By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
Last week’s announcement that the Hopewell Township Committee is asking the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to make improvements to the Pennington Circle is good news.
Officials say the proposals — which include curb line modifications, lane restriping and traffic island reconstruction — would improve traffic flow significantly at relatively little cost and with relatively little disruption to homeowners and businesses at or near the circle.
Pennington Circle, like others that remain in New Jersey, are traffic nightmares. Drivers, if they can, often avoid them like the plague. For that and other reasons, we often have wondered why the Pennington Circle was not removed in 1991 when the state had plans to do so. Expense probably was a major factor.
The circle, however, is not the only serious problem involving Route 31 that remains in the Valley area. There is the dangerous intersection of Route 31 and Ingleside Avenue.
A mid-February crash — which did not involve injuries fortunately — at that intersection brought to mind again the problem local drivers have had there for years. The flashing yellow lights do not do the job. Traffic signals, like those at Route 31’s intersections with Delaware Avenue, North Main Street, Titus Mill Road, Route 654, and others, are needed.
Since January 2001, according to the Hopewell Township police, there have been 54 crashes on Route 31 at Ingleside Avenue. An additional 16 occurred near the intersection. Of those at the intersection, 19 involved injuries and one near the intersection involved injuries. Fortunately there have been no fatal crashes there — not yet.
In addition, police report that since January 2001, there have been 1,837 crashes on Route 31 in the township. Of those, 355 involved injuries. This is proof indeed that Route 31 is a dangerous highway.
It has been said those who oppose traffic lights at Route 31 and Ingleside think more drivers would use Ingleside to go into or leave Pennington Borough — rather than use the circle. If that is the case, why is that a problem? Why should local people have to use the circle if they don’t need to?
The no-left-turn laws recently put into place on Route 31 south of the Pennington Circle appear to have worked well for drivers in that area. With so many using Route 31 these days, any further changes that would make driving less risky on this major north-south route should be considered.
We urge township officials to talk to the DOT about this intersection and push for safety improvements.

