Continuing in the effort to expand on pedestrian safety, the Traffic Subcommittee in Cranbury Township is preparing to add two new crosswalks in the municipality.
The crosswalks will be situated in two locations in Cranbury Township.
One area will be at the intersection on Old Trenton Road and Liedtke Drive and the other spot will be directly across from the Cranbury Fire Department on South Main Street.
“Last year by the fire station, we had the unfortunate incident with a young girl who was knocked down by a car and lost her dog. The road there is tough because as the road turns you cannot really see past there as a driver or pedestrian,” Cranbury Township Committeeman Matt Scott said. “So this was a big concern and there is a big residential neighborhood there. That area also has one of the walkways to the Cranbury School, so we wanted to make certain that crosswalk was addressed as a first priority.”
He explained that this is sort of pilot program and the subcommittee was looking at another spot in town once one was decided on South Main Street.
“There has always been an issue about connecting the part of town south of Old Trenton Road. We thought the next great spot would be to put a crosswalk at Old Trenton and Liedtke. It needs to be there too because it is adjacent to the Four Seasons housing development in town,” Scott reported. “There is also a small collection of homes going in adjacent to Liedtke Drive. They will be building a sidewalk there which will increase pedestrian access. We really wanted to see if putting a lit crosswalk there would helpful not only because of Four Seasons, but for the outer neighborhoods in town.”
Officials said they will have another Traffic Subcommittee meeting on July 8 and are in the process of getting bids for the lit crosswalks.
“We are going to go over the particulars at the next subcommittee meeting. We already have the money budgeted for the crosswalks, so it will happen in the next two months,” Scott said. “Once we get our bids finalized we will begin the process.”
He said with the new Traffic Safety Bureau at the Cranbury Police Department, the addition of these two new crosswalks becomes a two pronged approach to traffic safety.
“One is enforcement the other is actual infrastructure. Lit crosswalks and better lighting are key components to safety. This is one of the things I ran one and I am excited to be a part of this,” Scott said. “I am hoping as phase two of the crosswalks getting putting in, we will then be able to look to the budget next year for what else we can do for safety.”
Each new crosswalk will cost between $12,000-15,000, according to officials.
“These new crosswalks will make Cranbury an even more walkable, enjoyable and safe place,” Scott said.