After Mayor Hsueh and Council reached a stalemate on the proposed reduction of the speed limit on Village Road West, a handful of residents came to Council’s next meeting with hopes of seeing the subject revisited this summer.
Brandon Goldberg of 12134 Taylor Court, a lawyer who is new to West Windsor, told Council he hopes that the issue of changing the speed limit along Village Road West to 40 miles per hour comes up at another business meeting soon.
“This issue was the result of a fatality [in 2009], and I’ve taken a look at the police report, and I’ve driven the road. It’s a worthwhile discussion for the town to have, and lowering the speed limit to 40 does seem like an appropriate option that I would support, and I think the issue should be revisited,” Goldberg said.
Aji Sjamsu of 745 Village Road came to the July 9 Council meeting with two neighbors “to press” for the speed limit to be reduced to 40.
“Although it’s not on tonight’s agenda, I would like to let the Council know that I, plus my neighbors, will re-emerge in great numbers in the future when this issue comes before you again,” he said.
Sjamsu’s neighbors, Doreen and Lindsey Hinczynski of 743 Village Road, said they are interested in lowering the speed limit to 40 in their neighborhood.
“I think it’s important for our neighborhood to be a safe neighborhood. When I sit at my kitchen table I see people biking along Village Road a lot. In order for it to be a safer environment for them, I think reducing the speed limit would be a good thing,” said Doreen Hincynski.
Her daughter Lindsay told Council that whenever she wants to take a run, walk to her neighbor’s house, or walk her dog she does not feel safe as cars speed past her on Village Road. Hinczynski says there is no sidewalk on her side of the road so she also has to cross the street to walk anywhere.
Although Mayor Hsueh wants the speed limit changed to 40 as well, he says regardless of what the residents told Council, it has been the practice in West Windsor to choose the lowest speed limit possible for safety reasons. “If we have a choice then going 45 mph will not go as smoothly in connecting with the part of Village Road that is 35 mph,” he said.
Recently Hsueh spoke with former Police Chief Frank Cox who said he’s never heard of a township that, when given a choice from the state, asked to retain the higher speed limit.
Hsueh also said he expects the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance to support a lower speed limit, and therefore he sees contradiction from Councilman Bryan Maher — who is adamantly opposing the change. Maher and his running mates in the 2011 Council election, Lauren Kohn and Gary Zohn, each joined the WWBPA ahead of announcing their candidacy.
To respond to Maher’s criticism of Hsueh’s 11 years as mayor coinciding with West Windsor’s 20 years of non-conformance with the state with the posted speed limit on Village Road (the state lists it at 50 mph), Hsueh said Maher needs to have a better understanding of governmental operations. “You don’t just do things overnight; there are standard operating procedures we need to follow,” Hsueh said.
The mayor referenced the number of requests from residents of Village Road, like the Hinczynskis, as well as council members. “In the past two years we resolved most of the road to be 35 miles per hour,” Hsueh said.
