Old Bridge official to
lobby for traffic light
BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — A township official expects to start a petition to persuade state transportation authorities to install a traffic signal at Ticetown Road and Valley Vale Drive.
Ward 4 Councilman G. Kevin Calogera, recounting residents’ complaints of dangerous crossings at the busy intersection, said Friday that he will ask residents to sign a petition in about two weeks requesting the traffic device.
Once completed, the petition would be forwarded to the state Department of Transportation, Calogera said.
In addition, the councilman expects to address the DOT about reconfiguring two exit ramps leading from Route 9 northbound to Ticetown Road. The ramps as well as the Ticetown Road and Valley Vale Road crossing are both located in Ward 4.
Valley Vale Drive lines up with the exit driveway of Old Bridge High School’s west campus. That configuration creates numerous traffic hazards, especially at dismissal times, Calogera explained.
The intersection and exit ramps are also situated just west of the Rotary International Senior Housing complex at 100 Ticetown Rd.
Seniors living in the Rotary housing risk being struck by a vehicle if they attempt to walk to the nearby Ticetown Shopping Plaza, Calogera said.
Specifically, Calogera wants the DOT to consider closing the exit ramp thatruns behind the shopping center and ends at Ticetown Road. Traffic exiting from that ramp adds to the number of vehicles already coming through the Ticetown Road and Valley Vale Drive intersection, he said.
Many Ward 4 constituents agree with that idea, Calogera added.
"We’d like to see DOT do away with the part that veers off to the right," Calogera said. "It creates more of a hazard at the intersection of Valley Vale Drive."
An exit ramp leading from Route 9 North and running in front of the shopping center could remain intact, Calogera said.
From the end of that ramp, motorists can turn right to head east on Ticetown Road or turn left to travel left on Throckmorton Lane.
Because traffic from that ramp can go in either direction, and with the other ramp closed, fewer vehicles would be traveling Ticetown Road to Valley Vale Road, Calogera said.
The original DOT design that placed the two exit ramps in front of and behind the shopping center is now obsolete and hazardous, Calogera said.
"They created a dangerous situation with the design they did," Calogera said. "The DOT needs to address that design."
Recently, Calogera’s 15-year-old daughter, a student at the high school, complained to her father about the dangers of crossing Ticetown Road when school lets out.
With the hazards at the intersection so obvious to teenagers and adults, DOT officials should be able to understand why the traffic light and reconfiguration is needed.
"If a 15-year-old realizes how unsafe this intersection is, why can’t the DOT?" Calogera asked.
The intersection of Valley Vale Drive and Ticetown Road is located just east of the exit from Route 9 North.
Its location is almost parallel to the point intersection where the Throckmorton Lane off-ramp meets the service road coming from Route 516 eastbound near the Bridgeway Diner.
The township has requested that a stop sign replace the present yield sign at that intersection due to a reported high volume of motor vehicle accidents there.
Although the DOT has repeatedly refused to install the stop sign, the state agency indicated last month that it will place an illuminated yield sign and a reduced speed limit sign at that spot within the next two months.