CRANFORD — Township officials are working to lower the speed limit on Walnut Avenue in conjunction with overall plans to address the ongoing construction at 750 Walnut and support the safety of the residents who live in the area. On Tuesday, during a regular meeting of the township committee, Mayor Brian Andrews referred to Walnut Avenue as a “dangerous, residential road.”

“In many places the speed limit is 35 mph,” Mr. Andrews said. “This is not safe for crossing in crosswalks, or for homeowners trying to back out of the driveways or get back into them. We started this conversation a few years ago with the county because it is a county-owned road. I’m happy to say we received formal notice last week that we are approved to start the government processes for reducing the speed limit for the entire stretch of the road to 25 mph.”

Mayor Andrews reminded residents that this is just one part of a multi-faceted traffic plan in the area. “No Truck” signage has been added to Behnert Place, Mitchell Place and Lexington Avenue. He mentioned that the township has been in touch with Hartz about its own signage and trucks as well.

The committee also began discussions on Tuesday about a new ordinance that would require the Cranford Business Association (CBA) to allow residents to opt in to circulars and mailers instead of automatically delivering them to all addresses.

“We have nothing against these coupons, if you want to receive them; we want you to still be able to,” Mr. Andrews said. “The issue is that many people in town receive this day in and day out and they don’t really want it, and what happens is we see them just sometimes immediately becoming waste, litter, causing drain backups, and sometimes they are left as evidence of a vacant home, and these will kind of pile up over time.”

The township has already requested that the CBA start moving towards this model, but Mayor Andrews said he expects it will take a little more action to get the ball rolling and announced that an ordinance will be introduced at the next meeting. The mayor said that there is a number residents can call to request that they no longer receive the circular, which he would share with residents.

Deputy Mayor Terrence Curran announced that the pools will host a summer concert series on the last Wednesday of every month this summer. He also commented about the dust and noise at 750 Walnut, stating that the dust is an ongoing issue.

Commissioner Kathleen Miller-Prunty announced that the footbridge at Crane Parkway has been deemed unsafe and is closed. At the moment, there is no schedule as to when it will be re-opened.

“As soon as next steps are decided and scheduled, we’ll be sure to get that out to the public and the BOE so it can be shared with the schools,” she said.

Commissioner Miller-Prunty thanked everyone who participated in the township’s recent senior survey and reported receiving several hundred responses, which are still being tallied up.

“I look forward to sharing the results with you,” she said. “I did see that there are a number of people who are unaware that we have a township newsletter delivered by email straight to your inbox. So we are working on getting that information out to people, and we realize not everyone has access to email so we’ll be putting together a white binder; there will be one at the community center, the library, Lincoln and Gill Housing, and one here in the municipal building. It will be updated every time one comes out and we will start with January’s of this year.”

Mayor Andrews announced a proclamation in honor of National Police Week from May 12 to May 18 with Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15, which honors local, state and federal law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

“We have an exceptional police department in our town,” he said. “They perform their duties with great professionalism, but also this is a big testament to Chief Greco and the other members of the department. They are very active in our community and have a positive impact in our community. But being a police officer is a dangerous job. We were reminded of that last year when we witnessed the shooting of two of our officers.”

Next week, the Cranford Police Department will hold its award ceremony and several officers will be recognized for their duty. Officers Christopher Folinusz and Ryan McSharry will receive Cranford’s Medal of Honor Award, which is the highest award in the police department, for their heroism displayed last year.