Big rig access to Route 206 draws attack in Montgomery

Highway described as township’s "Main Street"

By: Jake Uitti
   MONTGOMERY — The state Department of Transportation’s plan to allow Route 206 to be an access road for double-trailer trucks as well as trucks 102 inches wide came under heavy attack from the Township Committee on Thursday.
   According to committee thinking, Route 206 in Montgomery, though it is a state highway, serves largely as the community’s main roadway. It is traveled by virtually all of the township’s school buses and residents, provides access to the newly opened Van Horne Park and acts as the route to restaurants and many other public amenities.
   In Montgomery, Route 206 is also the site of considerable traffic congestion, with its intersection with Route 518 being a densely traveled area, often with cars backed up during high peak traffic hours.
   There are sections of Route 206 north of Montgomery where allowing this sort of truck traffic might not be inappropriate, Mayor Louise Wilson said. But for Montgomery and the neighboring municipalities south of the township — including Princeton Township, Princeton Borough and Lawrence Township — this is not a good idea, she said.
   "It is preposterous to allow the biggest of the big rigs on the historic sections of Route 206 in those communities," Mayor Wilson said.
   Along with historic preservation, there are safety reasons and budgetary reasons to keep the large trucks off Route 206, she said.
   "It is a bad idea not only because of the proximity to the historic buildings and the desire of all our communities to do traffic-calming, but also because of traffic safety concerns that are raised and the incredible wear and tear they place on the road infrastructure," Mayor Wilson said.
   If such trucks were allowed on Route 206, the mayor said, they would invariably also go on Route 518, which would directly affect the neighboring municipalities of Rocky Hill and Hopewell Township, as well as the western sections of Montgomery.
   Citing accident reports provided to the committee by Police Director Michael Beltranena, Mayor Wilson said allowing trucks along Route 206 in the very north end of the township — where Routes 206 and 601 meet and where Route 206 goes over the CSX railroad tracks — would be dangerous.
   "Right now, to bring those super-big trucks down into Route 206 and into that very dangerous hot zone for traffic accidents with all the injuries, is truly a bad idea," Mayor Wilson said.
   She said township officials would be reaching out to state officials in the hope of coming to an agreement to prohibit the big rigs in the township.
   Last week, Princeton officials, in response to the proposed trucking regulations, said they would form a task force that would request the exemption of truck traffic on heavily traveled Princeton roads.
   Princeton officials are also opposing the plan because it includes same heavy truck traffic on Route 27, which cuts through Princeton Township and becomes Nassau Street in Princeton Borough, one of the borough’s most heavily trafficked streets.
   In other business Thursday, the Township Committee was unable to act on an ordinance regarding the proposed Blawenburg Associates development, located at the intersection of Routes 518 and 601, the site of the former Hilltop Sub Station. The committee was expecting to act on an ordinance that would allow compressors, such as those found in commercial refrigerators and freezers, in the stores on the first floor of the buildings on the site, which would be below second-story residences.
   The committee said it expects to revisit the ordinance in the new year.