By charles w. kim
Staff Writer
CHARLES W. KIM GOP Assembly candidates for the 14th District Bill Baroni and Sidna Mitchel stand at the intersection of Ridge Road and Route 1 in South Brunswick on July 17.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Seven miles of Route 1 in the township need to be added to a new traffic safety plan, according to two GOP Assembly candidates.
"They skipped South Brunswick," 14th District GOP candidate Bill Baroni said last Thursday at the intersection of Route 1 and Ridge Road.
Baroni and fellow GOP running mate Sidna Mitchel said that they want the section of road in South Brunswick included in the new safety initiative Gov. James McGreevey signed into law last week.
McGreevey signed the "safe corridors" legislation July 15 in Lawrence creating the designation. Under the legislation, drivers will receive double fines for motor vehicle violations committed in the corridors.
According to the news release, the new law allows the commissioner of transportation to designate segments of highways as "safety corridors" based on accident rates, fatalities, traffic volume and other criteria.
The legislation increases the minimum fine for violations of laws and regulations concerning certain commercial vehicle equipment and licensing, as well as other driving infractions. It also allows for fines to be doubled if a driver is charged with traveling more than 20 mph over the posted speed limit.
Among the 12 other stretches of road designated as "safety corridors" is the length of road extending from milepost 20 in South Brunswick (Henderson Road) to milepost 30 in Edison, and a 30-mile stretch of Route 9 between Lakewood in Ocean County and Sayreville.
"Hundreds of people are killed and thousands injured on New Jersey highways each year," Assemblyman Gary Guear (D-14th District), the bill’s sponsor, said in the release. "This measure serves as a wake-up call to all motorists."
Baroni and Mitchel will face Guear and Democratic incumbent Linda Greenstein in the November election.
The section between Lawrence and Ridge Road was studied last year by the Route 1 Safety Impact Team. According to the study, more than 677,000 vehicles use that stretch of road daily, with almost 1,400 accidents occurring during the past two years.
South Brunswick Police Chief Michael Paquette said Tuesday afternoon that, while he supports the new law, he wonders why the majority of Route 1 in his township was neglected by the legislation.
"I don’t know how they could neglect the rest of that road. We have every bit as much traffic as the southern end does," Paquette said.
According to township police, the road logged 110 accidents in the first six months of this year with one fatality, and some 26 other injuries.
"We lose lives on this road," Baroni said, "How do you write a bill and forget about the towns you represent?"
Baroni said that he and Mitchel want the stretch included in the legislation right away.
"You pick up the phone (to the Department of Transportation)," Baroni said.
Paquette said he stands for whatever the state wants to do to stop accidents, but he was concerned that the other seven miles of Route 1 in South Brunswick did not qualify to be included by the safety study team.
"That speaks for itself. That is the section of Route 1 that goes from three lanes to two lanes. Traffic is horrendous, and we have a large number of accidents," Paquette said.
Baroni said that, if elected, he and Mitchel will use legislation to make sure the road is included in the corridor.
He also said that he has a four-pronged approach to help make Route 1 safer, including widening the road to six lanes throughout South Brunswick.
"They could use the $400 million for the Route 92 project to widen the road," Baroni said referring to the N.J. Turnpike Authority’s plan to build a 6.7-mile toll road through South Brunswick.
Baroni said that he and Mitchel oppose that plan.
"We are concerned, and we aren’t even in office yet," Mitchel said.
The state DOT office which makes the designations for the corridors did not return calls seeking the criteria used in determining the corridors.
Guear had said last week that the section did not meet the established criteria for the zone.