Is Allen Road Dangerous? County Conducts Study

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — A pedestrian safety and vehicle speed study is being conducted by Somerset County on Allen Road in Bernards Township after a Basking Ridge local was struck and killed earlier this month.

The study was prompted after the township formally requested the county get involved, according to Tom Timko, Bernards Township Engineer.

The county just started the study and is looking into volume traffic counts, crash records and evaluating existing conditions, according to Alicia Meyers, Somerset County Traffic Engineer.

The portion of the road being evaluated is anywhere south of Douglas Road in Bernards Township.

Once the data is collected the county will present them to the township with any recommendations if necessary.

The road has been at the center of controversy amongst local residents who have started a petition asking for multiple traffic signals to be installed on the "very dangerous" road. The petition already has 328 signatures on it.

Despite claims that speeding is an issue on the road, Bernards Township Police disagree. Police said they continue to monitor and enforce speed on Allen Road.

As of two weeks ago there were 860 motor vehicle stops on Allen Road in 2016, according to Bernards Township Police Lt. Scott Ward.

As of Oct. 12 there were 108 traffic stops with 67 motor vehicle violations. Of those stopped, 20 were residents of Basking Ridge and the rest were from Bedminster, Warren or the surrounding area.

Accidents on Allen Road:

Beom Sohn, 56, from Basking Ridge was hit by a car when he was crossing Liberty Ridge Road at Allen Road around 7:50 a.m. on Oct. 6, according to Bernards Township Police Lt. Scott Ward.

Sohn was airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick where he died the next morning from his injuries.

Another pedestrian was hit on Dec. 15, 2015. Doug Dolgin, who started the petition was hit by a speeding car on Allen Road at the intersection of Patriot Hill/Hamilton Woods. He suffered a severely damaged left leg, requiring five major surgeries in 14 days and his two dogs were killed.

For more information on the petition visit https://www.change.org/p/dept-...

(Image via Shutterstock)

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