Plotch).