Speed limits still a concern
By: Lacey Korevec
Concerned about the speed limit on Old Trenton Road? How about pedestrian safety on Main Street?
The Township Committee wants to hear residents’ ideas, concerns and suggestions on Cranbury traffic and pedestrian safety during a Township Committee meeting on at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Large Group Instruction room at Cranbury School.
The traffic subcommittee met Monday to identify specific topics to discuss at the meeting, Township Administrator Tom Witt said Tuesday. Some areas the committee wants feedback on include safety on Old Trenton and Plainsboro roads, bus safety on Shady Brook Lane, pedestrian crosswalks on Main Street and signage on Route 130, he said.
"There have been major concerns by a lot of people in Cranbury Township regarding pedestrian safety and traffic safety issues," Mr. Witt said.
On Shady Brook Lane, Mr. Witt said there is a cul-de-sac with a school bus stop that forces bus drivers to back up in order to turn around, which goes against policy.
"There’s new policy that school buses, without anyone to stand behind the bus and guide them, cannot back up," he said. "Therefore, the Township Committee is going to look into that issue."
Mr. Witt said the committee has been talking about different ways to keep pedestrians and children who ride school buses safe on Old Trenton Road.
Sidewalk extensions and the crosswalk by Washington Drive and Millstone Park will also be discussed, as well as making the whole road a no-passing zone, he said.
"This is a county road so all these recommendations and proposals have to go through Middlesex County," Mr. Witt said.
On Plainsboro Road, Mr. Witt said the subcommittee and the township traffic consultant are considering updating advisory signs (such as signs that say "dangerous curve ahead), sidewalk extensions on the north side of Plainsboro Road up to Petty Road, widening the shoulder, and the feasibility of adding a bike path to the road.
"We’re going to try and address that road and make it safer with a sign plan," he said.
The committee is currently working on a plan to add new signs to Route 130 that will advise truck drivers on how to get to the Warehouse District without driving through the downtown area.
"They would have truck route signs that would have the Historic Downtown Village and they would have the emblem of the road in the corner," he said. "So, that’s a plan just to help eliminate the heavy truck traffic in town."
Township professionals, including traffic consultant Andrew Frenda and Township Engineer Cathy Marcelli, will be at the meeting to answer questions, Mr. Witt said. Anyone with concerns about these or other roads should come to the meeting and voice their opinions, he said.
"I think that this is going to be a lengthy discussion and we would certainly hope that it is," he said. "It’s definitely important. We would hope that any concerned citizen certainly shows up anybody who lives along these roads or anybody who has any kind of input as to how we can make Cranbury safer for both vehicles and pedestrians. We really want to hear from them."
Any plans that are made as a result of the meeting will be put into play on township-owned roads as soon as possible, Mr. Witt said. Plans for county roads will have to go through a more complicated process. He added that the proposed signage plan for Route 130 will need state Department of Transportation approval.
"Old Trenton Road and Main Street are county roads," Mr. Witt said. "Therefore, any solutions need to be forwarded to the county."

