By: Mark Moffa
WASHINGTON – Residents and business owners at Monday night’s public hearing of the township’s Master Plan worried that the Department of Transportation’s Access Management Plan might threaten the viability of certain businesses or disrupt the rural character of Washington.
Township Planner Bob Melvin explained the plan to the Planning Board and an audience of nearly 40 residents and business owners. He said the Access Management Plan, or AMP, includes possibly widening Route 130 to six lanes from Route 195 to Miry Run, adding a landscaped median to create a "boulevard effect" and reducing the speed limit to 45 mph.
"We thought that making the Town Center walkable was more important than keeping Route 130 to four lanes," Mr. Melvin said.
The plan for Route 130 also includes installing a new traffic light near Domino’s Pizza between South Gold Drive and Robbinsville-Allentown Road and possibly removing the traffic light at Sharon Road.
He said anyone who owns property along Route 130 should check with the township’s planing office because driveways or entrances to businesses will not be allowed along certain areas of the road.
The most significant features of the AMP address east/west traffic flow, according to Mr. Melvin.
A proposed southerly bypass to Route 33 has been touted as a necessity so that Route 33 from Washington Boulevard to Route 526 can be turned into the Town Center’s Main Street.
The southerly bypass would be one lane in each direction with a 5-foot shoulder. Main Street would be one lane in each direction with on-street parking and a bike lane.
The portion of Mr. Melvin’s presentation that drew the most attention concerned the addition of several service or parallel roads and jughandles along Route 130.
Several business owners and residents expressed concern over an access road connecting South Gold Drive with North Gold Drive.
"The current alignment of that road would take away at least 50 percent of the parking area," said a representative from THH Industries, which owns a building on 107 North Gold Drive and two other buildings. The company predicts such a road would have a "devastating" effect on the value and usage of its buildings.
Michael Feldstein’s company has owned 103 and 105 North Gold Drive for 15 years – he said he was the first to build in the industrial park and that both of his sites would be rendered "unusable" if the road went through his property as currently designed.
The owner of Champion Packaging on South Gold Drive was unhappy with the placement of a jughandle at the intersection of South Gold Drive with Route 130.
"According to your plans, it looks like you have a jughandle going directly through my building," he said.
"DOT wanted the jughandle," Mr. Melvin said. "We tried to voice the concerns that are being voiced tonight."
Mr. Melvin said DOT is trying to get rid of left turn lanes on Route 130 to maximize north/south traffic flow. He told the concerned business owners to attend the DOT’s hearing on the AMP, which was originally scheduled for Nov. 14, but will be rescheduled for a later date.
Mr. Melvin said a new road could extend Route 33 across Route 130 to connect with Route 526. Another road could connect Sharon Road to the extension of Route 33.
Other concerns included those of residents from the Hillside development, who were concerned the extension of Sharon Road might disrupt life there.
Gary Leverence was particularly concerned about a path he often uses near Hillside. A new road, he said, might mean the end of that walking path.
"That path is the only path that hundreds of residents have access to and currently use," Mr. Leverence said.
Mayor Nancy Tindall, who sits on the Planning Board, said she uses the path as well.
Mr. Melvin said the Sharon Road extension is low on the AMP priority list, and might not even be necessary.
Also during Monday’s meeting, Mr. Melvin outlined the Town Center’s open space plan, which includes 22 park and garden areas, and amendments to the Town Center Master Plan ordinance.
Planning Board Chairman Joseph Odenheimer established a subcommittee to examine the North Gold access road and other issues raised by those in attendance.
Mr. Odenheimer and Mayor Tindall will join Planning Board members Robert Scheideler and Edward Nelson in a meeting with Mr. Melvin and other township consultants Monday in a closed meeting.
The Planning Board will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 27 in the Sharon School, where it will likely vote on at least part of the Master Plan.
Any business owners or residents with concerns about how the Master Plan will affect them are asked to contact the township’s planning office at 259-7082, extension 123.
