PLAINSBORO: Speed limit reduction likely for Edgemere Ave.

By Allison Musante, Staff Writer
   PLAINSBORO — After pressing the state Department of Transportation for years, locals who have campaigned to make Edgemere Avenue slower and safer might get their wish this summer.
   On Wednesday night, the Township Committee introduced an ordinance to officially change the speed limit on Edgemere from 35 mph to 25 mph. The committee will likely adopt the ordinance at its next meeting on June 22, with the change taking effect in July.
   ”This is something we’ve sought for many years, so this ordinance will finally put that in place,” said Mayor Peter Cantu.
   For at least the past five years, township police and residents have urged the DOT multiple times to reduce the limit for the safety of children at the Wicoff Elementary School and because of an influx of young families in the area. But the township’s request was repeatedly denied because it did not meet certain qualifications of the DOT.
   ”The success of the effort is attributed to the changing conditions in the community and especially in the village area,” the police said in a statement.
   Police and the township engineer, CME Associates, completed a comprehensive study that justifies the reduction because of the nature of existing commercial and retail development, roadway characteristics and prevailing traffic conditions, police said. The study found these qualities to agree with the standards of the DOT.
   ”The village area has seen significant improvements over the past several years; it is incumbent upon us to make the necessary changes to Edgemere Avenue to support a safe environment for our residents,” said Mayor Cantu.
   Edgemere will undergo roadway improvements from late June to early July, during which time the new speed limit signs would be installed. Police said they would conduct an educational enforcement awareness campaign prior to enforcing the new speed limit.
   Most recently, a handful of residents around Wicoff appealed to the committee in October. They argued the speed limit change was crucial because of more pedestrians near the school and more families with children moving into the neighborhood.
   At the time, Police Chief Richard Furda said the DOT had refused to make a change because about 90 percent of the traffic was traveling at or below 40 mph, according to a police traffic study from last summer. Chief Furda said the DOT didn’t recognize this as a problem because of the 85th percentile rule – the speed at or below which at least 85 percent of vehicles travel.
   Residents had previously petitioned the committee in February 2006 for a 25 mph zone around Wicoff. At that time, the Village Center was under construction. The DOT rejected the request based on speed data and the nature of the area at the time.