Woods residents speak out after tragic accident
Township officials
to address lighting,
other concerns
JERRY WOLKOWITZ The crosswalk facing the Laurel Avenue Towne Center entrance was the site of a fatal accident on May 10 that claimed the life of a 14-year-old girl. The residents who live across the street in The Woods are seeking improvements to the area.
HOLMDEL — Although residents of The Woods at Holmdel have been seeking changes on Laurel Avenue for over two years, it took the recent death of a teen-age pedestrian to get the ball rolling.
Alexandra Rose Miracle, 14, Holmdel, was struck and killed by a car at about 8:35 p.m. May 10 while attempting to cross Laurel Avenue, to go from the Holmdel Towne Center to The Woods condominium complex.
On Sunday, Committeeman Larry Fink said that he expected the Township Committee on Monday to authorize Township Engineer Ed Broberg to work with Jersey Central Power & Light Co. to install additional lighting in the area, as per the residents’ request.
Accompanied by approximately 30 of his neighbors, Ralph Rivera, president of The Woods community association, addressed the committee on May 13, pleading with members to stop dragging their feet and to get things done. He said that although some of the changes are up to the county, Holmdel is responsible for the lighting changes.
JERRY WOLKOWITZ This memorial was set up for Alexandra Miracle, 14, near Laurel Avenue, where she was killed while trying to cross the street on May 10.
"Tonight I am here representing the residents of The Woods at Holmdel in our ongoing effort to make modifications to the crosswalk area between the main entrance to The Woods and the eastern entrance of the Holmdel Towne Center.
The Township Committee and the board of directors have had this conversation many times over the past two years, but this time the conversation continues under the dark cloud of the death of a 14-year-old girl.
"We recognize that the investigation of that accident is still pending and that factors outside of the issues we will be discussing tonight may have been in play. But the incident brought a stunning realization to our community that we are not immune from danger in that zone, and we need to make every effort to increase safety in that area," he said.
In order to increase safety, he put together a list of recommendations compiled over several years by residents of The Woods through meetings, phone calls, conversations and e-mails sent to members of the Township Committee, the Police Department, and the township engineer’s office.
"These recommendations represent what our community views as requirements for the safety and peace of mind of not only the residents of The Woods at Holmdel, but also pedestrians and drivers that cross that area," Rivera said.
He said the recommendations were meant to serve as a foundation for improvements to the area and noted that although they are not engineers, the residents have used the crosswalk for the past two years, thereby bringing a level of familiarity to the table.
The recommendations were categorized into three sections, involving roadway illumination, better signage and traffic signal improvements.
"It is our feeling that the township, under your guidance, should proceed with an illumination strategy that is not dependent on the county or state in order to expedite this portion of our recommendations," he said.
Although Laurel Avenue is a county road, Holmdel is responsible for additional lighting, officials say.
"There is simply not enough signage to indicate to drivers that there is a crosswalk area," he said. "Speed signage, as well as signage indicating that pedestrians have the right of way, needs to be installed to clearly instruct drivers to yield."
Residents also believe additional thought should be applied to the manner in which the roadway striping is designed, saying it should be overstated to make it more visible to drivers and to aid pedestrians, he said.
They also recommended lowering the speed limit now that The Woods is fully occupied and because the homes are so close to the street.
Residents also complained about the crosswalk button that pedestrians have to push to get a walk signal. Rivera said many residents do not know about the button and that the current button is inaccessible to the handicapped.
"It is vital for the safety of pedestrians in the crosswalk to have exclusive use of the walkway," he said. "This would mean that once a pedestrian has pressed the crosswalk button on either side and the appropriate phase has passed, all traffic lights would turn red."
Rivera said the county currently has a 7-second walk cycle followed by a 25-second cycle of a flashing "Don’t Walk" sign, for a total of 32 seconds.
"In the current scenario, this is simply not enough time because pedestrians must compete with motorists who are trying to turn either onto or off of Laurel Avenue. In an all-red scenario, no vehicles will be allowed to move, and pedestrians will have exclusive and safe passage to the opposite side," he said.
With regard to the traffic signal, residents would like to see it "upgraded to include a green arrow right-of-way light for both sides of the road."
"In this scenario, vehicles from both sides have exclusive right of way to navigate toward Route 35 north or south," Rivera explained.
They would also like no-turn-on-red signs in order to prevent anxious motorists from trying to navigate around pedestrians, he added.
After the meeting, Rivera said residents have been asking for help for a couple of years but that the committee has blamed the problem on the county.
Rivera said the township needs to lobby the county; otherwise county officials will just ask for a new assessment of what has happened with the crosswalk over the last three years, and since the community is not even three years old, "there’s not enough data to check the crosswalk historically."
"I just want everyone to be safe. That includes drivers and pedestrians. We don’t want this to happen again," he said.