The Hopewell Township Committee voted 4-1 Monday night, with Michael Markulec dissenting, to turn down Mercer County’s offer to take over a section of Bear Tavern Road.
The Hopewell Township Committee voted 4-1 Monday night, with Michael Markulec dissenting, to turn down Mercer County’s offer to take over a section of Bear Tavern Road in front of Bear Tavern Elementary School.
If the township took over the road, it could have lowered the speed limit in front of the school when warning lights are flashing to 25 mph from the current 30 mph.
The county has refused to lower limit, saying the 25-mph limit would violate engineering guidelines. If the township took over the road, it also would have been responsible for maintaining it.
Soundly defeated in the Nov. 5 general election was a non-binding referendum asking voters if they wanted the township to take over the road.
Before the election, township residents Adam Finkel, Catherine Kavanaugh and Jim Wulf filed a lawsuit against township and county clerk , saying the wording of the ballot question was biased against the township taking over the road and that the documents necessary to get the question on the ballot were filed too late.
A Superior Court judge dismissed that lawsuit. However, a Dec. 17 Appellate Court hearing has been scheduled on the matter.
Mr. Wulf is a member of the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education. He was a party to the lawsuit as a private citizen.
The committee was able to take action Monday night because the state Appellate Court denied, Monday afternoon, a motion by the plaintiffs to block action on the matter by the committee before the Dec. 17 hearing.
”For all intents and purposes, there are no pedestrians at Bear Tavern School,” Committeeman Harvey Lester said, noting that all students can ride a bus to school at no charge. He noted that there is no record of serious accidents near the school.
”Just because there hasn’t been an accident, it doesn’t mean there won’t be,” said Mr. Markulec.
Committeeman John Hart voted not to accept the road, but pledged to negotiate with the county on lowering the limit to 25 mph.
”I’ll work very hard to get the limit lowered to 25 mph without having the township pay out any money for that,” he said.
On a related issue, Mr. Hart and several residents who attended the meeting predicted that the volume of traffic, and the frequency of speeding, on Bear Tavern Road would increase markedly when a new bridge over Jacobs Creek opens on Route 579 about a mile south of the school.
Work on the bridge is under way, and Mr. Hart said it’s far too big.
”That’s a monstrosity,” he said.