Adopting the 1st NJ Compete Streets policy in 2009 means Montclair should be a leader in developing ways to make our town safer, healthier, and more affordable by fixing the streets that were made more dangerous by County and local officials who spent decades rebuilding our streets to be ONLY GOOD FOR CARS.

The best way to lessen the property tax burden is to approve new developments that bring more people and less cars. We can accommodate many more shoppers along Bloomfield Avenue, but NOT more automobiles made necessary by the removal of streetcars that used to line what was then a busy street filled with cyclists, pedestrians, and public transportation users.

Future-thinking suburbs that make these improvements NOW will offer better quality of life that will attract millennials, entrepreneurs, and small businesses that will be the future of healthy Capitalism.

Let's play catch up to the big cities that already offer a richer local experience, stronger culture, and a more robust economy... and make the wealthy developers who benefit pay for the increased costs of maintaining public safety in light of the potential increase in cars.

it's one of the only ways to make Montclair more affordable to the many who come here for a healthy, smart, civically-engaged life.
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