Traffic Study Documentation
Dear Cranford Township,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
All documentation or correspondence relating to any traffic study conducted in Cranford between January 1, 2022 and June 26, 2026 that include North Avenue, Eastman Street, Miln Street, Central Avenue, Springfield Avenue, Holly Street, North Union Avenue, South Union Avenue, Walnut Avenue & South Avenue.
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
Jennifer Rigney
Dear Ms. Rigney,
In regards to your recent OPRA request pertaining to documentation or correspondence relating to any traffic study conducted in Cranford between January 1, 2022 and June 26, 2026 that include North Avenue, Eastman Street, Miln Street, Central Avenue, Springfield Avenue, Holly Street, North Union Avenue, South Union Avenue, Walnut Avenue & South Avenue:
• Please provide specific email addresses/names of employees and members of the Township Committee you are seeking records from.
Your request is considered overbroad and improper requests under OPRA cannot be processed without further clarification. Government agencies are required to disclose only identifiable government records that are specifically described in the request. Gannett N.J. Partners v. Middlesex, 379 N.J. Super. 205, 212 (App. Div. 2005). Neither OPRA nor the common law countenances open-ended searches of agency files. MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Bev Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 549 (App. Div. 2005), or permits a blanket request for every document an agency has on file on a topic, Bent v. Twp. of Stafford, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Requests for information must identify the individuals or accounts to be searched and be confined to a discrete and limited subject matter. Burke v. Brandes, 429 N.J. Super. 169, 176-78 (App. Div. 2012). The request should not require the records custodian to undertake a subjective analysis to understand the nature of the request. Seeking particular information from the custodian is permissible; expecting the custodian to do research is not.” Paff v. Galloway Twp., 229 N.J. 340, 355 (2017).
If you do not respond to this communication by Tuesday, July 14, 2026, we will consider your request for public records closed.
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Clerk,
Thank you for your response.
To clarify, my request is for two categories of existing government records.
First, I request all existing traffic studies, traffic analyses, engineering reports, traffic count reports, speed studies, crash analyses, consultant reports, memoranda, presentations, and similar records concerning North Avenue, Eastman Street, Miln Street, Central Avenue, Springfield Avenue, Holly Street, North Union Avenue, South Union Avenue, Walnut Avenue, and South Avenue for the period January 1, 2022 through June 26, 2026.
Second, with respect to correspondence, I request emails and other correspondence concerning those traffic studies maintained by or sent to/from the following custodians:
● Township Administrator Lavona Patterson
● Township Clerk
● Township Engineer
● Members of the Township Committee serving during the requested period
If additional custodians are known to maintain traffic study records for these roadways, please include those records as well.
If any portion of my request is still considered overbroad, please produce all responsive records to the portions of the request that can be fulfilled and identify with specificity any remaining portion that you believe cannot be processed.
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Rigney
Dear Clerk,
I am following up regarding my clarification email concerning my OPRA request. I have not yet received a response and wanted to confirm that my clarification was received.
Could you please provide an update on the status of my request and advise when I can expect a response?
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Rigney
Dear Ms. Rigney,
Yesterday the Township's IT consultant conducted an email search as follows:
"Can you please conduct an email search (sent/to) for the following:
- January 1, 2022 and June 26, 2026
- Lavona Patterson
- Patricia Donahue
- Jacqueline Dirmann
- Kevin Boyer
- Kathleen Miller Prunty
- Paul Gallo
- Terrence Curran
- Gina Black
- Brian Andrews
- Jason Gareis
- Mary O'Connor
- Using the search term traffic study or traffic studies"
Upon review, there are approximately 2,500 emails identified as responsive materials. Each email must be examined individually for potential redactions of exempt information. Due to the volume and the level of review required, this falls within the type of work that constitutes an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(c).
Based on the number of emails and the detailed review needed, we estimate that the process will require approximately 21 to 42 hours of staff time. Using the applicable hourly rate of $25.98 (reflects the salary of the lowest-paid employee in the office who is qualified to perform the required review and redaction work), the projected special service charge is $ 545.58 to $1,091.16.
As required by OPRA, we must provide this estimate before proceeding. Please confirm whether you wish to continue with the request at this cost. No additional work will be performed until written approval is received. Please respond to this communication by Friday, July 31, 2026 or we will consider your request for public records closed.
In regards to your request for:
"all existing traffic studies, traffic analyses, engineering reports, traffic count reports, speed studies, crash analyses, consultant reports, memoranda, presentations, and similar records concerning North Avenue, Eastman Street, Miln Street, Central Avenue, Springfield Avenue, Holly Street, North Union Avenue, South Union Avenue, Walnut Avenue, and South Avenue for the period January 1, 2022 through June 26, 2026", we request an additional extension until Friday, July 24th, due to the Clerk's Department's full allocation of personnel resources to prepare for the July 22nd Township Committee Meetings as well as Clerk’s Office vacation schedules.
With best regards,
Patty
908-709-7210
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Clerk,
Thank you for the update.
At this time, please proceed with processing and producing only the responsive records to my request for the traffic studies, traffic analyses, engineering reports, traffic count reports, speed studies, crash analyses, consultant reports, memoranda, presentations, and similar records.
With respect to the correspondence request, I am not authorizing the proposed special service charge at this time. I will review the responsive records produced and then determine whether additional correspondence is necessary or whether the request can be further narrowed.
Thank you, and I look forward to receiving the responsive records.
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Rigney
Re: OPRA request: "all existing traffic studies, traffic analyses, engineering reports, traffic count reports, speed studies, crash analyses, consultant reports, memoranda, presentations, and similar records concerning North Avenue, Eastman Street, Miln Street, Central Avenue, Springfield Avenue, Holly Street, North Union Avenue, South Union Avenue, Walnut Avenue, and South Avenue for the period January 1, 2022 through June 26, 2026"
Dear Ms. Rigney,
In regards to your OPRA request pertaining to traffic studies, traffic analyses, engineering reports, traffic count reports, speed studies, crash analyses, consultant reports, memoranda, presentations, and similar records, the Police Department has provided the attached speed studies conducted between January 1, 2022, and June 26, 2026, responsive to your request. In addition, the Cranford Police Department's current speed studies are available online at the link provided below:
https://www.cranfordnj.org/2551/Traffic-...
Finally, in order for the Clerk’s Department to locate and review additional responsive information pertaining to this request, we request an additional extension until Friday, August 7th, due to the Clerk's Department's full allocation of personnel resources devoted to licensing obligations, OPRA request fulfillment, legal ad preparation, ABC licensing responsibilities and Clerk’s Office vacation schedules (FYI, I am off from work during the week of July 27th).
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210