ALLENTOWN – The mayor and Borough Council members are continuing to press Monmouth County officials to address traffic concerns in Allentown.
In a March 20 letter to Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ettore, Mayor Greg Westfall noted that they met in April 2016 and on subsequent dates to discuss traffic conditions on county roads in Allentown.
The county roads in Allentown are Route 526 (Waker Avenue and Church Street), Route 524 (South Main Street) and Route 539 (North Main Street and High Street).
In November 2016, the council adopted a truck prohibition ordinance as officials sought relief from what they described as a near constant flow of heavy vehicles through the community.
During a March 26 council meeting, Councilman Rob Schmitt said, “the county has never signed off on the truck ban ordinance we approved two years ago. The county says ‘Allentown is residential, but it’s a truck route.’ It always comes back to trucks.”
In his March 20 letter to Ettore, Westfall wrote, “We continue to work on the documentation for support of the (truck ban) ordinance by our municipal neighbors and two counties (Mercer and Monmouth), as well as the New Jersey Department of Transportation. We hope that with your help, ultimately the 500 series of county roads in Allentown can be removed from the National and State Truck Access Network.”
The mayor wrote, “During the past 16 months there have been several car/pedestrian or truck/pedestrian accidents which have result in injuries to pedestrians. Fortunately there has been no loss of life.
“The borough continues in its request for several immediate action items that will result in safer pedestrian and vehicular activity on county roads in the borough. We respectfully request that these items not be delayed by awaiting the outcome of the current ‘Moving Mindfully’ freight-related traffic study.
“These (requested immediate action items) include a consistent 25 mph speed limit and no passing zones on all county roads within the borough limits, as well as implementation of striping for all the previously requested pedestrian crosswalks on North Main and South Main streets as well as other county roads,” Westfall wrote.
Westfall informed Ettore the borough’s traffic committee has recommended the installation of a “Welcome to Historic Allentown” island on North Main Street as a traffic calming device. He said Allentown “looks forward to the conceptual layout being prepared by the borough engineer and the formal request to the county for approval of the final layout and design.”
He noted the county has reviewed Allentown’s request for new crosswalks at several locations and asked Ettore when the crosswalks could be installed.
“The Borough Council and the traffic committee have previously requested speed reader signs for all six entrances to the borough and we are pleased to hear the county has no objection to their installation. We understand these signs are to be maintained and operated by the borough … We hope the borough engineer and the county can help us in locating grants to cover the initial cost of these devices,” the mayor wrote.
Finally, Westfall addressed the width of North Main Street, writing, “The existing road width varies between 41 feet and 52 feet. We understand the county has requested that the proposed curb lines be constructed in such a way as to provide uniform road width for the entire length of North Main Street between Waker Avenue and the borough limits at the borough’s cost.
“The borough respectfully requests that the existing width of North Main Street be maintained so as to permit on-street parking, including the option for diagonal parking between Borough Hall and the Fulton Bank location as recommended by the ad hoc parking committee in 2017.
“Also, perhaps the ‘Welcome to Historic Allentown’ island/median could be varied in width and/or bicycle lanes outlined. We would welcome continued discussion with the county on this subject,” the mayor wrote.
