BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Motorists traveling the borough’s main thoroughfare will need to slow down to 25 mph or take their chances on receiving a summons.
Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina said that for the last eight months he and Police Chief Michael Beierschmitt have been meeting with residents who live on West Main Street.
The subject of the meetings has been speeding vehicles and large trucks driving along the road that is basically the residents’ front yard. The residents asked that the speed limit be lowered from 30 to 25 mph.
Residents have been attending Borough Council meetings over the last year to express their concern for the safety of pedestrians as well as motorists who were complying with the speed limit.
Bellina said that upon a recommendation from Beierschmitt, municipal officials adopted an ordinance on Feb. 21 to reduce the speed limit on East Main Street and West Main Street from the borough’s eastern border to its western border. The new speed limit is 25 mph.
Safety officer Patrolman William Bismarck has been monitoring the traffic situation and has been conducting speed surveys in the West Main Street area for two years, according to Beierschmitt.
According to the chief, in addition to continuing development in areas surrounding the borough, truck traffic through town has increased as a result of the ongoing construction of a new bridge on Route 9 over Route 522 in Freehold Township. The construction issues, in addition to speeders on Main Street, has caused a dangerous situation on the thoroughfare, according to the residents who brought their concerns to the council.
“These roads were made in the early 1900s,” Beierschmitt said. “They were not designed to handle this extreme amount of traffic.”
The chief advised motorists to pay close attention to the speed limit change and said the speed limit will be monitored by officers. Radar will be used and will be considered a priority on East Main Street and West Main Street, he said.
Signs with the 25 mph speed limit are expected to be posted in the near future, according to the chief.