BERKELEY – Low-lying areas near great bodies of water are likely to flood, but residents there have seen their streets become undrivable so often that it is becoming a danger.
Several residents spoke at the latest Township Council meeting about these issues. As one person put it, if an Amazon package doesn’t get delivered right away because of the flooding that’s not a big deal. But if an emergency vehicle can’t get through the road, then it’s a life or death situation.
Balsam Drive resident Deborah Stackpole said that there was an incident when the police couldn’t get through the street because of the flooding. She also noted that one neighbor is on oxygen and often has water on their property.
Rob Stager of Island Drive said “I was aware we bought a house on a flooding street. It’s one thing for it to flood in heavy rain. It’s another if it’s sunny and the moon is in a certain spot.”
He said that sometimes the street is unpassable.
“It’s a great area if you can get there,” he said.
Township officials said they are working on that area. They’ve assembled a map of streets that flood frequently, hoping to get federal funds to fix them all in one large project. Doing them piecemeal might not fix the issue, and the town doesn’t have the money to do it all.
It could cost tens of millions of dollars, township engineer John LeCompte said. The town will take the plan and the estimated costs to a meeting with county officials to learn about how to move forward with getting funding.
Some of the roads, like Bayview Avenue, are county roads and thus the town can’t make changes anyway.
One issue is that if you raise the road, the water still has to go somewhere. It’ll then flow onto properties or driveways that are lower than the road.
Councilman James Byrnes said that he’s been in contact with the property owner of the lowest lot in the area. He’s also been talking to Congressman Jeff Van Drew to see what kind of federal money is available.
Mayor John Bacchione said this has been in the works since the former mayor, Carmen Amato.
“We’re not making excuses. There’s not a week that goes by that the engineers aren’t working on this,” he said.
