Engineer: traffic signal needed
at warehouse driveway
By jane meggitt
Correspondent

UPPER FREEHOLD — The Township Committee heard back last week from an engineer hired to investigate the impact of 5.85 million square feet of warehouse space planned to be built in neighboring Washington Township.

Engineer Frank Little of Owen, Little and Associates spoke before the committee regarding the proposed Matrix development on Old York Road.

Little had been retained by the township only a few days before the Washington Township Planning Board’s public hearing on the issue Aug. 28.

Little reported that he looked at the plans on file in Washington Township and attended the public hearing. He said the applicant had revised the plans, relocating the entrance to the facility on Old York Road (Route 539) closer to Interstate 195, and modifying the driveway to stop truck drivers from making left-hand turns onto Route 539, among other changes.

Little observed that the greatest concern of Upper Freehold Township residents was the traffic impact on Route 539. After conferring with the Monmouth County Engineer’s Office, he said a traffic light would be warranted at the intersection of routes 539 and 524, near the exit ramps of 195. The county based this recommendation on the estimate that 630 vehicles would be turning into the facility every hour during peak hours, or one vehicle every six seconds. The county also said that 16 percent of those vehicles would be trucks rather than the 11 percent the developer cited.

Little said he contacted Matrix and its engineer, Schoor DePalma, for further information, but had yet to receive a reply.

"The county’s position will be that if Washington Township approves [the development], it will mitigate the impact to Route 539," Little said. "The road cannot accommodate all those vehicles with one left-hand turn lane. The county engineer is looking for two left-hand turn lanes. The project will come in at different stages. Each site plan will have to be fine-tuned.

"The county wants to keep [Route] 539 as a rural collector road," he continued, "and does not want to see expansive widening."

When asked by the Township Committee about the possibility of Matrix obtaining its own entrance off the interstate, Little replied, "Great Adventure was denied access from 195 and [it has] higher traffic numbers than Matrix. It won’t happen."

Residents from the Lynwood Estates subdivision, located directly across the street from the proposed entrance, have asked Washington Township to have Matrix put in additional office space rather than warehouses. According to Little, office space produces more traffic than storage facilities.

"We understand that the county brings the most weight to traffic issues in that area and we can lobby with them," Mayor David Horsnall said.

"The county is coming up with 600 vehicles, the developer is coming up with 1,200. That’s quite a difference," Deputy Mayor William Miscoski said.

Little addressed the Washington Township ordinance on the planned uses for the site. "Their ordinance doesn’t say 50 percent [of Type I or Type II uses]. They use this thing called ‘reasonableness.’ The Washington Township Planning Board must decide what is ‘reasonableness.’ Type I uses would have higher, worse impact."

Little said a 50/50 mix of Type I and II uses would require major improvements to Route 539.

Resident, Anthony Muscente said, "One element of the general development plan is the circulation plan. It must be specific as to its uses. It’s supposed to designate traffic improvements to the facility and the existing transportation system. The nature should be proper planning, not left to the future." He said he thought that Matrix’s plan should be deemed inadequate and incomplete.

"Full development might take years. The first stage might not require any improvements to the road," Little said.

Alec Taylor, Matrix’s chief operating officer, attended the meeting but did not comment.