TINTON FALLS – Municipal officials have been made aware of “an excessive amount of trucks and commercial motor vehicles (CMVs)” along the portion of Shark River Road between Route 66 and Shafto Road (Route 547).
That issue resulted in the Borough Council to pass a resolution in support of a CMV restriction on a portion of the road.
Borough Council members Gary Baldwin, John Manginelli, Christopher Pak, Brock Siebert and Nancyanne Fama passed the resolution during their meeting on July 16 in the municipal building.
The resolution states there are “numerous single-family residential properties and a retirement community along this portion of Shark River Road. In addition, the road in this area is narrow and contains a sharp curve. A safety and quality of life issue has been identified for residents in this area.”
Council members said in the resolution that Tinton Falls “desires to implement a CMV restriction to prevent vehicles weighing greater than 4 tons from using this portion of Shark River Road.”
According to the council, the borough engineer has prepared a certification report in accordance with state law “which analyzes traffic counts, crash reports, circulation, traffic movements, road data and alternate routes for the nearby area” and has recommended the proposed CMV restriction be implemented upon approval by the state Department of Transportation (DOT).
Council members announced that the vehicle restriction on Shark River Road would result in an alternate route for CMVs that would take them west on Route 66 and Route 33 to Shafto Road (Route 547), where they would continue north.
Council members reported that the designated alternate route would be on state and county roads away from residential properties and would be a better route for CMVs.
The mayor and council “concur with the borough engineer’s recommendations for a CMV restriction along the portion of Shark River Road between Route 66 and Shafto Road (Route 547) and acknowledge the impact of the alternate route on the state (Route 66 and Route 33) and Monmouth County (Route 547)” thoroughfares.
Borough Engineer Thomas Neff said, “Hopefully we can get this (plan) approved” by the DOT. “We will submit it to the DOT and see what they say.”
In other business, Neff said he would be filing Tinton Falls’ application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) with Monmouth County, which administers the federal program. He said a municipality is permitted to apply for a grant every other year.
“The last grant we received was for improvements to a portion of Hope Road near the Ocean Township border. That work will be starting in the near future,” he said.
Neff explained that the CDBG money that comes through the federal department of Housing and Urban Development must be used for Americans with Disabilities Act improvements or road work in targeted areas. The maximum grant that can be received is $200,000.
“(Borough Administrator) Mike Skudera and I met with county representatives” to discuss the CDBG application, Neff told members of the governing body and the public. “We are recommending the construction of a new concrete sidewalk on Foxchase Drive between Filly Way and Rider Lane. There is an asphalt sidewalk there and we are recommending its replacement with concrete.
“The estimated cost of the work is $150,000. This is a project that will have an impact for a lot of residents. (Administrators of the CDBG program) like projects that help families and individuals who are disabled. We will work on finalizing and submitting the application and we should hear about our award in late December or early January,” Neff said.
No one from the public commented on the borough’s CDBG application when given the opportunity to do so.