unless speed limit lowered
Tragedy imminent,
unless speed limit lowered
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
Ellisdale Road is an accident waiting to happen, residents told Upper Freehold Township Committee members at the March 4 committee meeting.
"I’d hate to have to see it come to the point where my son or daughter is killed [in order] to have a sign put up on the road," said resident Jeffrey Holbrook. "Unfortunately," he continued, "that is what it comes down to. If there’s a death, the sign will be up the next day."
A number of residents urged committee members to hold off on a proposed ordinance that would lower the speed limit to 40 mph and push the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to lower it even further.
Several new families have moved into the area, and the roadway is no longer just a farm road, residents said.
Resident James Bowers said he had told DOT investigators that the volume of traffic has increased 100 percent because of the opening of the Heritage Green and Four Seasons developments, combined with the flow from Byron Johnson Park.
"At 6 a.m., cars are doing 60 mph," he said.
Trucks from a local nursery are also speeding on the road, added Bowers.
"There are other ways to run those trucks," he said. "They are going 40-50 mph in the middle of the day. If a little kid pulls out of the park on a bicycle, how long would it take [for] a truck to stop? The kid would be a pancake."
Signs that were promised last November near the park entrance have not yet been put up, he said.
"There are no signs on the road, except [for] one sign [that] a private person put up," he said. "It used to be a farm road. Now it’s dense housing."
Bowers said he was also concerned with children riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in the area.
"They’re doing 50-60 mph," he said. "They’re 12 years old, they’re tailgating cars. The drivers have helmets, but not the passengers. I’ve called the state police. You can see those kids going down the road. Your heart pounds."
If the township could legally put up a sign, it would, said Committeeman William Miscoski.
"We have to fight the DOT," Miscoski said. "You’re right. Something has to be done before somebody dies there."
The township cannot legally put up a 25-mph sign because it would not be enforceable, said Township Attorney Granville Magee.
"It’s not prudent to put up signs knowing we don’t have an ordinance approved by the DOT," he said.
Committee members agreed to hold the proposed ordinance until the March 18 meeting so that township officials can contact state legislators and DOT representatives.
Committeeman Stephen Alexander asked James Bowers to make a "Day in the Life of Ellisdale Road" video to show to DOT officials.
Although committee members discussed passing the ordinance as it is now and pressing for a lower speed limit, most residents favored holding the ordinance and putting pressure on the DOT.
"I don’t think we’ll ever get 25 [mph] if we go to 35 [mph]," Miscoski said.
Alexander said that he was concerned about not passing the 35-mph ordinance and then having an accident occur at 40-45 mph.
"It would weigh heavily on me," Alexander said.
Resident Lenny Yanchar agreed that the speed limit should be 25 mph.
"There are kids riding bikes," he said. "If two cars are coming down in the opposite direction, there is no place for the kids to go. There are no sidewalks. High school kids walk through the park to get to the soccer fields. It’s not just little kids. It’s all kids. I think we have to fight the state on this one. We have to say no, our kids come first."
Bowers suggested that a speed recorder be placed on Ellisdale Road.
The township’s speed recorder is very large, but Mayor John Mele said that someone would be needed to write down the numbers.
"Our sign has a way of recording it, but it can’t be downloaded," he said.
The proposed ordinance would reduce the speed to 40 mph between Polhemustown Road and Heritage Drive, and to 35 mph between Heritage Drive and Old York Road.
A temporary speed limit had been placed on the road last year, and state troopers ticketed a number of drivers. However, because of the temporary signage, the tickets were dismissed in municipal court.