In a half-hour presentation Oct. 18, Joseph Kowalski, chairman of the Mayors’ Task Force on Traffic and Trucking, discussed accomplishments and goals
By: John Tredrea
Truck traffic on Route 31 has declined more than 25 percent since 1999 when the state banned 102-inch-wide trucks from using Route 31 and similar roads to make interstate runs, according to Joseph Kowalski, chairman of the Valley’s Mayors’ Task Force on Traffic and Trucking.
This was one of several things Mr. Kowalski told the Hopewell Township Committee Oct. 18 when he gave leaders a task force progress report.
Created about five years ago, the task force has sought to make life on local roads better, especially in terms of safety, Mr. Kowalski told the township governing body.
In a half-hour presentation on the task force’s accomplishments to date and goals for the future, Mr. Kowalski said the state ban of 102-inch-wide trucks on interstate runs from Route 31 and similar roads is a key accomplishment. The ban, first declared on July 15, 1999, by then-Gov. Christie Whitman in Hopewell Borough, has been in place a little over two years. Along with residents and officials of neighboring towns along Route 31, the task force pressed the state vigorously to institute that ban, and continues to press for inclusion of 96-inch-wide trucks in the ban.
Mr. Kowalski said an electronic counting device, placed on Route 31 just north of the Route 518 junction, shows a decline of more than one-fourth in the volume of truck traffic on Route 31 since the ban went into effect.
Dramatically increased enforcement of motor vehicle laws on trucks has occurred during the same time span, Mr. Kowalski said. In 1997, Hopewell Township police officers issued 87 traffic summonses to truck drivers. It was up to 1,100 summonses last year.
Another highlight, he said, was the state’s decision to ban all tractor-trailers, except those making local deliveries, from Route 29 from its intersection with I-95 in Mercer County to its northern terminus at Route 12 in Hunterdon County.
The ban came after several fatal accidents involving large trucks. The ban on Route 29 "is an amazing accomplishment … we worked very hard with West Amwell on that," Mr. Kowalski said. Route 29 passes through West Amwell north of Hopewell Township.
The task force, which meets once every two months, has responded regularly to residents’ concerns about speed limits and other traffic regulations on local roads. In response to recommendations from the task force, which includes township Deputy Mayor Jon Edwards and which consults regularly with the township police, speed limits on many local roads have been lowered and signs on roads made "more consistent," Mr. Kowalski said.
He also said the success of the task force to date stems largely from the support it has received from the community, the police department and township government; the task force’s commitment to researching thoroughly the issues it confronts; and its regional approach. We have "regular contact with eight other communities, including East and West Amwell, Lawrenceville, Princeton, Kingston, Rocky Hill, South Brunswick and Lambertville," Mr. Kowalski said.
He added that, as a result of the task force’s efforts, the volume of truck traffic on Route 518 has decreased and gate hours at Trap Rock’s two quarries in the township have been reduced, thus reducing early-morning truck noise near the quarries.
Mr. Kowalski, who lived on Route 518 in northeastern Hopewell Township for 25 years before moving to Montgomery recently, said the task force wasn’t trying to hurt local businesses.
"We don’t want to discourage local commerce, not at all, but only to have the right vehicles on the right roads," he said.
Key goals for the task force, he said, include: expanding the state ban on tractor trailers from Route 31 and similar roads to include 96-inch-wide trucks; giving local police the authority to enforce the ban; getting more consistent weight limits on county roads; and preserving the Jacob’s Creek and Mine Road bridges, both over 100 years old, in Hopewell Township.

