Most 2005 accidents occur on Route 1

About 25 percent of motor vehicle accidents in the township occurred on a five-mile stretch of Route 1.

By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Brunswick Pike – also known as Route 1 – is a four-lane highway that traverses Lawrence Township and has the distinction of being the most accident-prone street in the township, according to township Police Department records.
      There have been 413 motor vehicle accidents on the five-mile-long stretch of Brunswick Pike/Route 1 in Lawrence so far this year, the Police Department report shows. Townshipwide, there have been 1,737 accidents, including three fatal accidents. One of the fatalities occurred on Brunswick Pike last month.
      Those figures include accidents that occurred through Dec. 16.
      "It’s the amount of traffic," Chief of Police Daniel Posluszny said. "It is a continuously traveled road. There really are no patterns (of accidents). There are a high number of rear-end accidents, particularly stoplights, that are generally caused by driver inattention."
      Township officials plan to discuss the status of Brunswick Pike and possible improvements to the roadway with state Department of Transportation officials next year – especially in relation to the proposed expansion of the Quaker Bridge Mall, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said. Brunswick Pike is a state-controlled highway.
      Lawrence Associates, which owns the Quaker Bridge Mall, is considering a 650,000-square-foot addition to the 1.3-million-square-foot regional mall. An application has not yet been filed with the township Department of Community Development.
      Of the 10 most dangerous intersections, five are on Brunswick Pike, according to Police Department records. The most dangerous intersection in town is the intersection of Brunswick Pike at Franklin Corner Road and Bakers Basin Road, with 56 accidents.
      The second most accident-prone intersection is the Brunswick Circle, near the Trenton border. There have been 38 accidents this year at the circle, where Lawrence Road, Brunswick Pike, the Brunswick Circle Extension, Brunswick Avenue and Strawberry Street intersect.
      Brunswick Pike is located north of the traffic circle and Brunswick Avenue is located south of the traffic circle. The Brunswick Circle Extension connects with Princeton Avenue.
      "The vast majority of accidents are low-speed accidents (at the Brunswick Circle)," Chief Posluszny said. The number of accidents has actually decreased since the state Department of Transportation installed "yield" signs, he said, adding that the new signs have eliminated some of the confusion at the circle.
      The fourth-ranked dangerous intersection is at the ramp from Quaker Bridge Mall onto southbound Brunswick Pike, which recorded 24 accidents. Brunswick Pike’s intersection with Whitehead Road is eighth, with 14 accidents.
      The intersection of Brunswick Pike at the Quakerbridge Road ramp and the intersection at Texas Avenue are tied for ninth place – both with 13 accidents apiece, Police Department records show.
      There have been 270 accidents on Brunswick Pike, exclusive of intersections, the police chief said. Those accidents have occurred along the entire stretch of Brunswick Pike – from the Trenton border to the West Windsor Township border.
      Chief Posluszny said many businesses have driveways on the section of Brunswick Pike north of the Franklin Corner Road and Bakers Basin Road intersection. Some of the driveways are close together and do not leave much room for cars to maneuver onto the highway, he said.
      The major causes of accidents are driver inattention, use of cell phones, fiddling with the car radio or distractions caused by passengers in the car – especially during the morning and evening rush hours, Chief Posluszny said.
      Lawrence also has several narrow, winding roads in the northern part of town, but there are fewer accidents on those streets – even though many are heavily used by commuters to the Educational Testing Service and Bristol Myers-Squibb Co., for example, he said.
      Police have recorded only one accident this year on Carson Road, which is a narrow road that connects Province Line Road and Carter Road, Chief Posluszny said. There have been three accidents on Province Line Road and five on Cold Soil Road.