Gravel-Hill Spotswood Road residents seek a lower speed limit and truck restrictions.
By: Al Wicklund
MONROE Homeowners on Gravel Hill-Spotswood Road, between Route 522 and Hoffman Station Road, want township officials to reduce truck traffic and lower speed limits near their homes.
Steve Gorbe, one of the homeowners, presented a petition to the Township Council Monday night.
Mayor Richard Pucci responded by saying the township will try to find a solution.
Mr. Gorbe said the speed of trucks on the roadway is creating a danger to schoolchildren waiting for buses in the area and to cars coming from homes with blind driveways.
The petition asked that the speed limit be lowered from 40 mph to 30 mph and also asked for the elimination of construction vehicles, such as tractor-trailers and dump trucks, which are using the road as a short cut to several development sites.
Mr. Gorbe said the vibrations caused by trucks bouncing over the road have cracked windows of homes along the road.
Mr. Gorbe, who was accompanied to the council meeting by about a dozen of his neighbors, said the construction trucks are using Gravel Hill-Spotswood Road as a shortcut instead of driving on Hoffman Station Road, a wider county road.
"Twenty-six of 27 families in the area have signed the petition. The one missing neighbor is out of state and I’m sure will join the rest of us in signing," Mr. Gorbe said.
He said residents of nearby Helen Court also have joined the petitioners.
In addition, he said, the Postal Service has recognized the hazardous conditions.
Attached to the petition was a letter with Postmaster Robert W. Reese’s name at the bottom asking half the residents to move their mailboxes so all of the boxes will be on the same side of the road.
"The location of your mailbox (across the street from the house) has become a concern to us for both your safety and that of your letter carrier. Heavy growth and increased traffic on your road prompts us to request you move the box to your side of the street," the notice said.
Mayor Pucci said Township Engineer Ernie Feist and a representative of the Monroe Police Department will investigate and report to the council at its Feb. 23 agenda meeting.
He said, until that meeting, the administration will try to find more immediate help.