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 Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 6:04 am EDT Post subject: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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The two bottlenecks, one near Half-Mile Road and one near Main St., definitely require fixing. The traffic volume will only increase in the future whether we like it or not.
Adding turn-lanes into various Shadow Oaks roads is also a good idea. I think this is a good safety enhancement for the residents there. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 8:13 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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Not sure why this needs it's own thread. However, both of those are due to traffic lights not the need for turn lanes and the bottlenecks start and end before Shadow Oaks.
In WW there have been accidents caused by the turn lanes. This is due to cars not being far over enough and getting clipped or cars coming up behind misjudging. On OTR cars turning actually act to slow down traffic because the drivers coming up have no choice, but to slow down or even stop. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 8:57 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| Speed humps and rumble strips will slow the cars down. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 9:16 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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I agree with the second poster -- what was up with starting a new topic on this when there already was one?
But the OP is filled with misinformation, just like the person on the previous post who insisted they had inside information that the speed was being reduced which turned out to be flat wrong of course.
The OP's concern is the bottlenecking at Main and One Mile Road and the safety and convenience of people turning in/out of Shadow Oaks. This widening project has nothing to do with any of those things. The purpose of the widening is to make the street more convenience for commuters from outside the area to use it as an access point East/West between major highways and the Turnpike. It's got nothing to do with the residents. The bottlenecking is caused by the traffic lights which and not people turning into Shadow Oaks or the park. And if any of this was about the interests of Shadow Oaks residents they would be reducing the speed limit to 40 MPG like they did for the business park just down the road, yet they steadfastly refuse to consider it. Why? Because their focus is on non-residents using this road, not the residents. |
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RobDiamond
Joined: Thu, Apr 1 2010, 12:37 pm EDT
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 9:17 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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Speed humps & rumble strips are a last resort, and they actually lower the quality of life around them (ever hear a truck going over a speed bump? It's like an earthquake).
The county SHOULD have designed the road according to "Context Sensitive Design" principles, also known as "Complete Streets" initiative. (Google it) This takes surrounding neighborhoods, pedestrians, bicyclists, parks, etc. into consideration when designing the road. The road design using these principles use simple visual clues that encourages drivers to drive slower and more carefully. It also includes the installation of sidewalks, bike paths, bumpouts for safe crossings, etc.
The new road design does exactly the opposite. It encourages drivers to go FASTER. It will attract more traffic. It will cause longer backups where it joins up with slower sections of road.
The county had a great opportunity to improve this road, and they dropped the ball. Turn lanes are a great idea, but not when the end result is a road that's more unsafe than ever. |
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Homer
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 9:27 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| This center-lane turning lane stuff seems like another "leftist" conspiracy. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 9:58 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| Are Cranbury residents trying to make Old Trenton Rd. slow and with bottlenecks to discourage passing through traffic? |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 10:01 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| RobDiamond wrote: | Speed humps & rumble strips are a last resort, and they actually lower the quality of life around them (ever hear a truck going over a speed bump? It's like an earthquake).
The county SHOULD have designed the road according to "Context Sensitive Design" principles, also known as "Complete Streets" initiative. (Google it) This takes surrounding neighborhoods, pedestrians, bicyclists, parks, etc. into consideration when designing the road. The road design using these principles use simple visual clues that encourages drivers to drive slower and more carefully. It also includes the installation of sidewalks, bike paths, bumpouts for safe crossings, etc.
The new road design does exactly the opposite. It encourages drivers to go FASTER. It will attract more traffic. It will cause longer backups where it joins up with slower sections of road.
The county had a great opportunity to improve this road, and they dropped the ball. Turn lanes are a great idea, but not when the end result is a road that's more unsafe than ever. |
The road has not be started, I would recommend that anyone whos house is directly on Old Trenton Rd and those that use it daily band together as a group, file a joint grievance with the state to re-review the plans. Its never too late to readdress quality of life issues (that is before the trucks rollout) and how this project will negatively affects safety and speeds. It helps if some in this group is a civil engineer and/or lawyer, does anyone know of someone in shadowoaks that can lead this discussion on behalf of the residents? It looks like the above poster has some engineering background from the info shared. |
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RobDiamond
Joined: Thu, Apr 1 2010, 12:37 pm EDT
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 10:35 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| Guest wrote: | | I would recommend that anyone whos house is directly on Old Trenton Rd and those that use it daily band together as a group, file a joint grievance with the state to re-review the plans. Its never too late to readdress quality of life issues (that is before the trucks rollout) and how this project will negatively affects safety and speeds. It helps if some in this group is a civil engineer and/or lawyer, does anyone know of someone in shadowoaks that can lead this discussion on behalf of the residents? It looks like the above poster has some engineering background from the info shared. |
Great idea. I just created a mail account to collect contact information for people interested in banding together to address this issue.
Please send your Name, Address, and email to:
oldtrenton@gmail.com
Thanks! |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 10:43 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| Guest wrote: | | Are Cranbury residents trying to make Old Trenton Rd. slow and with bottlenecks to discourage passing through traffic? |
Yes we are trying to make it slow. That is the whole point. We have kids riding bikes to the park, swim club or friend's homes. We have kids playing ball in the park where an errant ball may go into the road. We have little kids playing where in a moments time they may bolt to catch a butterfly and head to OTR. We have a senior development where seniors will walk to town or the swim club. This road goes through and between neighborhoods. Main St. is 25mph, a section of Cranbury Neck up to just past Wynwood is 25mph. Mercer county has OTR at 40mph by the apartments due to kids and the office building. We are not asking for 25mph, we only want 40mph to be consistent. So yes, we do want a slower road.
Are there bottle necks now due to Shadow Oaks, 4 Seasons, Park or Swim Club, NO. Are there bottle necks due to turning cars into the developments, park, or swim club, NO. The county is putting in a road change that cannot be undone and solves no existing problem, but creates a bigger issue.
The residents are concerned because the turn lanes will cause drivers to increase their speeds. If they don't have to worry about turning cars then cars going 50 now will go higher unless we have a daily speed trap there which is unrealistic. We will have more accidents than are there today as WW saw on Village Road.
The solution we want is a 40mph speed limit, not millions spent on reengineering the road or making it wider causing quality of life issues for existing homes. We simply want an inexpensive metal sign that says- 40mph. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 11:15 am EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| don't forget that folks who are in a hurry to get to either the Turnpike or Route 130 can get there with no lights or bottlenecks by taking Route 133 which is a four lane highway |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Apr 11 2010, 8:14 pm EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| Guest wrote: | | Are Cranbury residents trying to make Old Trenton Rd. slow and with bottlenecks to discourage passing through traffic? |
There's no evidence of that. If 40 MPH doesn't disrupt flow from Princeton-Hightstown to One Mile Road, why would it along the residential stretch? That would make no sense.
Residents simply want a reasonable speed for a residential road and park area that is adjacent to some of the largest housing development in Cranbury. It is 40 MHP before and after that section of the road so making it 40 MPH would actually be more consistent and rational. |
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joe the plumber
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| Posted: Mon, Apr 12 2010, 2:37 pm EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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Old Trenton Rd. is such a cool road to drive fast on though!!!!!!!!!!!
The width of the road makes you feel like you could go 55 easily.
Just paint some new lines along its length for turning lanes, and paint HUGE LETTERS saying : PED. CROSSING, CAUTION:CHILDREN , GO SLOW, all that sorta stuff. Making the bottlenecks wider will not do anything. Just increase traffic flow and speed.
Use your heads! |
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RobDiamond
Joined: Thu, Apr 1 2010, 12:37 pm EDT
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Mon, Apr 12 2010, 3:08 pm EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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| joe the plumber wrote: | | The width of the road makes you feel like you could go 55 easily. |
You're not the only one that feels that way.
According to the Township Committee Meeting Minutes of 6/25/07, 30,000 vehicles exceeded the speed limit on Old Trenton Road over an 8 day period. That's 3750 vehicles/day, or 156 vehicles/hour, or 2.6 vehicles/minute.
That's a speeding vehicle every 23 seconds on average throughout the day. Take into consideration the reduction in traffic during nighttime hours, we're probably talking a speeding vehicle every 10-15 seconds or so during the day, which sounds about right.
And, the new road design will just make it worse. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Apr 12 2010, 8:52 pm EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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when you say speeding are you talking about 55mph or 70mph?
I seem to remember that there was a study a few years ago and only a few cars were found going excessively over the limit. Most speeding cars were going between 1-5 mph over the limit. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Fri, Apr 16 2010, 5:39 pm EDT Post subject: Re: The two bottlenecks of Old Trenton Rd. |
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Wow! The traffic at the Half Mile Rd. T-intersection is backup to near Jefferson Rd. around 5:30pm.
Does anyone know whether there will be a fix for this intersection? |
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