While Moorestown may have gotten a little less bustling these last few months with many residents down the Shore or away on vacation, local traffic concerns have still been on some residents’ minds. Council discussed how it’s working to make streets safer at its most recent meeting.
The meeting kicked off with an ordinance that added Crider Avenue to the township’s list of streets where heavy truck traffic is prohibited.
“The street is primarily residential, and the police department advises that truck use is a danger to residents,” Monday night’s agenda read.
Councilman Michael Locatell expressed his support for the ordinance. He said Crider intersects Glen Avenue, and trucks have been known to venture down the residential street on their way to the industrial park.
“I know it’s something the residents on Crider have been wanting for a while,” Locatell said.
Meanwhile, on North Church Street, resident Kathy Sutherland has been working hard to get the speed limit lowered and to get slowing modalities installed on the street. She said she went to the county with Mayor Lisa Petriello and Petriello’s predecessor as mayor, Stacey Jordan.
She said they were told the county doesn’t typically lower the speed limit by 10 miles per hour, but the residents of North Church would settle for even a 5 mph reduction from 35 to 30. Sutherland said the county and local police have already conducted two traffic studies, and both times, local police recommended the speed limit be lowered. She said Chester Avenue successfully had the speed limit lowered to 30 miles per hour, and that street, unlike North Church, does not get tractor-trailer traffic.
Deputy Mayor Nicole Gillespie said council members met with representatives from Burlington County who owe them a memo. She assured Sutherland she would be following up with them this week. She said one of the slowing modalities they discussed was installing a nearby lighted crosswalk with a flashing yellow light hanging overhead at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Dawson Street to slow people down who are coming off Maple onto Church.
Sutherland said she discussed installing a light or a four-way stop at the Maple Avenue and Dawson Street intersection. She was told the area is not heavily trafficked enough to justify a light, but in her eyes, a four-way stop could also be a suitable solution.
“We’ve done our homework, so now I think it really is time for some action,” Sutherland said.
Gillespie said council is discussing “a bunch of solutions” with the county. She said any of these solutions would probably come in stages with a slowing mechanism coming first and a speed limit reduction to possibly follow later.
“I think they are well aware of these issues,” Gillespie said. “We’ll keep pushing them on that; I promise you.”
The next meeting of Moorestown Township Council will take place on Monday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall
