By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
HOPEWELL BOROUGH — Noise from quarry dump trucks rolling down roads like Princeton Avenue and Broad Street are making at least one borough resident wake up weekday mornings much earlier than he’d like.
Mark Peters, who lives on Princeton Avenue, spoke before the Hopewell Borough Council on Monday, asking whether there are any solutions to the long-standing issue of truck noise. He also volunteered his own time to brainstorm with other residents on combating the din created by the trucks.
Although Mr. Peters expressed confidence something could be done about the noise without affecting quarry business, Borough Council members said important steps already have been taken, like enforcing recently-reduced speed limits in town, but the borough is limited by state and federal rules governing commercial trucking.
Michele Hovan, borough administrator, said a municipal ordinance does exist for vehicular noise, but it has more to do with idling trucks than those on the move.
Councilman Schuyler Morehouse, as per Mr. Peters’ request, did ask Dennis O’Neal, borough engineer, to investigate best practices implemented by other municipalities in dealing with noise from commercial vehicles.
Mr. O’Neal responded by saying he would check with some of his fellow members of the New Jersey Society of Municipal Engineers.
Councilman David Mackie suggested Mr. Peters temper his expectations since the issue is something that has been discussed over at least the past two decades, and all options already may be exhausted.
“There is no low-hanging fruit. It’s all been plucked,” Mr. Mackie said, suggesting there is a limit to the number of solutions. “We can’t bar them (trucks) from coming through town.”
Mr. Morehouse said borough officials are conscious of how noisy it is, and complaints are “not falling on deaf ears.”
Heavy truck traffic exists in Hopewell Borough and throughout the New Jersey, he said, primarily because “we’re a victim of our own success.”
“We’re a densely packed state, and there’s is a lot going on,” Mr. Morehouse said. “It’s just general commerce that is driving this.”
Despite the constraints on what borough officials seem able to do, Mr. Morehouse said, “I refuse to give up. We’ve got to keep talking.”
