Mayor David Del Vecchio and Police Director Bruce Cocuzza wrote to DOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri, asking that speed limits on all state roads in the city be reduced to 25 mph in the wake of a fatal accident April 28.
By: Linda Seida
LAMBERTVILLE In response to the recent fatal accident that occurred on Route 165, the mayor and the police director have sent an urgent appeal to the state Department of Transportation for an immediate reduction of speed limits in the city.
Mayor David Del Vecchio and Police Director Bruce Cocuzza have asked DOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri to lower the speed limit on all state roads in Lambertville to 25 mph. They now range from 35 to 45 mph.
The mayor has been asking the state for the reduced speed limit since at least 2000.
The DOT has a proposal before the City Council to increase pedestrian safety and calm traffic. The plan calls for narrowing roadways and installing three roundabouts, among other features.
But Mayor Del Vecchio and Mr. Cocuzza want better safety features and enhanced pedestrian access now "in lieu of undertaking a major project that may be years away from fruition," they wrote in their letter to Commissioner Kolluri.
In addition to an immediate lowering of the speed limit, they also requested the installation of a pedestrian-controlled traffic signal at Route 165 and Swan Street.
That location was the site where 23-year-old Marcela Martinez-Torres was struck by a vehicle April 28 while crossing the road on her way to work. She suffered injuries to the head and body and died three days later at Capital Health Systems at Fuld in Trenton.
The requested changes "may be accomplished with relatively minimal modifications to existing infrastructure and would, we believe, result in immediate relief for both pedestrians and drivers, particularly those who value safety above convenience," Mayor Del Vecchio and Mr. Cocuzza wrote.
As of Monday, the DOT had not received the written request, according to spokeswoman Erin Phalon.
"Upon receipt, we’ll carefully review the letter, and we’ll work with the town to try to resolve this issue as soon as possible," Ms. Phalon said.
Lambertville police and the county’s Fatal Accident Collision Team still are investigating the accident.
"Regardless of the ultimate findings, this incident once again underscores the fact that Route 29-165 from state highway 179 (Bridge Street) to the southern end of Lambertville is an extremely dangerous half-mile stretch of roadway," Mayor Del Vecchio and Mr. Cocuzza wrote. "In 2005, about 20 percent of all motor vehicle accidents reported in Lambertville occurred in this area.
"Additionally, the scene of this latest fatality is about 200 yards south of the widely publicized crash in 2000 that resulted in one pedestrian killed and three others seriously injured when an out of control tractor-trailer crashed into a video store."
The accident in 2000 occurred when a tractor-trailer that was hauling garbage on Route 165 plowed into the building. Employee Joan Eschen, 54, of Delaware Township was killed.

