Marlboro to pursue state
grant for sidewalk, light
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — The township is almost ready to apply for a state grant that would finance improvements to Route 79 near Marlboro High School, Councilwoman Patti Morelli said.
The initiative launched by Morelli to have a sidewalk built on Route 79 from the high school to Route 520 and to have a traffic light installed at the school’s exit to Route 79 gathered steam after a Marlboro student was struck by a van while he tried to walk across the intersection of Route 520 and Route 79 in January. The student is recovering from his injuries.
Township officials will apply for a state "Safe Streets to Schools" grant that would finance the traffic light and sidewalk, Morelli said. The grant application must be submitted by June 30.
In addition to the traffic light and sidewalk, Morelli has sought a crosswalk at the Route 520-Route 79 intersection, and push buttons that would allow pedestrians to change the signal on an existing traffic light at the intersection.
"These improvements are a priority because Route 79 is a state highway and can be dangerous," the councilwoman said. "Sidewalks and crosswalks will make the area safer for children."
The township has gathered all of the information it needs to apply for a state "Safe Streets to Schools" grant, Morelli reported. In order to obtain funds from the state for the traffic light at the school exit, the township had to conduct a traffic study in the area.
Marlboro had to prepare a survey of the surrounding area as part of its application for state funding of a new sidewalk, the councilwoman explained. Marlboro will apply for grants to finance the gradual construction of a sidewalk that would eventually extend from School Road to Route 520, said Morelli.
Acting Township Engineer James Priolo was scheduled to meet with a state Department of Transportation (DOT) representative on June 1 to prepare the grant application, she added.
The push buttons and the crosswalks cannot be financed through state grants. However, the DOT will have to approve those upgrades, Morelli said, adding that Priolo will also discuss those aspects of Marlboro’s plan with the DOT.
Morelli said she hopes the crosswalks and pedestrian push buttons will be in place when school begins in September.
The town expects to be informed of the DOT’s decision on the application for the traffic light at the school’s exit and the sidewalk in October, Morelli said. Noting that it may be difficult to persuade the DOT to approve the new traffic light on Route 79, Morelli said she has helped win the support of residents and local officials for the initiative.
Morelli worked with Marlboro High School students to collect signatures on a petition supporting the grant application. The students collected 4,000 signatures on the petition.
Bart Rosenthal, a high school senior, has worked with Morelli to spearhead the petition drive, the councilwoman said.
The signed petitions, along with letters of support from Freehold Regional High School District Superintendent of Schools James Wasser and Marlboro High School Principal James Mullevey will be included in the application to the DOT, Morelli said, adding that state Sen. Ellen Karcher of Marlboro has also lent her unqualified support to the township’s quest for the grant.
If the town’s grant application is approved, construction on the projects covered by the grant could begin as early as June 2005, Morelli said.