Neither rain, nor sleet, nor enforcement of the 25 mph speed limit has successfully slowed down traffic on a two-mile stretch of Chapel Avenue in Cherry Hill.
That’s where Camden County has stepped in, recently approving nearly $4 million intended to reduce speeding and promote safer travels along the vital artery in the township’s northern section.
Slated to begin this fall and expected to last approximately one year, the thoroughfare will eventually be outfitted with landscaped traffic islands and cobblestone medians between intersections with Haddonfield Road and Kings Highway.
“This is an area where we have identified several existing challenges, not least of all the deteriorating state of the road surface itself. This is a major roadway with multiple schools, businesses, and homes, all along the same two-mile stretch,” said Camden County Freeholder Susan Shin Angulo.
“We worked closely with the township to ensure the project meets the needs of these diverse interests and to minimize any disruption caused by the construction.”
Though also residential, the route on Chapel where improvements are planned includes Cherry Hill Commerce Center, Kilmer Elementary School, Cherry Hill High School West, Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital and Avista Healthcare.
According to several sources, freeholders approved a $3.7 million contract with Lexa Concrete of Hammonton to cover the cost of upgrades, and also awarded a $270,000 oversight contract to the Haddonfield branch of Remington & Vernick Engineers.
Proposed alterations to Chapel are similar to the ones already in place along a stretch of Grove Street in Haddonfield, from just north of the intersection of Coles Mill Road to South Edge Park Drive.
According to county officials, the project involves significant improvements to the roadway surface, curbs, and its handicap accessibility, as well as adding bike lanes and shoulder lanes. Travel lanes available for vehicles will not be changed and the locations where parking is permitted on Chapel will remain the same. Most visually apparent will be the addition of traffic-calming landscaped islands and cobblestone centers along different parts of the corridor.
From west to east, the traffic calming measures are expected to be:
- A 50-foot long, approximately six-feet wide landscaped island roughly 200 feet from the Chapel-Haddonfield intersection; flush center cobblestones leading up to the intersection of Mercer Street; the cobblestone will continue on the other side of the intersection with Mercer, ending around the entrance to the township soccer fields.
- Between Marlboro Road (new signal between Cherry Hill West and Jefferson Hospital) and Cooper Landing Road, there will be one landscaped island, two flush cobblestone islands and shoulder striping in front of the hospital emergency room.
- Between Knollwood Drive and the entrance to World Ministries, as well as between Bellows Lane to the shopping center, there will be a flush cobblestone median that intends to alert drivers to the posted 25 mph speed limit and allow Chapel Avenue residents to drive over the cobblestones to get in and out of driveways.
- Between World Ministries driveway and the exit drive at Kilmer, there will be a narrow landscaped island; the traffic signal at the entrance to Kilmer and Towers of Windsor will be improved.
Also part of the plan are the sections of Chapel that will be largely left alone. Roadway improvements between the soccer fields and Cherry Hill West will not include any traffic-calming improvements, as the pavement is narrow along this six-tenths of a mile section of Chapel. The intersection of Chapel and Cooper Landing will not be changed, with lane configurations remaining the same.
The county’s proposal to contractors is also expected to include increased floral impact: approximately 40 new trees and more than 2,000 other various plantings along the route.
“Safety is our primary concern with any of our county highways and byways, but it is a unique focus with regards to Chapel Avenue because of the often ignored 25 mph speed limit and the elementary and high schools adjacent to the roadway. By implementing these traffic-calming measures, we’ll be able to slow the pace of traffic and ensure pedestrian safety,” Shin Angulo concluded.
