Millstone Planning Board members told the applicant of a proposed Prodelin Way site that they want their own traffic consultant to weigh in with options and recommendations for access in and out of the property, which fronts on the Route 33 jughandle.
At the Dec. 8 meeting, the hearing was continued until Jan. 12, the first meeting of the new year.
In May 2007, the Planning Board granted preliminary approval for Millstone Property Investments LLC to construct a one-story, 9,900-square-foot day care center along with a one-story, 6,000-square-foot office and storage building on the 9.87-acre property.
Kenneth Pape, the applicant’s attorney at the time, said his client had a letter of interpretation from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding wetlands on the property. In an earlier hearing about the project, the Planning Board expressed concern that the property would have a connecting roadway to neighboring Monroe Township, but Pape said the connection had been removed.
At the Dec. 8 meeting, the applicant’s engineer, John Ploskonka, told the board that the road on the site would have ended in a cul-de-sac. However, the adjacent tract in Monroe Township was approved by that municipality’s Zoning Board for a use variance for 32,000 square feet of space, including a bank, office building and flex building, he said. His client now wants to connect the two properties to allow access for vehicles between the two sites, he said.
The applicant’s traffic engineer, John Rea, said his firm conducted a traffic impact study at the site Nov. 19. He said that without the connector road between the properties, anyone wanting to go from the Millstone site to the other would have to make a left onto Route 33, go two miles to Applegarth Road and take the jughandle to cross back over Route 33, then drive back to the Monroe site’s Route 33 entrance, going four miles out of their way. He said there was a synergy between the proposed uses on the property, and that people will move between the two sites.
Board members raised concerns about the proposed connector road becoming a thoroughfare.
Mayor Nancy Grbelja said that she passes through the area once or twice a day, and said, “Every time I look at the property and know it’s [approved for] a day care center, I think, ‘How the hell did we ever approve it?’ It’s a dangerous road to begin with, with no extra traffic,” she said.
Grbelja added that drivers on Prodelin Way do not follow the speed limit of 50 mph and that people go off the road constantly. She added that the township is not in the position to widen and repave the road to make it safer.
Rea said that cars do speed on Prodelin Way, but there is over 600 feet of sight distance. When asked about the number of accidents near the site, Rea said he did not have the exact numbers, but on any major state highway there would be 10 to 12 per year.
Committeeman Fiore Masci said there have been fatal accidents at the site.
Board member Thomas Pado said that at the time of the 2007 approval, he was adamant about not connecting the two properties. “I fear for the children at the day care
center,” he said. Pado suggested eliminating the Prodelin Way entrance entirely, forcing all traffic to head out through the Monroe site onto Route 33.
“Prodelin Way is just a bad road,” he said.
Board member Mary Pinney said the board was concerned three years ago about the location of the day care center, and now a situation they were concerned about then may become even worse.
Board member Manny Blanco, “You keep telling us there is nothing to worry about. This board thinks there is something to worry about.”
Rea said he has his professional engineering license at stake and takes road safety very seriously. He said it was possible to eliminate a left turn out onto Prodelin Way, and traffic could be routed through the Monroe site onto Route 33. Board Engineer Matt Shafai said that speed humps or other traffic-calming devices could be installed on the site. Board Chairman Mitchell Newman polled board members, who agreed to have their own traffic expert, at the applicant’s expense, make recommendations so they can be sure they are making the right decision.