UPPER FREEHOLD: Town says ‘no means no’ on westerly bypass

By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
   UPPER FREEHOLD — The Township Committee unanimously adopted a resolution that states its unequivocal opposition to the proposed westerly bypass and asks the county to remove the stalled project from its regional traffic plan.
   The committee’s action Sept. 20 drew applause from more than a dozen residents of the Four Seasons retirement community who oppose the bypass and have been a presence at recent Township Committee meetings. The 378 homes in Four Seasons were built in 2002 near the site of the planned bypass, which was proposed in a regional study 20 years ago, but presently has no funding.
   ”I hope everyone understands what no means,” Township Committeeman Bob Faber said prior to the vote on the resolution. “We’ve been through this I don’t know how many times, and every time it’s no, no, no, but it just seems like some people just don’t understand no.”
   Mayor LoriSue Mount expressed frustration with those who might question the sincerity of the Township Committee’s opposition to the project.
   ”Discussion has been brought to our attention that we really don’t mean no, and that it’s not trusted when the committee says no,” Mrs. Mount told the audience. “It’s no. We can’t make it any clearer than that. So if you have a trust issue or a misunderstanding or no understanding of what the word no means, please ask us.”
   Township Committeeman Steve Alexander, who along with Mr. Faber is seeking re-election on Nov. 6, complained that the westerly bypass always seems to resurface as a political issue whenever it’s an election year.
   Mr. Alexander said he has gone to Four Seasons meetings in 2008 and 2009 to state the governing body’s opposition to the bypass and was recently at the Aug. 20 Monmouth County Planning Board meeting in Freehold, also attended by some community residents, where he once again spoke against the project.
   ”No information has gotten out in email form of this township’s position to Four Seasons (and) I can only draw the conclusion that it is politics and it’s because there are Democratic challengers in Four Seasons against myself and Bob,” he said.
   Mr. Alexander’s remarks from the dais appeared to be directed at Democrats Florence Foley and Leonard Davner, two Four Seasons residents in the audience at the Sept. 20 Township Committee meeting who won the Democratic nomination as write-in candidates in June to run against Mr. Alexander and Mr. Faber. (Robert Goldman, of Potts Road, later replaced Mr. Davner on the Democratic ticket).
   ”I hope this puts this political issue to rest,” Mr. Alexander said. “Democrat or Republican, we acted on behalf of the entire township tonight. And I hope that politics stays out of it. And I also hope that the two challengers state something so we can get to know them and understand their positions so we can have a dialog.”
   Ms. Foley told Mr. Alexander afterward that she had intended to withdraw from the race, but had missed the county deadline for removing her name from the ballot. Mr. Alexander responded that if that were true, she should tell reporters at the meeting to write that she was asking people not to vote for her, but she declined. Ms. Foley did give her phone number to The Messenger-Press to discuss the election and her candidacy later, but was unavailable before press time.
   The westerly bypass, as currently proposed, would connect Route 539/High Street (east of Allentown High School) to Route 524/Yardville-Allentown Road south of the borough. It is supported by Allentown’s residents and elected officials because it would divert heavy truck traffic away from the downtown area where homes and business directly front narrow streets built centuries ago.
   Upper Freehold, where most of the bypass road would be built, strongly opposes the project and the increased traffic it would bring to that community. The resolution approved by the Township Committee last week states that the project, as currently proposed, “… divides two residential neighborhoods, runs along Upper Freehold’s Byron Johnson Recreational Park, continues to run along longtime residential homes on Ellisdale Road, and is directly bordering local school fields…”
   In 2003, the Township Committee approved a less assertive resolution asking the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders to postpone consideration of the proposed westerly bypass. That resolution nine years ago asked the county to wait for: the completion of the easterly bypass on Route 526; a traffic study and risk analysis of the proposed changes; and a final report on the probability of creating an interchange at Sharon Station Road and Interstate 195.
   The 2012 resolution asks the county to scrap the westerly bypass entirely because: “… the county has advised the Township Committee of Upper Freehold Township during public meetings since 2003 that an interchange at Sharon Station Road and I-195 is not probable and is not a project within their jurisdiction.”
   Since the original 2003 resolution was approved, the county has completed the easterly bypass that directs traffic around the northern end of Allentown to Exit 8 of Interstate 195. It has also assumed jurisdiction of Sharon Station Road, where it plans 1.5 miles of improvements, including the replacement of three bridges.
   At an Allentown Borough Council meeting in June, Monmouth County Engineer Joe Ettore told borough residents who were pressing for answers on the westerly bypass that the county had no funding for it now. He said he expected the county to re-examine the need for the westerly bypass project in 2016 after the Sharon Station Road improvements were finished.