UPPER FREEHOLD — Township officials recently assured a Sharon Station Road resident who owns an excavating company that his concerns about how the redesign of the road will affect him have not been forgotten.
At the June 7 Township Committee meeting, members of the governing body told Ken Giovanelli that his specific house lot and block were included in the resolution passed that evening supporting the concept corridor improvement layout design by the Monmouth County Engineer’s office.
According to the resolution, the concept plan provides for a boulevard-style roadway and traffic-calming devices, including a roundabout at the intersection of Sharon Station Road and County Route 539.
It also references several ingress and egress points along the Sharon Station Road corridor to provide access to existing and proposed subdivisions along the road, and improvements to the intersection of Sharon Station Road and County Route 526 at the traffic signal, with regard to the business located there, Allentown Inc.
The resolution states that the county engineering department has agreed to the condition that it will work with the homeowners at Block 24, lots 3 and 8, to further investigate the construction of a safe ingress and egress for them.
That block and lot includes Giovanelli’s property.
Giovanelli said he was not only concerned about getting his excavation equipment to and from the property, but also about the ability of fire and ambulance services to access the house after improvements are made to the road. Municipal clerk Dana Tyler said the township’s fire marshal will contact County Engineer Joseph Ettore about this issue.
Committeeman Stan Moslowski Jr. said when he and Deputy Mayor Steve Alexander first sat down with the county engineer’s office years ago about the Sharon Station Road redesign, “Our first words were – Ken Giovanelli has to be able to get in and out of his driveway.”
Giovanelli said he has a meeting scheduled with Freeholder Thomas Arnone on June 21, as well as with the county engineer. His neighbor, Les Baird, whose access is also affected by the proposed redesign, will also attend the meeting, he said.
He said if the township supports him, it should be easier to convince the county that an opening should be made to provide access for his vehicles.
Alexander said part of the problem is that there is preserved property near the site, a small portion of which could be used for better accessibility.
However, because the land is preserved, it is “almost impossible” to obtain a small piece to use for this purpose, he said.