Some area students are disregarding the traffic signal at the intersection of Route 31 and Delaware Avenue
By John Tredrea
Each day during lunch, students from Hopewell Valley Central High School cross Route 31 to reach eateries on the other side of the road.
Some of those students are disregarding the traffic signal at the intersection of Route 31 and Delaware Avenue, or not using crosswalks, or not using the intersection at all to get across the highway.
Instead, they wait for gaps in traffic and cross the highway, often at a run, north or south of the intersection.
Concern over this practice has led Pennington officials to act against it. The portion of Route 31 involved is in Pennington.
"We’re going to start actively enforcing the law against jaywalking," Pennington Police Director Bill Meytrott said.
Director Meytrott said enforcement could take the form of a warning or ticket. The law against jaywalking is a state law, not a municipal law, he added.
Due to cutbacks in school busing, Pennington is posting a police officer at the Route 31-Delaware Avenue intersection each day before and after school.
"If there is an emergency, the officer may have to leave, or he may never get there at all," Director Meytrott said. "If that happens, the officer will call Hopewell Township police, who have agreed to send someone as soon as they can. However, they may have their own emergency to deal with or, there may be a time lag involved before the township officer is able to get there."
Marked buttons should be pushed to activate the electronic signals for pedestrians to cross, the police director added.

