By John Burton
RED BANK – Riverside Avenue at Bodman Place needs some help with traffic and the state Department of Transportation may be willing to offer it, according to the mayor.
Mayor Pasquale Menna said the borough would be seeking assistance from the state DOT to address the congestion that develops at that intersection. The department has long ignored the local officials’ request.
“We’ve had changes in the area that have compounded the situation,” in recent years, precipitating a need to review the site and hopefully install a traffic signal, Menna said.
Riverside Avenue serves as state Highway 35, offering a serpentine path through a portion of the borough, connecting the highway to points north and allowing traffic to make its way southward to Maple Avenue/Highway 35. There has been a spate of development on Riverside Avenue – including the construction of an addition to the Atrium at Navesink Harbor, a retirement community, and the expansion of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey facility, situated at the Riverside Avenue/Highway 35 intersection, in the immediate vicinity of Bodman Place. The VNA’s facility has upward of 200 employees, along with its clients, who have to make their way in and out of the location, Menna said.
Compounding the situation, he said, is the Oyster Point Hotel on Bodman, along with condominium, apartment and office complexes, where Menna maintains his law firm offices.
Additionally, Menna noted, Riverside Avenue is home to the Molly Pitcher Inn, John E. Day Funeral Home and other business and residential sites.
“All of these things keep increasing the traffic flow,” he said, “and it’s become very difficult for people to safely navigate.”
On Bodman Place at Riverside, drivers can have difficulty entering and exiting and depending on the direction, have to cross four lanes of traffic, he said.
Police Chief Darren McConnell’s experience is that “people coming out and taking their chances, and making a run for it,” to exit the street.
“We have an accident history there,” McConnell noted, though he could not recall any recent serious collisions. “Not very documentable, but we’ve had a lot of close calls” at that spot he said. It was enough for the chief to acknowledge the need for a signal: “There’s a use for it there.”
“NJDOT has had discussions with local officials regarding the intersection at Bodman Place and Riverside Avenue and is aware of their concerns,” NJDOT spokesman Stephen Schapiro responded in an email request for comment. “If the town formally requests further study, the Department will conduct an investigation on what traffic control measures might be appropriate to improve the intersection.”
This is a different tune than was heard from the DOT the last time it reviewed the area, when local officials sought a solution for the intersection, Menna recalled. Last time, more than a decade ago, he said, state transportation representatives would not entertain the idea of a signal there because the intersection is so close to an existing traffic light at the Highway 35 intersection, believing it would be more disruptive to traffic.
“But we said, not if you synchronize it properly,” with the existing signal. “It would create a better flow of traffic,” Menna said.
Such is the case at the White Street/Maple Avenue intersection, which is very close to the Maple/West Front Street traffic light – which is a shorter distance apart than the two Riverside intersections in questions, Menna noted.
“It really hasn’t been a problem there,” McConnell observed of the White Street intersection.
The borough council plans to approve a resolution at its Nov. 5 meeting seeking that investigation. And the borough is willing to contribute as much as 25 percent of the cost of the light and installation, as well as seek contributions from business interests in the area to cover costs, Menna said.
“There is a high volume of traffic there, especially at rush hour,” observed Kevin Barry, operations manager for the Molly Pitcher Inn and Oyster Point. Given that, he would support efforts for some remedy. “Any kind of traffic control would help,” he said.
Mary Kelly, a spokesperson for Springpoint Senior Living, which owns and operates the Atrium at Navesink Harbor, said she was unaware of the details but, “We are pleased
these first positive steps have been taken to improve safety measures in the area.”
