By Stephen Appezzato
LINCROFT – Officials gathered this week for a groundbreaking ceremony, celebrating the long-awaited conversion of a one-way service road behind the Acme shopping center in Lincroft into a two-way thoroughfare – a move aimed at addressing persistent traffic safety concerns along Route 520 (Newman Springs Road).
The project, which has been contemplated for years, will expand the existing 18-foot-wide road to 28 feet, allowing for two-way traffic flow and the addition of a sidewalk. The project will also include a new driveway connecting Lincroft Grove (site of Luigi’s and other shops) to Acme Road.
The initiative follows a series of public information sessions held by the township, the county and community members in response to mounting safety concerns along Route 520, including motor vehicle accidents and pedestrian injuries.
“This is a really exciting day here, and I know it’s very exciting for a group of people here in Lincroft that probably have thought this would never happen,” said Thomas A. Arnone, county commissioner director.
“This project here is what Monmouth County is about, working with the municipalities,” he said.
Middletown Mayor Tony Perry recounted how the effort began in 2019, when resident Abe Littenberg reached out to Perry. The two met for breakfast and discussed widening the roadway. Littenberg is a director of the Lincroft Village Green Association (LVGA) who has championed safety along Route 520 for years. In recognition of his years of advocacy, the new road will be named Littenberg Road.
“After years of negotiating with this property owner, after years of planning, the township committee was finally able to acquire the easement on this roadway to make this possible today,” Perry said. The county engineering team is responsible for the construction of the road, and Middletown will assume jurisdiction upon completion.
Arnone announced another measure to improve safety along Route 520. Along the road from Hurleys Lane to Woodland Drive, the speed limit will be reduced from 40 to 35 mph to be consistent with the speed limit in the Lincroft Village section of the corridor.
“If you’ve ever watched a marathon, it goes on forever, but somehow, when they got near the finish line, these guys sprinted. And this was really, really exciting,” Littenberg said. “Thank you for lowering the speed limit. You guys are listening. We all greatly appreciate it.”
Planning Board to Hear Exit 109 Development Proposal
While efforts to make that area of Route 520 safer begin, concerns persist about potential future traffic burdens down the road. The Middletown Planning Board will hear an application June 9 for a proposed development from Avalon Middletown Urban Renewal, LLC off Garden State Parkway Exit 109 – a project that has drawn skepticism from local civic groups.
The plan includes a 340-unit apartment building featuring studio, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, including some affordable units, along with a parking garage and a standalone Starbucks with a drive-thru. The site falls within the River Centre South Redevelopment Plan.
The LVGA has previously raised concerns that such large-scale development could worsen traffic congestion and safety issues on Route 520.
In a statement to The Two River Times, LVGA director Melanie Elmiger said, “The LVGA is mainly focused on the analysis of traffic and crashes, ensuring that the data used in the reports is complete and accurate.”
Elmiger noted residents are alarmed by the increase in speeds and crashes, especially since June 2024. Traffic data from that time until the present was not included in any study in the planning board submissions. Additionally, “the applicant’s Traffic Impact Study used data only up to 2023, prior to when Lifetime Fitness and the (Red Bank) Veterinary Hospital opened on Half Mile Road.”
“We will be sharing our concerns when permitted during the application hearing process,” Elmiger said.
Save Our Swimming River (SOS), a local community group, firmly opposes the development for multiple rea- sons. So far, the group has collected more than 1,000 signatures on a Change.org petition opposing the development. In a statement to The Two River Times, Lora Smith- Staines, a leader of the group, said the property qualified as one in need of redevelopment solely based on low occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic, when most office buildings around the world were vacant.
“This designation gave Middletown carte blanche to ‘re’-develop this property in any way they saw fit. The original office buildings are currently bustling and not slated for redevelopment but, rather, a facelift. The plan was never to redevelop these but rather squeeze in a 340-unit apartment complex,” Smith-Staines said.
“While our focus is primarily environmental, we are also sympathetic to the quality-of-life issues it raises within the community. Our primary environmental concerns include protection of nesting bald eagles in close proximity,” she said.
While bald eagles are no longer endangered in New Jersey, they remain a species of special concern, meaning the state continues to monitor and ensure nest sites are not disturbed, she said. SOS is requesting the state complete a bald eagle sighting report.
Additionally, SOS is concerned with protecting the Swimming River riparian zone around and upstream from the proposed development, which provides habitat for wildlife, among other environmental concerns.
“The biggest quality-of-life and, more pressing, public safety issue is the increase in traffic and, inevitably, accidents. We anticipate at least 500-600 more vehicles traversing this area of Newman Springs Road in the vicinity of Half Mile Road,” Smith-Staines said.
“Moving forward with this development is both irresponsible and illogical. SOS is sensitive to the need for housing and especially affordable housing, but not at the expense of the environment or human life,” she added.
The article originally appeared in the June 5 – 11, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
