Edison looks to lower speed limit at this 'dangerous intersection'
EDISON – Grove Avenue drivers may soon need to slow down for a three-block section of the long roadway.
That's because the Township Council has introduced an ordinance reducing the speed limit on Grove Avenue from 35 mph to 25 mph in the area 350 feet south of Monroe Avenue to Marlin Avenue West. A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for Oct. 11.
The change, recommended by the township's traffic division, is aimed at improving safety, but also sparked a discussion during Wednesday's Township Council meeting about reducing the speed to 25 mph on the entire length of the roadway, from the Metuchen border to Inman Avenue. Metuchen already has a 25-mph speed limit on all borough and county roads, including its section of Grove Avenue.
The Edison section of Grove Avenue is not far from Menlo Park Elementary School and includes the heavily traveled Calvert Avenue intersection. This is where vehicles often are backed up and stuck in the middle of Grove Avenue, waiting to cross from one side of a Calvert Avenue to the other, because the Calvert Avenue intersection does not run straight across Grove Avenue, but curves a little.
"I know that's a dangerous intersection. It has been for a long time," said Councilman Richard Brescher.
"Why wouldn't we make all of Grove Avenue 25 mph," asked Brescher, who added that even if the speed limit was reduced to 25 mph, the slowest anyone would go is probably 35 mph.
Maps show Grove Avenue begins at Woodbridge Avenue in Metuchen and extends past Route 27 and Metuchen High School before entering Edison and traveling past James Street, crossing Oak Tree Road and traveling past the Edison North Branch Library, J.P. Stevens High School, crossing New Dover Road and ending at Inman Avenue.
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Councilman Ajay Patil said when traveling on Grove Avenue from Metuchen to Oak Tree Road, the speed limit is 25 mph, and it becomes 35 mph at the James Street traffic signal. He said people traveling from Edison into Metuchen on Grove Avenue were being issued traffic tickets because they were used to traveling 35 mph.
Councilwoman Joyce Ship-Freeman advocated for the 25-mph speed limit all along Grove Avenue, especially since the Metuchen section is already 25 mph.
Councilman Nishith Patel also said it makes sense to have a 25-mph speed limit the entire length of Grove Avenue.
Deputy Police Chief Robert Dudash said the purpose of the ordinance was primarily to look at the intersection of Calvert and Grove avenues.
"We do get a lot of accidents there. The fact that it's an offset creates even that more hazard to that particular intersection. We're looking at that to try and slow traffic in that neighborhood and hopefully cut down on the accidents, specifically in that area," Dudash said.
Dudash said the police department also is looking at a state grant to possibly install a traffic signal at the intersection of Grove and Calvert avenues.
"We're in the preliminary phases of that," said Dudash, adding that although the recommendation for the 25-mph speed limit was only for a section of Grove Avenue, that doesn't mean the Council couldn't expand the area.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edison looks to lower Grove Avenue speed limit
