about traffic at
intersection of
Rt. 79-Old Mill Road
Residents worried
about traffic at
intersection of
Rt. 79-Old Mill Road
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
Despite residents’ vociferous complaints about potential traffic dangers, and agreement by Marlboro Planning Board members, a plan for a commercial development at the corner of Route 79 and Old Mill Road has been granted preliminary approval.
The Maple Tree Plaza project calls for five buildings to be constructed on the 12-acre tract. A 3,000-square-foot Community Bank, a 10,000-square-foot day-care center, a 24,000-square-foot office building and two retail buildings of 30,000 and 16,000 square feet will be constructed on the site.
The intersection of Route 79 and Old Mill Road sits at the bottom of a dip between two hills. During a public hearing on the proposal, residents of the area testified at length that drivers are blind to oncoming, speedy traffic behind the hills, especially while making a left turn from Old Mill Road onto Route 79 north.
Several residents warned that an exit from the Maple Tree Plaza on Old Mill Road will put more drivers, who are unfamiliar with the intersection, in the dangerous position of turning onto Route 79.
"You’ve got a split-second decision over whether you’re going to do it. Most people can’t," said Alan Brett of Cloverleaf Drive.
Traffic engineer John Rea, representing applicant Carmine Casola, projected a traffic increase of between 5 and 10 percent on Old Mill Road as a result of the development. The peak hour traffic spike would likely increase about 10 car trips during the morning, 20 during the afternoon and 30 on Saturdays, he said.
Board members explored the possibility of restricting right turns onto the narrow, residential Old Mill Road, but the idea was scrapped as dangerous.
"It actually does do something," said Michael Chasin, the board’s traffic engineer. "It makes more traffic on Route 79 and a more dangerous situation on Route 79, to no benefit of Old Mill Road."
Pat Wonasicki, the owner of a nearby Kinderland University school, worried about buses and parental traffic mixing with commercial vehicles at a Maple Tree Plaza entrance lined up directly with the day camp’s driveway.
But Rea, with Chasin’s agreement, said the state Department of Transportation prefers the entrances lined up as a matter of procedure.
"The safest arrangement is either a direct offset or enough of an offset that the entrances are nowhere near each other," Chasin said.
Previous testimony indicated that a traffic light will not be constructed at the intersection of Route 79 and Old Mill Road.
Board member Dennis Downes said he rarely encountered such a level of concern by residents regarding traffic during his tenure on the board.
However, Board Attorney Dennis Collins cautioned the panel’s members that they could not base their votes on traffic issues. Only the site plan on the property, which some board members acknowledged conformed in every significant way, should be a consideration, Collins said.
"I feel tremendous pain that we can’t give the neighbors a better answer in terms of safety," Downes said.
While Mayor Matthew Scannapieco said his "hands are tied" in terms of voting based on the intersection’s traffic, he said he would consult township police on enforcement issues at the site.