More than 100 Sayreville residents gathered at the Senior Center last week to express concerns and ask questions about the controversial Main Street Bypass.
The four-mile road would run in an eastwest direction alongside the Raritan River, parallel to Main Street, whose traffic concerns prompted officials to begin planning for the bypass years ago. Borough Engineer Jay Cornell said traffic on Main Street has tripled since 1983, from 600 to 1,700 cars per hour during peak times of day.
Concerned residents spent nearly three hours April 29 addressing a panel that included members of the borough’s bypass advisory committee, along with Cornell, Mayor Kennedy O’Brien and Police Sgt. John Bartlinski, who supervises the department’s Traffic Safety Unit.
Residents’ opinions varied from defending the bypass, in hopes that it alleviates traffic and acts as an additional throughway for emergency personnel, to attacking the road for its impact on wetlands and for being unlikely to alleviate Main Street traffic.
O’Brien said all concerns and recommendations were being recorded and would be presented to the Planning Board for further review.
The road, a two-lane highway that will be about 6 feet wider than Main Street, has many residents from Sheffield Mews concerned. If built, the bypass would split the condominium development in half.
Building the road north of Sheffield Mews was an idea discussed along with other alternatives, Cornell said, but doing so would have presented a “total disturbance of wetlands,” and probably would not have been approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The borough engineer assured Sheffield residents that the road would benefit them “more than anyone” because it would provide them with an alternate route in and out of their development.
Another alternative to the bypass would be widening Main Street, but Cornell noted that to do so the borough would have to acquire an immense amount of property, costing tens of millions of dollars. The project’s estimated cost right now is $10 million, which is to be covered by a state grant.
Bartlinski said he believes a lot of the concerns about the bypass are based on people not wanting the road in their backyard.
“We do have a traffic problem in town, and there’s no one here tonight who can disagree with that,” Bartlinski said at the meeting. “This will [create] another road that is going to alleviate some of the traffic already on Main Street.”
He went on to note that Sayreville has “a lot of underdeveloped land” and is in need of infrastructure such as roadways.
Richard J. Cannizzaro, a Boehmhurst Avenue resident, said he believes the road would benefit “people outside of Sayreville more than people in Sayreville,” because it would provide commuters traveling through Sayreville with a quicker route to major highways, such as the Garden State Parkway and Route 35.
The bypass would connect to pre-existing adjacent roads in T-shaped intersections, including Quaid Avenue Marsh Avenue, Boehmhurst Avenue and Kimball Drive West. This would provide residents in the 1,000 homes north of Main Street with an alternate route out of their neighborhoods, according to Cornell. Currently, those residents must exit and enter via Main Street.
“The bypass gives relief, making it easier for them to get to their destinations,” Cornell said.
Michael Passman, a Sixth Street resident, said he approves of the bypass because the new road system would provide easy access to and from his home, which is also important for emergency personnel. His residential road, located at the northern-most section of those neighborhoods and close to where the bypass would pass through, is at least 1,000 feet from Main Street, Cornell said.
Since another major concern among residents is truck traffic, the bypass advisory committee, which was assembled by O’Brien in 2008, recommended implementing a weight limit to stop trucks from using the section of the road nearest to the residential areas.
An intersection at Crossman Road may be built to allow trucks to enter the bypass road after the residential areas and proceed to the former National Lead site, which is slated for a major redevelopment project, said Karen Surratt, the mayor’s volunteer assistant.
Other suggestions include a 25 mph speed limit for the entire length of the bypass.
Borough Councilman David Kaiserman, a Sheffield Towne resident, spoke out about his opposition to the bypass. One of his primary concerns is that any future mayor and council could change the truck and speed restrictions at any time.
But Bartlinski said any amendments to the approved recommendations would still need to receive state approval.
“It would have to be a very viable reason,” he said.
Kaiserman also said he was concerned about what would happen if the project exceeded its $10 million expected cost.
“It’s a serious concern for me if my taxes are going to go up,” he said. “Who is going to pay for this?”
While acknowledging that he appreciated the committee’s work, Kaiserman said he thought it would be beneficial to have a public forum with the mayor and council instead of all the “back and forth [meetings] with various boards and committees.”
“There’s a time when you need to sit face to face with the mayor and council,” he said. “I personally don’t feel like my voice is being heard.”
The councilman and Planning Board member also requested a public hearing with the DEP, which has yet to approve the borough’s permit requests for the project.