Some residents say intersection isn’t busy enough to warrant a light
BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer
Residents of the adult community Princeton Commons have been fighting for almost 10 years to get a traffic light at Brushy Neck Court and Princeton Avenue.
And it seems their battle has been won.
According to Ocean County Engineer Ronald A. Lotrecchio, if the approvals come through from the state Department of Transportation, the traffic light should be up by next summer.
Princeton Common residents who attended last week’s Township Council meeting were pleased to hear this news from Lotrecchio, who made a short presentation during the council’s caucus meeting.
But the dissenting voice, one that township officials recently said they haven’t heard before, was absent from the meeting.
“I wish I had known about the meeting,” said Chuck Widmer, a Brushy Neck Court resident.
Widmer, a stay-at-home father, said he sees the Princeton Avenue-Brushy Neck Court corner at all hours of the day and doesn’t believe the traffic light is necessary. Widmer came to the council’s Oct. 26 meeting and expressed his concern about the light, stating that he felt it was a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“There’s no reason for a light there,” Widmer told the council members.
Lori Cotrino, who lives on the corner of Johnson Street, which is diagonal to Brushy Neck Court, is concerned about the traffic light as well. Her two daughters ride the bus to school each day, and when the light goes in, the bus stop will have to be moved.
Both Cotrino and Widmer said they did not know that Lotrecchio would be presenting information about the light at the Nov. 9 council meeting. Widmer said he checked the Township Council’s agenda online and didn’t see any mention of it.
The county and township police have been investigating the intersection since 1995. In July 2002 the county engineer’s office denied the installment of the traffic light, according to a letter addressed to Township Business Administrator Scott MacFadden.
There are eight warrants, some of which must be met in order for a traffic light to be installed. According to the DOT’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, those warrants include vehicular volume, pedestrian volume, whether there’s a school crossing or coordinated signal system, and the crash experience at the intersection, among others.
Lotrecchio said that the DOT recently changed the criteria needed for a traffic light, so the county was able to look at the volume of traffic and project out to the future to meet the requirements to have the light installed. He told council members last week that the county has been working with the DOT on this project, so he expects approvals to come through without any problem.
One Princeton Commons resident who is in favor of the traffic light, Fran Eichholz, Cottontail Road, said it’s difficult to make a turn onto Princeton Avenue without pulling out into the intersection some distance.
“The people are afraid to make that left turn,” Jack Beerman, Brant Drive, said. “There have been many, many near-misses that are never recorded, that never go to the police department. You can’t see to pull out anymore.”
Beerman spearheaded the effort to get the traffic light installed. He wrote letters to the Township Council, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders and his state representatives.
“I can sympathize with the people [who oppose the traffic light], but they have to realize that it’s going to be safer for them, too,” Beerman said.
Lotrecchio said the stop lines for vehicles will be east of Brushy Neck Court and west on Johnson Street. There will be no striping changes on Princeton Avenue except for the stopping lines and crosswalk.
The signal itself will remain green for Princeton Avenue until a vehicle is detected on Brushy Neck Court, the county engineer said. He added that he’s not sure where the bus stop will be moved to, but that will be coordinated with the township police and the school district.