LITTLE SILVER – Church Lane is a 19th century roadway that runs alongside Embury United Methodist Church cemetery.
Located across from the entrance to Sickles Farm Market, the historic Parker Homestead and a public park, the narrow stretch connects Rumson Road to Church Street. It’s a handy cut through to downtown.
But recently the spotlight was turned on the little 300-foot lane. Some residents at a borough council meeting said the road feels unsafe.
“When you use it, you have to hope and pray no one comes in the other direction,” said Keith Wells, a nearby Prospect Avenue homeowner and president of the organization overseeing the Parker Homestead across the street from Church Lane.
The roadway dates back to the 1830s, when the Parker family owned the property and Jacob Corlies Parker built a general store in the area, Wells said.
Parker needed a roadway built for his customers who pulled up to the storefront in horse-drawn buggies, in the old days before the Model T became available in 1908.
Parker eventually sold the facility to an employee. In 1915 it was destroyed in a fire.
More than a century later residents are no longer being pulled by horses, but are propelled by massive horsepower engines and the bulky motor vehicles they are housed in.
“The road is clearly not made for two lanes of traffic,” Little Silver Mayor Robert Neff told The Two River Times. “And typically, when someone raises a traffic issue, we receive input from our local traffic authority Police Capt. Gary LaBruno, who said it ought to be a one-way street.”
Another safety concern is associated with the nearby cemetery and an old brick border wall standing 5- to 6-feet tall. One section of the wall runs the length of the roadway and, according to Wells, it can restrict a driver’s vision.
“You always have to worry about someone coming from the opposite direction, but you also have to be mindful of when you get to the end of it, because the wall makes it very difficult to see traffic coming on Rumson Road. It can be pretty scary,” Wells said.
Neff said the governing body will consult with borough engineers and other professionals in the Department of Public Works to identify what can be done. This may mean traffic-calming devices or perhaps consideration for a one-way street.
“As far as I know there are no accidents that prompted the discussion at our recent meeting, it’s just a long-standing concern for a few of our residents,” Neff added. “But part of the process of figuring out what we’re going to do is to pull and review any accident reports from Church Lane and the adjacent roads to see if it merits further action.”
Neff said the discussion was somewhat of a surprise, but is the kind of work he has enjoyed in his two terms as mayor. Neff is running again for mayor; he is being challenged by Rick Brandt in the June Republican primary election.
“One of the reasons I love this community is because we did a lot that night. We passed a budget. We set a tax rate. We adopted an ordinance for a big sidewalk improvement project we’re excited about. But this little historical road dominated the conversation. And it’s something we’re going to look into,” Neff added.
As for the Little Silver budget, Neff said the borough’s tax levy increased by $224,233, due in part to a down payment for the reconstruction of borough sidewalks, a $37,000 pension payment increase and a $23,000 planning board operating expense increase for affordable housing fees.
Despite the increase, the borough’s overall levy is still $158,000 below the 2-percent cap, and the municipal tax rate will slightly decrease from 0.437 in 2018 to 0.436 in 2019.
