Every where I go, there it is! Why is Egg Harbor Township so big and spread out?
In the 1700’s all of South Jersey was part of Gloucester County. As the population grew, townships began breaking away from Gloucester and Egg Harbor Township was one of the first, so that almost all of Atlantic County used to be Egg Harbor Township. Again smaller township and cities broke away, such as Pleasantville, Egg Harbor City, Somers Point, etc. and what was left is now Egg Harbor Township. Thus you have areas that are not connected to each other but still are part of EHT. See map.
Why don’t we have our own post office?
Egg Harbor Township used to have SEVEN Zip Codes! After lobbying the US Postal Service we were successful in getting our own Zip Code (08234) but at the time we were unsuccessful in getting the Postal Service to locate a post office here. Their policy recently has been to reduce the number of post office buildings they have and they did not want to add one more.
Why is there a local election every year?
Egg Harbor Township has a committee form of government. Committeemen are elected for alternating three year terms. As a result we have a local election every year, two years for two committeemen and one year for one member.
Why don’t we vote for the mayor?
Under the committee form of government, the five committeemen select a chairman or mayor at the beginning of each year to serve for one year. Sonny McCullough has been selected by his fellow committeemen to serve as mayor for 11 of the 15 years he has been on the committee, a tribute to his leadership.
The traffic is too fast on my street! Why can’t the speed limit be lowered?
State regulations govern the speed limits. The township cannot simply decide to lower the limit based on a resident’s request. The criteria is based on the number of homes and the length of the street. Still, residents with concerns should approach the township committee and request a study be done. Perhaps there are now enough home on their street to meet the criteria for a lower speed limit.
Sometimes when the roads are snow covered I see township trucks go by with their blades up! Why aren’t they pushing the snow?
Many roads in the township are county and state roads. It becomes the responsibility of those agencies to plow their own roads due to liability and other concerns. The township and county are currently working on plans to “trade” roads that are snow covered. In that way the county will plow some township roads and vice versa. This will improve efficiency and costs for everyone.
Many of our intersections need traffic signals. What is the problem?!
Once again, when we are talking about state or county roadways, it is these agencies that must install the signals. For instance, the intersections at Ocean Heights Ave. and Steelmanville Rd. and the one at West Jersey and English Creek Aves. Even though they may be ready and willing to it, it’s not as easy as it seems. Almost all signal installations involve issues such as right of way and purchasing private property. These things take time to resolve. However, these signals ARE on their way, as evidenced by a recent article in the Press of Atlantic City.
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