ALLENTOWN – In an historic vote that could result in the construction of the first traffic signal in Allentown, members of the Borough Council voted 5-1 on Dec. 7 to support a Monmouth County plan to construct a traffic light at the intersection of South Main and High streets.
Municipal officials have said that at certain times of the day, significant traffic backups occur at the intersection. The situation is partially attributed to the fact that the campus containing Allentown High School and the Newell Elementary School is on High Street, not far from the intersection.
Officials acknowledged that at other times of the day there is not a traffic backup at the intersection and that a traffic signal could cause motorists to have to wait for a green signal where that is not the case at present with an unsignalized intersection.
The county’s plan to construct a traffic signal at South Main and High streets was the subject of a presentation by Borough Engineer Carmela Roberts and a discussion among Mayor Thomas Fritts and members of the council.
The council’s passage of Resolution No. 331-2021 gives Monmouth County officials the go-ahead to budget for and design a traffic signal at the intersection. South Main Street and High Street are both county roads.
Borough officials said the county will be able to move forward with appropriating funds for the project and embarking on what could be an 18-month design phase. Construction of the traffic signal would occur after funds are in place and a design has been approved.
In addition to the construction of a full traffic signal, the county’s work at the intersection is expected to include improvements to what borough officials described as a serious drainage problem at that location.
Voting “yes” on a motion to support the traffic signal were Borough Council President John A. Elder III, Councilman Michael Drennan, Councilman Dan Payson, Councilwoman Martha Johnson and Councilwoman Erica Torsiello.
Councilman Robert Strovinsky voted “no” on the motion and expressed several concerns regarding the planned traffic signal.
The motion was carried in the 5-1 vote.
Fritts, who does not vote on council resolutions, expressed his support for the county’s plan to construct a traffic signal at South Main and High streets.
The mayor said a majority of residents with whom he has spoken also support the idea, which if completed will result in the first traffic signal in the history of the borough, which traces its roots to the Colonial era.
During her presentation to borough officials and members of the public, Roberts said statistics from 2017 indicated 20,000 vehicles per day pass through the intersection of South Main and High streets.
Delays at the location at some times of the day can reach 300 seconds (five minutes) and the intersection operates at an F level of service, which Roberts said is the worst level of service on a scale of A to F.
“There are more than enough (criteria) to justify the construction of a traffic signal. There would be no changes to the geometry of the intersection and the county would fix and improve storm drainage at the corner,” Roberts said.
The traffic signal could reduce the wait at the most congested times of the day from 300 seconds to about 35 seconds, she said.
The traffic signal would be what Roberts called smart technology and could be timed to operate in a manner consistent with traffic passing through the intersection at various times of the day.
She said it is expected the traffic signal would be black, as opposed to the more common steel gray color.
Fritts called the current situation at the intersection “a real hazard.” He said “nobody wants a light, but it’s for safety purposes and (it’s) where we are today.”
Strovinsky said he would prefer a flashing red and yellow light at the intersection. He said there is no need for a traffic signal at that location between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“The problem is the crush of students driving to and from school,” he said.
Payson said, “There comes a time when you have to make a decision. Our crossing guards do a good job, but there are times when they are not there. The intersection is ridiculously unsafe. The time is now” to do something.
The council heard from several residents of High Street whose homes are near the intersection. They said conditions make it very difficult for them to leave their driveways at certain times of the day, among other concerns.
John Fabiano said, “I fear for my life every time I take my trash out because I have no idea who is going to come flying around the corner.” Nevertheless, he said a traffic signal “is not appropriate to the borough’s historic status.”
Fabiano said the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) may have a say in the matter, to which Fritts responded, “(The plan) will eventually go to SHPO and if they don’t want it, well, we tried.”
Greg Westfall, who preceded Fritts as mayor, said, “It seems like this is being rushed through and we need to have more discussion about it.”
“We are looking at a year or a year-and-a-half with the light. There will be opportunities to continue discussion and to hold the county responsible,” Fritts said.
Tom Braunworth said, “My concern is if we approve this light at South Main and High streets, what’s to stop the county from putting a light at Church and Main streets? That’s a bad intersection, too,”
Wil Borkowski, who is one of Allentown’s two representatives on the Upper Freehold Regional School District Board of Education, said he believes a traffic signal at South Main and High streets will improve safety.
David Bamford said he was in support of the council’s action regarding the traffic signal and added, “I appreciated the discussion.”
