More than two dozen residents from North Post Road, Monterey Drive, and Courtney Drive voiced considerable opposition to the North Post Road widening project at a public meeting held June 24.
Based on 2009 data, 7,000 cars a day traverse North Post Road, which links Clarksville and Alexander roads. At the meeting, director of community development Pat Ward and township engineer Francis Guzik said safety considerations necessitate widening the curve that bends left when approaching Clarksville Road from the Alexander Road roundabout. Other objectives include roadway widening, and bike lane and sidewalk additions.
The project is still in the concept stage, and the initial plans outline a 36-foot-wide street section with two 12-foot-wide travel lanes and six-foot-wide bicycle lanes, or a 32-foot-wide roadway with 11-foot travel lanes and five-foot bike lanes. At certain locations, Guzik said, sidewalks, curbs, and three utility poles would be relocated onto private property.
In May the township contracted Hamilton-based Roberts Engineering Group for survey and engineering services. Ward said the administration will relay community feedback to the consultants.
Residents questioned the purpose of the project. Guzik explained the capital improvement is part of the master plan and the township’s multi-modal and safety improvement objectives.
With respect to safety improvement, Monterey Drive resident Ernest Valeo said more accidents occur at the North Post Road intersections compared to the curve.
The car lanes on North Post Road are currently 10.5 feet wide, and multiple residents questioned the effect a repaved wider road would have on speed, as motorists already regularly exceed the 35 mile-per-hour limit.
There were also questions over the suitability of installing bike lanes. North Post Road resident Frank Cioffi said he has been a cyclist for more than 40 years, and that adding bike lanes would be “inviting disaster.”
Monterey Drive resident Kathy Brennan, a West Windsor Bicycle Pedestrian Alliance trustee, also opposed the bike lanes.
The addition of bike lanes would also eliminate street parking, and North Post Road resident Rafael Ruiz said this would inconvenience residents hosting social events.
Council president Bryan Maher and Council vice president Linda Geevers both attended the meeting. Maher told the audience that Council approves the agenda and funding for projects, and that nothing would move forward without community input. But, “we have to improve the road in some sort of fashion,” Maher said.
#b#Cranbury Road#/b#
Cranbury Road sidewalks are one step closer to reality. The township’s sidewalk design for the county road was reviewed by the Mercer County Freeholders at their June 25 meeting. The meeting took place after The News went to press, but township attorney Michael Herbert, who also represents the freeholders, said that the resolution approving the sidewalk design would likely pass.
With county approval, the next steps are to secure an engineering consultant to finalize the technical aspects of the plan, as well as environmental permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The township also needs to acquire easements from property owners on the road.
At the March 30 council meeting, Guzik said construction on road sections free of DEP concerns could begin as soon as October.
