Official looking into closing Morganville, Ticetown rds.
O.B. councilman says Aberdeen housing would congest roads
By sue m. morgan
Staff Writer
Old Bridge Township Councilman G. Kevin Calogera has asked the council to explore closing two thoroughfares that traverse Old Bridge and Aberdeen due to concerns about increased traffic and congestion from a proposed high-density housing complex in Aberdeen, Monmouth County.
If constructed, the 387-unit Crystal Lake at Greenwood development would be situated at a point where Old Bridge, Aberdeen and Marlboro townships all meet. It would be located on Greenwood Avenue near Henninger Mill Road in Aberdeen, abutting the Old Bridge border. Greenwood Avenue becomes Morganville Road in Old Bridge. Henninger Mill Road becomes Ticetown Road in Marlboro and Old Bridge.
Calogera has suggested closing Greenwood Avenue at the point where it becomes Morganville Road, and Ticetown Road at the border of Marlboro and Old Bridge.
Old Bridge officials have been mounting a fight against the controversial Crystal Lake application for several months.
In addition to passing a resolution opposing the application, the council approved a Jan. 28 resolution asking the Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority (OBMUA) not to sell township water to Aberdeen for use by Crystal Lake residents. That resolution asks the utility not to honor its agreement with Aberdeen, which dates to the early 1980s and allows it to provide water to residents living near that municipality’s border with Old Bridge.
Calogera now says it is in the best interests of Old Bridge residents, particularly those in wards 2 and 4, to take matters a step further by closing the two township roads that lead into those wards from the proposed development.
Calogera first raised the idea at the council’s Jan. 22 agenda meeting. At that time, he mentioned that the Edison Township Council was considering an ordinance that would turn five streets near JFK Medical Center into permanent dead ends. The purpose of that ordinance, Calogera said, was to discourage development near the hospital.
The Edison Township Council unanimously approved that ordinance on Jan. 25.
On Jan. 28, Calogera raised the subject again and said he wanted to find out whose permission should be sought either to terminate or realign the roads.
"This is not in the best interests of the people in wards 2 and 4," Calogera said.
Calogera also noted that the Cedar Ridge II property, which the council is negotiating to purchase, is located directly across from where the Crystal Lake development would be built.
"I believe the project (Crystal Lake) is detrimental to our residents, especially in an area where we are already spending $6 million for open space," Calogera said.
"It’s out of the context of the area," he added.
Calogera told Greater Media Newspapers he would like to meet with representatives of the neighboring towns to discuss the uses of land near the mutual borders.
"We need to sit down with each town," he said. "Just as much as we don’t want to create a problem for them, we don’t want them to create a problem for us."
Hearings began on the Crystal Lake application, which includes some affordable and age-restricted units, in November and are to be continued before the Aberdeen Planning Board March 20. Some testimony was heard at the Jan. 16 meeting.
Calogera, along with Township Planner Sam Rizzo and Ward 2 Councilman William Baker and Councilman At-Large Edward Testino were planning to attend the board meetings to continue voicing their opposition to the application.
In addition to Old Bridge, the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Board of Education has also passed a resolution opposing the development.