SOUTH RIVER–The Borough Council approved a resolution establishing its opposition toward the Township of Old Bridge’s Jake Brown Road Redevelopment Plan.
The Study Area is comprised of 16 parcels and is located at the intersection of Jake Brown Road and Route 9, and the intersection of White Oak Lane and Jake Brown Road. The majority of the parcels within the Study Area are vacant. The Glenwood Country Club Golf Course, Old Bridge Rifle and Pistol Club, Board of Education building, and Old Bridge commuter parking lot lie within the Study Area. The Study Area also contains two farms, according to Old Bridge’s Area in Need of Redevelopment report, dated April 8.
“It’s a resolution that I asked to be put on the agenda. [After] meeting with the business administrators from East Brunswick and Sayreville, we’ve had discussions about how Old Bridge is wanting to develop a large area of Jake Brown Road off of Route 9 … and their plan is to have all the traffic go onto Bordentown Avenue, not on Route 9,” Business Administrator Art Londensky said.
After he and the other two business administrators got together, Londensky said all three towns are putting up resolutions opposing this plan because Bordentown Avenue is already congested.
“We recommend that they get [the traffic] out on Route 516 and on Route 9 and not overflow Bordentown Avenue, which has already reached its capacity,” Londensky said.
The current traffic pattern illustrated in the redevelopment plan empties traffic onto Bordentown Avenue. Bordentown Avenue currently has significant capacity and safety issues, according to the council.
Traffic exiting onto Bordentown from such a large redevelopment area will only exacerbate these problems, according to the council.
The council approved the resolution respectfully requesting that Old Bridge’s Jake Brown Road Redevelopment Plan be amended so that the traffic is not emptied onto Bordentown Avenue on Aug. 2 during the council meeting.
For reasons relating to vacancy, underutilization, and lack of comprehensive design, it is recommended that the Township of Old Bridge Planning Board and Township Council take the required action prescribed by the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (LRHL) to declare the parcels identified within the Study Area as in need of redevelopment, according to the report.
Once declared as an area in need of redevelopment the council may direct the Planning Board to prepare and implement a redevelopment plan to ensure proper utilization and development of the properties within the Study Area, according to the report.
For more information, visit www.oldbridge.com/page/planningboard and click on the Jake Brown Road Redevelopment Study.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].