By Stephen Appezzato
LINCROFT – Residents in the Lincroft community of Middletown are increasingly concerned about dangerous driving along County Route 520 as many notice an uptick in accidents and speeding this year.
“We’re hearing from so many residents that they’re frightened; they’re frightened for the young drivers that are coming out onto 520,” said Melanie Elmiger, a resident and member of the Lincroft Village Green Association (LVGA) Board of Directors. “We want to kind of get answers and we’re seeking help from the township, the county and the state.”
Elmiger spoke on behalf of the LVGA at the township committee’s Aug. 19 meeting.
“The sports car and motorcycle speeding is out of control,” she said. “It seems like in the last year it’s (gotten) really insane.”
According to Elmiger, LVGA members have received many messages from concerned residents asking about the issue on the county road (also known as Newman Spring Road through Lincroft), and why it appears to be worsening. Roadways around West Front Street, Normandy Road, Christian Brothers Academy and Garden State Parkway Exit 109 are also said to be dangerous driving hotspots.
“You can hear it at night – the revving of the engines and just taking off down 520 because it’s a straight corridor,” she said.
Seeking answers, members of the LVGA walked along Route 520 and noted missing road signs, noncompliant property issues, faded roadway directions and paint.
“It’s chaos over there,” Elmiger said. “We’re just trying to figure out what’s this new behavior, this kind of speed racing, the motorcycles and cars. It’s really disturbing,” she said.
Township officials did not immediately respond to Elmiger that evening; however, at a meeting in June, Mayor Tony Perry said he is open to discussing the issue with Monmouth County Commissioner Director Tom Arnone as well as the possibility of creating a joint Route 520 committee. As Route 520 is under the county’s purview, the township cannot implement road, traffic or speed limit changes by itself. To amend the existing road rules county officials would have to perform a traffic study.
In the past, the Monmouth County Division of Engineering authorized a CR520 task force, which consisted of business owners, township officials, residents and police who met frequently to monitor the roadway and the impact of trucking traffic. However, it appears the task force fizzled out over the years.
Despite this, Elmiger noted the LVGA has been working with Middletown Police Lt. Antonio Ciccone to probe the issue.
“He acted so quickly to try to investigate what is happening because it was just a rash of accidents. He sees it firsthand being a patrolman of that area,” she said.
Elmiger said Ciccone installed two “speed boxes” and a sign urging drivers to slow down as they enter Lincroft from Red Bank. Department of Public Works and Engineering employees have also cleared brush from traffic signs to improve visibility. Elmiger said traffic and speed data collected from the two boxes will eventually be analyzed to help identify a cause for the uptick in traffic incidents.
Belford resident Don Watson also spoke at the township committee meeting, noting many have street-raced and sped along the township’s northeastern roads for decades.
“This is nothing new,” he said. “It might be new out in Lincroft, but it’s been going on for 60 years” in Belford.
In a statement to The Two River Times, the Middletown Police Department said it continues to take proactive measures to address traffic safety concerns throughout the township. “In regard to the concerns directed to the area of Newman Springs Road (CR520), our agency has increased the number of posted speed limit signs along that corridor,” the statement read.
Additionally, the police department deployed two message boards – one facing eastbound and one westbound – highlighting the posted speed limit, installed radar signs facing westbound and increased traffic enforcement details in the area.
Middletown Police Chief Craig Weber also reminded drivers of the dangers of speeding, noting it “reduces your ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object or an unexpected curve, extends the time it takes your vehicle to stop, increases the risk of a crash because other vehicles and pedestrians may not be able to judge your distance correctly, and can increase the severity of injuries if you’re involved in a crash.”
The LVGA is a civic organization of community volunteers that works to improve quality of life issues, traffic calming, historic preservation and beautification in Lincroft. The group formed in 1999 after Brookdale Community College planned to sell an undeveloped property in a commercial development zone to raise funds for its Student Life Center. Lincroft residents opposing the sale banded together and collected signatures, petitioning the township to halt the deal. The residents’ efforts were successful and the township later brokered a land swap with the college to preserve the 6-acre parcel, now a passive park called the Lincroft Village Green.
“We’re just trying to figure out what is happening, what’s the prevailing issue” behind the dangerous driving, Elmiger said.
The article originally appeared in the August 22 – 28, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
