The roads of Montvale, Park Ridge, or Woodcliff Lake, Might not be paved in gold, but they are newly painted in white.

Recently, these towns have added a line between the double yellow line running on main roads, even on county roads. This concept has become increasingly frequent in the towns of Bergen County as well as other regions of New Jersey.

If the thin line is colored blue, it is to recognize support for the police. Before this new trend, a line in the middle of the double yellow line represented the role that the law enforcement serves in society. It symbolized the imaginary line that separates citizens that follow the law and those that are criminals. Now, the blue line represents support of a profession that has been so commonly scrutinized in current events of accused misbehavior, racism, and their weaponry.

Besides the blue lines, other colored lines have also been painted. For example, lines painted red support the firefighters, while either white or green painted lines support EMTs and paramedics. Glen Rock, N.J. used white paint while Dumont, N.J. used green to support the medical attendants. Here in Montvale, white paint has been used.

There is a question of the level of importance, maintenance, and economic resources that follow this topic. Contrary to popular belief, most New Jersey communities are using their own workers and resources to do the work, but the projects themselves aren’t too time consuming.

Is it safe for not-local drivers to know what to do on the roads? Believe it or not, there is no actual rule that is specific on whether or not there can be anything painted between the double yellow lines. It is different for each community, depending on who is responsible for the paintings of the road there.

“I felt like [the painting of the roads] was very controversial, because the anti-police stuff is due to racism. It was not a good idea to do that, and I believe they could have shown support a different way,” junior Cathy Yakomin said.

Senior, and former Pascack Valley student, Caitlin Nielsen stated, “[The lines] are illegal, because I believe there is a law that [says] there has to be pavement visible between the two yellow lines. It was a brilliant idea, but it wasn’t executed properly.”

Contrary to what Yakomin and Nielsen said, junior Kyle Hammalian said, “I think it’s a good way to show support for the first responders in our community who make pretty great sacrifices to serve. Our police officers protect us, and our volunteer firefighters and EMTs put in countless hours to serve us. I don’t think it’s so bad to show support for them all. I don’t think it causes any issues either, because it’s a simple but strong gesture.”