By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — Two new traffic lights, called metering signals, are set to be installed on Route 31, one just north of the Pennington Circle, the other just south of the circle.
However, Hopewell Township elected officials want the proposed locations of both signals to be changed.
The metering signals, which look just like standard red-yellow-and-green traffic lights, are part of a planned New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) project designed to improve traffic flow and safety at the circle, especially at rush hour.
Back in March, Hopewell Township Police reported that more than 180 motor vehicle accidents occurred at the circle during the previous three years.(Link: http://www.centraljersey.com/news/hopewell_valley_news/hopewell-township-state-is-working-on-circle-project/article_c120e71f-5272-55ff-abda-eda2b57d7d63.html)
NJDOT is ready to start construction of the project, said township Administrator/Engineer Paul Pogorzelski. Work is expected to be “substantially complete by October 2015,” according to NJDOT.
Mr. Pogorzelski said he has been tasked by the Hopewell Township Committee to prepare a resolution about the project in time for the July 27 committee meeting. Once approved by the committee, the resolution will be presented to NJDOT.
The resolution, Mr. Pogorzelski said, will request that an existing traffic light south of the circle at the corner of Denow Road and Route 31 be converted into a metering signal instead of installing a new metering signal closer to the circle.
The resolution, he said, will also state a desire expressed by some township residents that the metering signal proposed for north of Pennington Circle, which would control the flow of southbound traffic into the circle, should be placed at the corner of Route 31 and Ingleside Avenue, where there is currently a flashing yellow signal.
NJDOT plans to install this metering signal closer to the circle, just north of the Buy-Rite Wine & Liquor store at 222 Route 31.
“A signal at Ingleside Avenue and another signal at Denow Road could be coordinated to do the same thing effectively,” Mr. Pogorzelski said.
Hopewell Township residents Robert and Jill Beyer said they are afraid that if NJDOT gets its way, the driveway of their home located along southbound Route 31 between Ingleside Avenue and the circle would be blocked by backed-up vehicles.
“Please do not put those signals in front of my house.” Jill Beyer told Township Committee members on July 13. “Please don’t let this happen.”
“If we pass a resolution, that might be helpful,” Robert Beyer said.
Back on June 29, residents had a chance to speak with NJDOT representatives about the project at an event called a Pre-Construction Public Information Center held in Hopewell Township. About 40 people attended that event, Mr. Pogorzelski said.
