The state Department of Transportation’s proposed redesign of a stretch of Brunswick Pike, between Lake Drive and the Brunswick Circle, has drawn mixed reviews from the neighbors.

    About 70 residents turned out to examine the proposed plans and to ask questions of DOT officials and consultants on May 27 at the Slackwood Fire Co.

    The DOT’s concept plan calls for creating two 11-foot-wide lanes in each direction, with an 8-foot-wide on-street parking lane on Brunswick Pike northbound and a 4-foot-wide shoulder on Brunswick Pike southbound. There would be a 14-foot-wide grass median between the northbound and southbound lanes.

    The traffic light and jughandle at Brunswick Pike and Whitehead Road would be removed and replaced with a roundabout or traffic circle. Graf Avenue would be closed at its intersection with Brunswick Pike because of its proximity to the roundabout.

    Township officials have been pushing for several years to redesign that segment of Brunswick Pike, which they claim is key to redeveloping the neighborhood. The road is a four-lane street, divided by a concrete median. The township’s 1995 Master Plan envisions Brunswick Pike as a tree-shaded boulevard.

    Bill Mansmann, who lives on Brunswick Pike, said he thinks “it’s a wonderful idea” and that it would “certainly improve the look of Brunswick Pike.” He said he approves of removing the traffic light at Whitehead Road and replacing it with a roundabout, which he said has proven to work in Europe.

    But Terri Fennimore, who lives on Bunker Hill Avenue in the Colonial Lakelands neighborhood on the east side of Brunswick Pike, said she was concerned about the roundabout.

    “There is no reason to change the traffic flow (because) the traffic light works,” Ms. Fennimore said.

    The traffic light would be safer for the children who cross Whitehead Road to get to businesses such as Rita’s Water Ice and the Dollar General store on the corner of Whitehead Road and Brunswick Pike, she said.

    Eliminating the traffic light also would make it more difficult for people to cross Brunswick Pike to walk to the Lawrence Shopping Center, she said. Some of the older residents prefer to walk to the stores rather than drive, she said. She was skeptical that the crosswalk that would be installed would be functional.

    But transportation engineer Michael O’Donnell of Stantec, the consultant hired by the DOT for the project, said studies have shown that pedestrian crosswalks proposed for the redesigned roadway “work very well.”

    Pedestrians would cross two lanes of traffic and then wait on the grass median or on the roundabout for a break in traffic in the other two lanes, Mr. O’Donnell said. The roundabout is being designed to slow cars down to about a 15 or 20 mph as they enter it, he said.

    The prospect of eliminating access to Brunswick Pike from Graf Avenue did not sit well with Slack Avenue residents Bill Miller and Ken Johnson because they said it would likely force more cars onto their street.

    Slack Avenue and Graf Avenue are two side streets that run between Brunswick Pike and Princeton Pike. The two small streets are often used as a shortcut between the two main thoroughfares.

    “I would like to see how it will work,” said Mr. Johnson, who grew up on Slack Avenue. “It will dump traffic onto Slack Avenue. People use Slack Avenue to get form Princeton Pike to Brunswick Pike. Slack Avenue has a lot of traffic now.”

    Mr. Johnson, who is a volunteer firefighter with the Slackwood Fire Co., said he also is concerned about the impact of additional traffic on Slack Avenue and firefighters’ ability to get out of the firehouse. The firehouse is located on Slack Avenue, and there would be additional traffic congestion on the street if Graf Avenue is closed off, he said.

    But overall, Mr. Miller and Mr. Johnson said, they like the plan. Mr. Miller said it would probably be “great” for the neighborhood and added that he hoped it would help the small businesses along Brunswick Pike.

    Lakedale Drive resident John Conroy, who chairs the township’s Route 1 Redevelopment Committee, said, “We are halfway there.” The committee has been involved in the redevelopment effort on Brunswick Pike.

    Allowing on-street parking would have the effect of slowing down traffic on Brunswick Pike, Mr. Conroy said. There would be less impervious coverage — parking lots — if on-street parking is allowed, he said. The roundabout also is a “great” idea, he added.

    Mr. O’Donnell, the traffic consultant, said the next step is to take the residents’ comments back for review and possibly incorporate some of their suggestions into the final design. The design phase is scheduled for the fall. Construction should begin in 2012 and will take about one year to complete.

lkahn@centraljersey.com