By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
PENNINGTON — Hopewell Township is asking for changes to a traffic safety project at the Pennington circle along Route 31, but Pennington Borough wants the project to proceed as planned.
A point of contention between the two municipalities is the intersection of Route 31 and Ingleside Avenue, about one half mile north of the circle.
Hopewell Township officials July 27 formally requested the New Jersey Department of Transportation “replace the existing flasher-type signal at the intersection of Ingleside Avenue and Route 31 with a full traffic signal that includes accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists.”
Some residents in Hopewell Township said they want the a standard traffic light at the intersection so a metering signal designed to regulate the flow of southbound vehicles into the circle would not have to be installed.
Jill Beyer, of Hopewell Township, who lives north of Pennington circle along southbound Route 31 and south of Ingleside Avenue, said she is afraid that if a metering signal is placed as planned near the Buy-Rite Wine & Liquor store at 222 Route 31, her and her neighbors’ driveways would be blocked by backed-up cars and trucks.
Scott Stephens, director of community and constituent relations for the DOT, responded to Hopewell Township with a letter dated July 29, saying the municipality’s request cannot be granted in part because the intersection is located “outside the limits of this safety and operational improvement project.”
In his letter, Mr. Stephens wrote that an analysis must be performed first to determine if “installation of a traffic signal is warranted at this location.”
The project, he said, already has “been awarded for construction, and work is starting.”
Pennington officials on Aug. 3 officially announced their support for adhering to the DOT’s current plans for the project at the circle.
The Borough Council voted 5-0 to approve a resolution stating its “opposition to the proposed substitution of a full traffic signal for the existing flasher-type signal at the intersection of Ingleside Avenue and Route 31.”
Councilwoman Catherine “Kit” Chandler was not present at the Aug. 3 council meeting.
A full-signal intersection, the resolution stated, “will encourage drivers to use Ingleside Avenue as a detour bypass from and to Route 31 and to access Burd Street as a ’cut-through’ to avoid volume on Route 31” and “both Ingleside Avenue and Burd Street are residential streets in the borough and are not designed for capacity beyond residential use.
The increase in traffic volume will pose a danger to children, pedestrians and bicycle riders.”
Language in the resolution also states, “There are no data suggesting that the current signal at Ingleside Avenue and Route 31 is ineffective.”
“My preference is not to have a (full traffic) light at Ingleside. I don’t see it as an issue.” Mayor Anthony Persichilli said Aug. 3, just before the council voted on the resolution. “I’m happy the State of New Jersey has said what they said, that they want to go through with it.”
“I’m a little disappointed in Hopewell Township,” Mr. Persichilli said referring to Hopewell Township’s previous support for the project.
According to the DOT, it received “Resolution (No. 14-156) in support of the project from Hopewell Township on April 28, 2014.”
Pennington Borough Councilman Glen Griffiths, speaking at the council meeting, suggested if Hopewell Township still wants a full traffic signal at Ingleside Avenue and Route 31, it would have to go through the analysis process as recommended by the DOT.
