a traffic hazard
Board denies Quick Chek
at Main and Washington
Sayreville police officer says plan would create
a traffic hazard
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer
Despite being told otherwise during more than two hours of testimony from a traffic engineer, members of the Sayreville Zoning Board of Adjustment could only foresee traffic and safety problems related to a proposed Quick Chek at Main Street and Washington Road.
The board unanimously denied the application for a convenience store and gasoline station at the Feb. 19 board meeting.
"This is basically a proverbial square peg in a round hole," board member John Zebrowski said.
During the applicant’s first appearance before the board in December, many residents expressed concerns about the amount of traffic that already exists in the area. The Feb. 19 meeting proved no different.
"This is a nightmare, and anyone who thinks it isn’t is crazy," former borough Councilman Vincent Zarcaro told board members.
Zarcaro said the site in question has a problem with commuter traffic in the early-morning hours and early-evening hours.
Quick Chek’s traffic engineer, Joseph Staigar, tried to convince board members that the proposed store and gas station would not produce more traffic than the permitted uses on the site, which include a medical building or day-care center. He said the site would see a projected 172 new trips in the morning hours and about 192 new trips in the evening.
The board’s planner, Thomas Sheehan, said the actual number of cars entering and exiting the site during the morning and evening peak hours would be three times the number of new trips produced by the uses allowed in the borough’s zoning ordinance.
The original plan for the convenience store and gas station included an entrance and exit on both Main Street and Washington Road.
The application was revised to show that vehicles would only be permitted to make right turns in and out of the Main Street driveway. The new plans still allowed vehicles to make both left and right turns in and out of the Washington Road access point, Staigar said.
"You couldn’t take this land use and put it on a quiet street somewhere, a dead-end street," Staigar said in trying to explain that a high-traffic area is the right place for the store and gas station. "A convenience store would not survive with that kind of low volume."
Borough Police Sgt. John Bartlinski told the Zoning Board Feb. 19 that his main concern with the Washington Road driveway was the sight distance for vehicles moving south on that street. He also said that since northbound traffic backs up at the Washington Road traffic light, it would be difficult for vehicles to turn left onto Washington Road.
"I feel you’re going to see an increase in accidents and it will be a very unsafe and hazardous condition," Bartlinski said.
Staigar told board members that the Quick Chek application included plans to extend the left-hand turning lane at Washington Road northbound, helping to make for a smooth flow of traffic in and out of the store’s driveway. Board members questioned the guarantee of having the roads widened since any change at the intersection also depends upon county approvals. Both roads are owned by Middlesex County.
Other board members were also concerned with the amount of pedestrian traffic that could increase at the busy intersection, particularly with senior citizens who reside at Gillette Manor, which is located near the opposite corner of Main Street.
According to the plans, the 2.5-acre site would have had a convenience store at the rear of the property and the gas pumps at the front. There would be five pump islands with 10 pumps, said Ronald J. Piccolo, the applicant’s engineer.
Robert A. Delia, director of real estate for Quick Chek, told the board in December that the store would be open 24 hours, with 25 to 30 employees working throughout the day.
The store would have had a deli area and other food items and beverages. The applicant also proposed tables and chairs, so that customers could eat in the store, and two public restrooms.
The application required waivers and bulk variances for not conforming to borough building guidelines, including two dealing with setback requirements for the canopy structure over the gas pumps. Other waivers or variances had to do with the size of the Quick Chek sign and sidewalks throughout the parking lot area.
While the Quick Chek chain, which operates only in New Jersey, has four other locations in the borough, Quick Chek officials said they did not plan to close any of the other sites if granted approval for the Main Street and Washington Road site.