Officials Argue for Bartley Road Walkway at County Meeting

Members of the Washington Township Committee discussed the municipality's plea for roadwork on Bartley Road Wednesday, as it is a main thoroughfare for West Morris Central High School students walking between the fields at Palmer Park and the school.

The issue was discussed at Morris County’s Board of Chosen Freeholders meeting held at the Washington Township municipal building on Schooleys Mountain Road. Mayor Kenneth Short and Committeeman Tracy Tobin expressed their concern for the road (one of the town’s most frequently traveled), which has an acutely narrow shoulder, leaving little space for pedestrians (mainly high school athletes), to walk from the athletic fields to the high school.

“It’s a quarter-mile run between the high school and the park, and there’s no shoulder on the road,” said Short. “(We propose) knocking down the shoulder to allow room to walk.”

Short acknowledged that the county has relevant easements and the right to that shoulder, so knocking it down and building a suitable walking area would be under the jurisdiction of the county.

“In Washington, I consider there being three main roads, one of them being Bartley Road,” said Committeeman Tracy Tobin. “Several years ago, there were plans for its reconstruction, but I understand it got tangled up with school expansions, (etc.).

“We understand that there are probably more requests than you can even process, and you have to allocate (properly), but I hope that road can get looked at,” he added.

Tobin also stressed the vitality of the road, as it’s a major pathway to Route 80, allowing for connecting traffic to access all parts of the surrounding area.

Short’s emphasis on the urgency of a project mainly included the students, and the potential pedestrian crosswalk that could be installed, “paved or unpaved,” he said.

Freeholders Director Thomas Mastrangelo responded to the concern by saying that they will thoroughly look into the matter.