GARWOOD — During last Thursday’s regular meeting of the Garwood Mayor and Council, resident Oleg Tkachenko addressed the governing body regarding concerns with Third Avenue and Gallows Hill Road.
Mr. Tkachenko alleged that after the recent road elevation on Third Avenue, water does not drain along the crest of Gallows Hill and the curb on Third Avenue, causing it to puddle in the crosswalk after a major rainstorm.
“Besides that, the water runs; once the puddle fills up, it runs across the street and into Cranford’s backyards,” he said. “This is unacceptable, guys I try to bring it up, but it seems like it falls on deaf ears.”
Mr. Tkachenko also stated that he works with heavy machinery and understands that a tree obstruction on the street may cause issues with fixing the curbing, but there are ways around that issue. Before his time was up, Mr. Tkachenko also wanted to ask when Gallows Hill, which is a shared road with Cranford, would be repaved.
“It’s patch after patch. I don’t know how many band-aids we can put on it,” he said.
Borough Engineer Mike Disko addressed Mr. Tkachenko’s concerns, adding that the two men have communicated about this issue before. Mr. Disko said he had visited the area after some heavy rainfall last week, and shared photos with the Mayor and Council of conditions on Third Avenue.
He pointed out in the photos that they were taken two hours after the rainfall had stopped, and there were no puddles on the street. However, he agreed with Mr. Tkachenko’s statement on water leaking into backyards, as they’ve had complaints from homes on the south and north sides of the area.
Mr. Disko also stated they could remove the tree obstruction, wrap the corner with a curb, and pave out into Gallows Hill. However, they would have to look into fixing Gallows Hill before deciding whether to remove the tree obstruction.
“I’d love to do Gallows Hill,” Mr. Drisko said. “It probably should be a discussion with Cranford, or at least a contribution from one town to the other. I’m all for it; it certainly needs to be done.”
Mayor Jen Blumenstock agreed that Gallows Hill needs repairs and believes it will be a continuing issue. As it has been suggested before, she believes Cranford will work with them to fix it, and Cranford Mayor Brian Andrews has said he will be more than happy to do so, according to Mayor Blumenstock.
“Gallows Hill is on the radar,” she said. “The next step is perhaps for our engineers and mayor and council people to get together and discuss what we can do.”
