ALLENTOWN – Susan Jones’ level of frustration is rising each day as she watches large tractor-trailers from her home at the corner of Church Street and Johnson Drive in Allentown.
She said turning trucks have caused damage to her property and she said she worries about the safety of pedestrians and children riding bicycles.
Jones, who has lived in Allentown for more than 20 years, expressed her feelings in an interview with the Examiner on Nov. 11.
During the Nov. 10 meeting of the mayor and Borough Council, Mayor Thomas Fritts confirmed what some residents have been reporting on social media sites for the past week: several incidents in which large trucks have become stuck at Allentown’s tight corners, causing traffic problems and frustration among the citizenry.
“These trucks are not appropriate for the area,” Jones told the Examiner. “They come through day and night and go right over the sidewalk and it is really dangerous. They are wearing away the road. We have a big problem here. We have had studies done; we want action.”
Jones said she would like officials from above the municipal level – the county, the state and the federal governments – to come to Allentown to review what is taking place on the borough’s streets.
Church Street is a Monmouth County road (Route 526) and a direct connection from Allentown to neighboring Robbinsville in Mercer County. Johnson Drive is a municipal road.
During the council meeting on Nov. 10, Fritts once again acknowledged that while municipal officials adopted an ordinance in 2016 to address the issue of trucks, the law “had no teeth to hold drivers accountable. We did not follow state statutes” in adopting the law.
“We are working to put teeth into the law, to post signs and (to issue) fines. I am fully committed to a truck ban in town,” the mayor said.
