By Elizabeth Wulfhorst
TINTON FALLS – Motorists can breathe a little easier at the intersection of Hance and Sycamore avenues. County and borough officials hope a new traffic light, which went live shortly after 10:30 a.m. April 22, will reduce accidents at the intersection, one of the most dangerous in the state.
For years residents have been asking for safety upgrades to the T-intersection which previously had only a stop sign at the end of Hance Avenue and no traffic calming on Sycamore. Drivers wanting to turn left from Hance had to wait for a break in the eastbound Sycamore Avenue traffic. Eastbound drivers turning left from Sycamore onto Hance had to fight oncoming westbound cars. Compounding matters is a line-of-sight issue for motorists on Hance and a traffic light at Sycamore and Hope Road, less than 100 yards from the intersection.
A 2018 county study found heavy traffic in the area during peak morning and afternoon drive times with a crash rate at Hance and Sycamore avenues more than double the state average. Both Sycamore and Hance are county roads; Hope Road is managed by the borough.
That same year the county traffic engineer, Joseph M. Ettore, proposed two plans that received pushback from the community. Those plans both included the seizure of private property which many residents felt was an unnecessary overreach.
The most ambitious – and controversial – plan called for extending Hope Road and acquiring more than three acres of private property. The second proposal suggested widening Sycamore Avenue using smaller portions of private property and installing a traffic signal at the intersection.
Residents voiced concerns and questioned the county’s motivation for large-scale improvements, accusing officials of wanting to extend Hope Road or add lanes to Sycamore Avenue to increase commercial traffic.
Nearly a year later, in 2019, the intersection was before county officials again after yet another accident, this one fatal. Gary Baldwin, then Tinton Falls Council president, said the borough was waiting for a final recommendation from the county after it had explored all possible alternatives, before giving council approval. Baldwin said his primary concern was safety and that he favored a traffic light with added turning lanes.
In the wake of the county proposals, residents established a group, Save Tinton Falls, to voice opinions and opposition to the plans. At the time, Sycamore Avenue resident Peter Karvavites said, “The problem is the county wants to put a five-lane intersection in there for their future traffic needs to push more traffic through all of the roads in Tinton Falls, including Hance and Hope and Sycamore. We’ve asked for a light, we’ve asked for a turning lane and we’ve asked to reduce speed. The county has said ‘no,’ because all they want is a large highway cutting through a residential area.”
Over a year later, in January 2020, the county proposed a scaled-back version of the previously recommended widening of Sycamore Avenue that included a traffic light with left turn indicators and a new dedicated turn lane on Sycamore, all to be done within the existing county right-of-way. Studies were done to address any issues concerning timing with the light at Hope Road.
Councilman Mike Nesci lauded the plan at the time, calling it a “great compromise.”
But even these long-sought-after safety improvements were not immune to the pandemic, which caused delays on delivery of the signal equipment, according to county officials.
At the ceremony to officially activate the new traffic light, Monmouth County Board of Commissioners Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering, acknowledged the long and arduous path to completion.
“This is something that took a lot of time and a lot of effort for many years,” he said.
In his short speech, Arnone addressed the controversy surrounding the proposed plans. “People wanted the light, but they didn’t want the acquisition of the properties,” he said. After a lot of deliberating, “we found a way to do it” without taking private property, he noted.
“The end game of this is we have a safer road,” Arnone said. He thanked many people for their work executing the plans, including Ettore, the county engineer, and John Tobia, director of public works, the Tinton Falls mayor and former and current council members and administrators.
“I want to thank our law enforcement, most importantly, because you were the ones answering the calls… when we were having a very difficult time here on this corner,” he said.
“I hope this helps and relieves a little bit of the congestion here, which I think it will.”
Arnone also hopes Tinton Falls residents are pleased with the outcome. “I know on the county side, we’re very pleased with it,” he said.
According to the county, final intersection improvements included “minor widening” of Sycamore Avenue, some curb, milling and pavement work, upgraded and revised signs and striping and, of course, installation of the traffic signal.
Before throwing the switch to activate the light, Arnone said, “I want to thank everybody that had the patience and the faith and, in the county, to do the right thing that could try to benefit everyone. Usually you don’t have so many obstacles when we do this and I sure hope we don’t ever have one again.”
In addition to four of the five county commissioners, many other county and local officials and members of law enforcement were at the event. Tinton Falls Mayor Vito Perillo was happy to witness the ceremonial completion of the project.
“I’m glad we got it done,” he said, “and it should help a great deal.”
“Hopefully the next mayor won’t have to worry about it,” Perillo said, noting that numerous mayors have had to deal with the issue. And he commended the county on their work.
“They did a nice job,” he said.
This article originally appeared in the April 29, 2021, print edition of The Two River Times.
