Deal Rd. sidewalk, road widening project to begin

Resident asks why homes losing property on south side of road

BY LINDA DeNICOLA Staff Writer

BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

OCEAN TOWNSHIP – Sidewalk and road improvements on the east and west sides of Deal Road are to begin this week and are not expected to cause any major disruption in traffic flow.

According to Township Administrator David Kochel, the project on the east side of Route 35 involves creating a sidewalk and an unpaved path through the 42-acre Turner tract where the township’s new library, Human Services Building and the historical Eden Woolley House Museum is located. The property is adjacent to the 208-acre Palaia Park.

Kochel said the two tracts are separated by wetlands and the township had to find a way to connect the two parcels. There is already a 3-mile trail system in the park that township officials would like to connect with a trail on the Turner tract.

“There will be two connecting points, one with a hard surface and one that could be a soft surface or a boardwalk that would go through the wetlands,” he said.

Kochel explained that the hard surface would have to be parallel to Deal Road. In order to do that, the road must be shifted slightly to the south.

When done, Kochel explained, the road will be very straight for vehicular traffic, and, because it will be a gradual change, it will look like a smooth transition between the parts of the road that are not to be reconfigured.

The road widening will start about 100 feet east of Logan Road, taper out from the present alignment, and gradually fan out to 4 feet wider, Kochel said.

Unfortunately, that 4 feet will come from the public right of way in front of the houses that are on the south side of the street.

Jacqui Jungkunst is one of the residents affected. Last week, she asked the council to take a little more time to consider aspects of the project before going forward.

“Ocean Township is taking 4 feet from the front of our homes on Deal Road to accommodate a sidewalk that is designed to sit directly on the north side of Deal Road to connect Joe Palaia Park with the new library,” she said.

“With all of the space on the north side of Deal Road, it still puzzles as to why the township has decided to cut into our front yards to move the road closer to our front door,” she added. “The most likely people that would walk to the library would be the Deal Road residents because it is across the street from our house, however, they are not giving us a sidewalk on our side, they are only moving the busy road closer to our side. How are we supposed to walk to the library? [It] just doesn’t seem like a nice thing to do to the Deal Road folks.”

Kochel explained that the purpose of the sidewalk is to be able to get people from the Oakhurst neighborhood to the complex. He told Jungkunst to survey her neighbors to see if they want the sidewalk on the south side, instead of the north side.

“If the people on the south side want that, we will consider that,” he added.

Earle Asphalt, of Farmingdale, won the bids for both projects. The bid was $261,413 for the sidewalk improvements and $196,913 for the second project, which involves improvements to the roadway on Deal Road west of Route 35.

Kochel said most of the paving work for that project will be done at night.