By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN – Officials at the local and state levels are re-examining the intersection of Route 33 and Woodward Road as well as a nearby residential healthcare facility which has seen three of its residents killed at or near the intersection in two years.
On Oct. 22, 2014, a 67-year-old male resident of Marianne Manor, Route 33, Manalapan, was struck and killed by a vehicle as he attempted to cross Route 33 on foot near Woodward Road.
On Aug. 25, 2015, a 60-year-old male resident of Marianne Manor was struck and killed by a vehicle as he was standing in the right lane of Route 33 eastbound near Woodward Road.
Then, just before 9 p.m. Oct. 2, Marvin Hodgdon, 58, of Marianne Manor, was struck and killed by a vehicle as he attempted to cross Route 33 near Woodward Road. Police said the circumstances surrounding Hodgdon’s death remain under investigation.
Marianne Manor is a private facility that is overseen by the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
Tom Mann, the chief of staff for state Assemblyman Robert Clifton (R-Monmouth), whose district includes Manalapan, said on Oct. 4 that Clifton and representatives of the township have met with DCA Commissioner Charles Richman to discuss issues at and near Marianne Manor.
“The assemblyman and the township representatives have looked into the possibility of putting a fence in the median of Route 33, beginning at the intersection of Woodward Road and heading west,” Mann said.
“A fence could discourage some people from crossing the highway away from the intersection, but there are concerns relating to emergency responders being able to reach an accident scene on the other side of the road with a fence in place,” he said.
“This most recent death is upsetting to the assemblyman, to the township, not only for the victim, but for the person who struck the victim and now has to live with that every day,” Mann said.
Referring to Marianne Manor, Mann said Route 33 “is not an ideal placement for this facility,” but the home predates residential development in the region that has brought more traffic to Route 33 and the construction in recent years of a Walgreens pharmacy, a CVS pharmacy and a Wawa convenience store at the intersection of Route 33 and Woodward Road.
Manalapan officials have said at previous municipal meetings they are aware that residents of Marianne Manor walk along Route 33, which does not have sidewalks; cross the highway to reach Wawa on the north side of Route 33; and sit or stand at the corner of Route 33 and Woodward Road, creating issues for motorists.
A grim prediction by Township Committeewoman Susan Cohen, who in the wake of the pedestrian death in 2015 said, “We have already lost two (Marianne Manor) residents and if something doesn’t change with the way residents are supervised, there will be more” came true on the first Sunday night in October when Hodgdon lost his life.
Mann reiterated a point that has been made in the past: the people who live at Marianne Manor are not prisoners. They have been released into the community from hospitals and their movements as residents of a healthcare facility cannot be restricted.
The staff at Marianne Manor “tries to monitor the situation as best they can, but we feel there are areas where they can do better. Commissioner Richman is interested to see what happened most recently,” Mann said.
He said there are no sidewalks on Route 33 because it is not a pedestrian highway and because the state does not want to encourage people to walk along the highway.
During the Oct. 5 meeting of the Township Committee, Mayor Mary Ann Musich said she visited the intersection of Route 33 and Woodward Road with police that day to gain a better understanding of what occurred on Oct. 2.
Musich said it appears Hodgdon was crossing Route 33 at the intersection, but was doing so while vehicles on the highway had a green light and that is when he was struck and killed.
Manalapan Police Chief Michael Fountain added his perspective to the situation, saying, “I have discussed with members of the governing body and the township administrator the concerns we all share related to the fatal pedestrian accidents in the area of Route 33 and Woodward Road.
“There were discussions with Assemblyman Clifton and a fence being erected in the median of Route 33 was a suggestion. While I am not completely opposed to to it, I do not feel it will completely address the real issue which I believe is at the intersection.
“I believe having painted crosswalks at the intersection and a pedestrian crossing button … for the pedestrians using the intersection to cross the highway would be better served to address the issue.
“My experience with erecting fencing is that it does not always stop the pedestrians from at least half of the highway and ‘walking’ the fence line in the median.
“In addition, we have numerous responses to emergency calls in that area of town where emergency service vehicles cross at the median, thus (making for better) response times. Erecting a fence would obviously (increase) the response times and require the use of a controlled intersection for emergency response,” Fountain said.
