Fairways residents
face difficult left turn
Official agrees that
Fairways residents
face difficult left turn
BY JOYCE BLAY
Staff Writer
LAKEWOOD — Although the installation of a traffic light has not been formally approved in front of the Fairways adult community, Township Committeeman Robert Singer is certain there will be a light at that spot sometime in the future.
At the Township Committee meeting on Sept. 25, Fairways resident William Hobday, who has spearheaded the move to get a light installed at the entrance to the development on Massachusetts Avenue, thanked the committee for its efforts to secure a light.
He also thanked the Tri-Town News for reporting his community’s ongoing efforts to achieve their goal.
Hobday said the area just outside Fairways will become even more dangerous when The Enclave, an adult community that developer Jan Kokes is building across the street from Fairways, is constructed.
Singer agrees wholeheartedly that a light will be needed when the new development is completed.
Singer said Ocean County representatives are currently negotiating with Kokes in an effort to get the developer to pay for the traffic signal. Singer said he is confident a light will be placed outside Fairways and The Enclave, although he said he cannot give an exact date when that will happen.
Frank Scarantino, Director of Engineering in the Ocean County Engineering Department, said the county has received the updated report it had asked traffic expert John Rea to perform, but noted that at this point no light has been approved.
"Nobody has approved the installation of a light," said Scarantino. "The traffic study is still under review and we are in the process of getting input from the state Department of Transportation."
Singer said he believes the latest traffic study will show that a traffic signal is warranted.
Scarantino said the site of the requested traffic signal is less than 1,000 feet from the intersection of Cross Street and Massachusetts Avenue, where there is already a traffic light installed. He also said that unless six accidents had occurred at the location on Massachusetts Avenue that could have been prevented had a light been there, it was doubtful that one would be approved.
Singer, however, noted that other developments in Lakewood have traffic lights at their intersection with major roads even though that sometimes means there may be several signals in succession.
"I have grave concerns that with two major developments [across from one another], we would have problems," Singer said.
Lakewood police Capt. Rob Lawson confirmed that on Sept. 6, a family driving by the entrance to Fairways on Massachusetts Avenue, but who were not residents of the adult community, struck a flock of geese there. According to Lawson, the family members got out of their car to attend to the injured animals and were themselves struck and seriously injured by a motorist who could not see them over the rise in the road.
Hobday said the accident occurred at about 9 or 9:30 p.m. that Saturday night. He said three ambulances were called and police cordoned off the section of road involved.
He also said that a previous traffic fatality had already left Fairways residents apprehensive about making turns out of the community.
"It’s a very stressful place to get out of," said Hobday. "You can’t see [around the telephone poles] when you’re exiting the community. You can’t see through the cars in front waiting to make their right or left and it’s a seriously dangerous situation."
Singer confirmed that difficulty, noting that Fairways residents who want to turn left onto Massachusetts Avenue have to cross two lanes of traffic (the lane of travel and a deceleration lane) in order to make their turn.
Township Committeeman Ray Coles questioned why it had to take six accidents before the county and state could act on a dangerous intersection to ensure residents’ safety. "There are a lot of considerations taken into effect, but common sense is not one of them," he said. "I don’t want to see blood on the street before a light will be installed."