By John Tredrea, Special Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — The superintendent of New Jersey’s Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park has joined the government of Lambertville in asking the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to OK installation of a mid-block crosswalk on Bridge Street, near the point where the park’s towpath crosses that street.
The crosswalk is strongly needed for safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, officials said.
Because the DOT has legal jurisdiction over Bridge Street, one of the main thoroughfares of Lamberville, the DOT’s OK is needed for the crosswalk to be built.
Many cyclists and pedestrians cross Bridge Street near where the crosswalk would go in order to continue along the towpath.
In a Dec. 12 letter to James Simpson, DOT commissioner, Lambertville Mayor David Del Vecchio said he was writing on behalf of the city government to request an engineering study on the feasibility of installing the new crosswalk.
”This area is used extensively by both pedestrians and cyclists who frequently cross Bridge Street and continue along the towpath,” the letter said. “The lack of a crosswalk to facilitate this activity presents a significant hazard to the people who habitually cross Bridge Street at this point. Near accidents involving vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists occur on virtually a daily basis. It is our concern that a serious accident is imminent,” said the mayor.
Patricia Kallesser, superintendent of the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, wrote in a Dec. 14 letter to DOT Commissioner Simpson that she supported putting in the new crosswalk.
She noted that the 70-mile park that goes along the canal and nearby Delaware River is the third-most-visited park in the state.
”Bridge Street in Lambertville is the only park crossing on a busy road in Hunterdon County that does not have a crosswalk,” Ms. Kallesser said. “Due to on-street parking and frequent traffic backups along Bridge Street, it is difficult for drivers to see towpath users before they step out into the street.
”Further, the streets and sidewalks of Lambertville are often very crowded, making it difficult for bicyclists, dog walkers, pedestrians with strollers, and similarly burdened individuals, to walk one block in either direction in order to cross legally and safely at Lambert Lane or Union Street,” the park superintendent said.
Ms. Kallesser urged the DOT to allow installation of the crosswalk before summer, when use of the towpath will increase dramatically

