Roselle Borough Council voted 3-1 on first reading to advance an ordinance installing stop signs at dozens of intersections across the borough, following a contentious discussion at its regular meeting last Wednesday over whether one proposed four-way stop had enough engineering backing. The vote came after a motion to table the measure failed 3-2, exposing a split on the council over how much data should be required before new traffic controls go in.
According to a report by TAPinto Roselle, the measure emerged after the Roselle administration heard from residents about repeated accidents at Second Avenue and Chandler Avenue. Assistant Business Administrator Denise Wilkerson told the council that she, the borough's engineering firm, and the public works superintendent had walked the intersection together and that engineers recommended the stop sign installation after visiting the site.
2nd Ward Councilman Brandon Bernier pushed back hardest, objecting specifically to the proposed four-way stop at Second and Chandler and requesting more data to justify it. He said Roselle sees roughly 100 traffic accidents a month and argued that most crashes happen on heavily traveled roads that already have traffic lights, not at the intersection in question. Bernier also insisted that any professional engineer certification backing the plan should be signed and sealed before the council acts, and he attempted to table the ordinance pending those certifications.
A Split Vote and a Failed Motion to Table
Councilwoman-at-Large Cynthina Johnson joined Bernier in voting for the motion to table, arguing that engineer studies for stop signs and traffic lights must be completed and certified first and raising broader concerns about insufficient data supporting traffic safety signals throughout Roselle. The motion failed 3-2 nonetheless, and the underlying ordinance then passed on first reading by a 3-1 vote, with Johnson opposed and Bernier abstaining.
Council President and 4th Ward Councilwoman Cindy Thomas countered that the borough's engineer had already approved the proposed items. Wilkerson argued that the traffic safety needs at stake outweighed any potential effects of lacking formal engineering certifications. 3rd Ward Councilwoman Ethelyne Grimsley, who was absent from the meeting, has previously advocated for additional traffic safety measures around Roselle, especially at Second and Chandler, according to the same TAPinto Roselle account.
What the Crash Data Shows — and Doesn't
A separate report from EZ Ride, dated May 14, 2025, found that Roselle recorded 4,838 total crashes between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2023, including 170 involving pedestrians or cyclists, according to the EZ Ride report. The report also examined crashes in Roselle, while the council's debate centered on Second Avenue and Chandler Avenue.
The same EZ Ride findings also addressed pedestrian safety in Roselle. Roselle's traffic-signal schedule, last amended in December 2023, already lists Chestnut Street and Second Avenue, and Third Avenue and Chandler Avenue, as signalized intersections, per borough code on eCode360.
Mayor Says Council Can Seek Answers Before Final Vote
Mayor Donald Shaw said the council could still obtain answers to Bernier's questions before voting on final passage of the ordinance. The first-reading vote does not resolve the dispute over engineering certification that split the council, and the ordinance's path to final passage remains open.
The debate over data and signage comes against the backdrop of a fatal crash elsewhere in Roselle. Roselle Police responded around 11:40 p.m. to a single-vehicle crash at St. George Avenue and Chandler Avenue, in which 19-year-old Jayla Pryor of Linden, a passenger in the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Patch. The cause of that crash remains unknown and is under investigation by the Roselle Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit.
