Attorney General Says Leonia's Local-Only Road Rule Must End

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Leonia cannot ban drivers from using local streets as through-ways to get to the George Washington Bridge, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said.

Grewal told state Assembly Budget Committee members that he told officials in Leonia and Weehawken to stop enforcing their locals-only traffic bans.

Leonia has closed 60 side streets to nonresidents. Such roads show up in red on Google Maps and map-based apps like Waze. Leonia officials previously sad that navigation apps lead drivers through town in an attempt to avoid traffic jams.

"There's attorney general's guidance on this from 1955, I think, that says you can't do that to local towns," Grewal said.

Such bans would need to be done together with the state Department of Transportation, Grewal said, and not just by local governments.

In a letter to Leonia officials in March, Grewal stated that the ban is "legally invalid" and that officials should stop enforcing it immediately.

"Leonia's ordinances have not been presented to [the] Transportation Commissioner, as required for her to make any determination under applicable law," Grewal said. "Leonia lacked the authority to enforce the ordinances that restrict traffic on its roadways without authority from the Legislature or approval from the Commissioner."

If Leonia does not stop enforcing the ordinance, Grewal said he "will be required to take appropriate action to enforce the law."

Leonia Mayor Judith Zeigler told NorthJersey.com there is "clear legislative intent to give authorities to municipalities" jurisdiction over local streets.

Zeigler said there is no intention to repeal the ordinance.

In nearby Hudson County, Weehawken enacted a similar ban in February, restricting the use of an oft-used right turn at Hackensack Plank Road and Pleasant Avenue to local residents only. It was a move designed to stop out-of-town drivers from using the road – which leads to I-495 – as a cut-through to the Lincoln Tunnel, town officials said.

"We were noticing traffic where we never had it before because of Waze," Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner told CBS New York. "In certain locations where the commuter traffic completely shuts down the neighborhood, the police have been complaining that emergency vehicles haven't been able to get through."

Waze has also drawn the ire of leaders in large cities like Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck criticized the app, claiming it jeopardizes police officers lives.

In a Dec. 30 letter to Google, which acquired Waze in 2013, Beck wrote that by indicating the locations of police, the app compromises the safety and security of officers, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Beck noted that in the days before slaying New York Police Department Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu on Dec. 20, Ismaiiyl Brinsley used the application to monitor police movements.

Related: New Jersey AG Says Towns' Locals-Only Road Bans Must End

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