PENNINGTON: Council gives nod to King George Road plan

By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
   An improvement project for lower King George Road was approved by Pennington Borough Council Tuesday night after two hours of talks with residents of that part of town.
   And the sidewalks part of the project, removed from the proposal in early August, is back in the plan.
   Paying for the $352,000 project will be a grant from the state Department of Transportation (DOT). Work is expected to begin in the spring, borough Engineer Don Fetzer said, following improvements to underground water mains this fall.
   The project includes installation of a 4-foot-wide sidewalk, from Park Avenue to East Delaware Avenue, in front of residences on one side of lower King George Road. (On the other side of lower King George are the Stony Brook and a portion of Kunkel Park.) There will be a curb along the sidewalk running in front of the residences and, adjacent to the curb, a 5-foot-wide bicycle path.
   Mr. Fetzer said that, after the sidewalk and bike path have been added, the roadway itself will be 20 feet wide. It’s about 29 feet wide now. Borough officials want to narrow the roadway in an effort to slow down motor vehicle traffic. Residents and officials say speeding is a problem on lower King George.
   Also part of the work to be covered by the DOT grant is the reconstruction of badly worn lower King George between Park Avenue and Rockwell Green. The borough hopes to resurface, as opposed to reconstruct, the portion of the road between Rockwell Green and East Delaware Avenue. Resurfacing, which is much less expensive than reconstruction, involves milling off the surface of the road and paving it again.
   Mr. Fetzer said that, in the future, the borough might add a 4-foot-wide bike path on the side of lower King George that runs along the Stony Brook.
   About 30 residents attended Tuesday night’s special session focused on lower King George Road. About 20 of them addressed the council. Most of the speakers supported putting in sidewalks along the side where houses are located. Several opposed that plan, saying the borough should put a 10-foot wide multi-purpose path — for pedestrians and cyclists — along the side of the road that runs along Stony Brook and Kunkel Park.
   The meeting was a marked departure from a well-attended meeting on lower King George held a month ago, when most of the speakers were adamantly against sidewalks along the side of the road in front of the houses. After that meeting, sidewalks were taken off the borough’s plan for the road. After the strong majority opinion expressed for sidewalks Tuesday night, council voted unanimously in favor of Councilwoman Catherine Chandler’s motion to put the sidewalks back on the plan.
   ”Sidewalks would be a benefit,” said Eglantine Avenue resident Sylvia Kocses. She said it would make the area much safer for pedestrians, including children on their way to school or waiting for a school bus. Ms. Kocses also said she is “very excited” about the link to the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail (LHT) that the sidewalks and bike path will provide. A segment of the 20-mile loop trail, which is about half complete, is located on the other side of the bridge across Stony Brook. That bridge is immediately east of lower King George’s intersection with East Delaware.
   Numerous other residents made comments similar to Ms. Kosces, including Jeanne Donlon, a King George Road resident for 47 years. “There’s been a tremendous increase in traffic on King George Road,” she said. “Sidewalks are extremely important to our town.”
   However, several residents did oppose the plan the borough approved. Referring to the intersection of King George Road and East Delaware Avenue, King George Road resident Robert Ragolia told the council that “you’re making a killer intersection worse.” He said that, due to poor sight lines for motorists and pedestrians at that intersection, it is very unsafe for pedestrians to cross the intersection.
   Mr. Ragolia and several other speakers urged the council to approve instead a plan for a 10-foot wide multi-purpose path on the side of King George Road that runs along the Stony Brook. At the end of that path, pedestrians and cyclists would not have to cross King George Road in order to reach the bridge that gives access to the LHT on other side of the bridge.
   Mr. Fetzer and Councilman Joseph Lawver, who chairs the council’s Public Works Committee, said a multi-purpose path was not feasible due to cost.
   Mr. Fetzer said the plan would require much bank stabilization along the Stony Brook. “It would be very expensive,” said Mr. Fetzer, who added that the DOT grant would not pay for that work.
   ”The bank stabilization would have to be paid for by borough taxes,” Mr. Lawver said. It’s “not an appropriate time to put that burden on local taxpayers.”
       IN OTHER BUSINESS, Councilman Weed Tucker, who is in charge of public safety, said Pennington Borough has received 68 resumes from individuals wishing to apply for the Pennington Police Department vacancy created by the recent resignation of Joseph Maccaquano.  Mr. Maccaquano, who had been with the Pennington police for one year, resigned to take a job as patrol officer with the Hopewell Township police. He started that job Tuesday.
   Councilwoman Catherine Chandler said the borough has not yet drafted an ordinance that would create a historic district in the downtown area.
   She said the ordinance — as currently envisioned by council members — would be “very mild,” affecting only the fronts of residences.