BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Police have stepped up speed enforcement on Vosseller Avenue following concerns by residents.
At the April 23 Council meeting, Township officials outlined steps they are taking to address speeding concerns on not just Vosseller Avenue but also other roads in Bridgewater.
Council Vice President Andrew Bucko said the issue has been especially noticeable on roads that form municipal borders, including Vosseller Avenue with Bound Brook, Van Holten Road with Raritan, and Adamsville Road with Somerville.
Bucko said he wrote to the New Jersey Department of Transportation seeking support for a study of the exit from Route 22 onto Vosseller Avenue to determine whether the current yield sign should be changed to a stop sign in hopes of slowing traffic leaving the highway.
He also said he contacted leaders in surrounding municipalities to keep a dialogue going on roads that are shared by more than one community.
"The fact that part of some of these roads are outside of Bridgewater shouldn't be an impediment to looking for a solution," said Bucko.
Township Administrator Michael Pappas said after speeding concerns on Vosseller Avenue were raised at the April 9 Council meeting, township officials, including Police Chief John Mitzak and Township Engineer Bill Burr, have discussed possible solutions.
Pappas said replacing the yield sign with a stop sign was among the ideas reviewed.
Mitzak said Vosseller Avenue is a multi-jurisdictional road and that he contacted Bound Brook Police Chief Jason Gianotto to coordinate with Bridgewater's traffic safety unit.
"We've been on that road since April 10. We have conducted 20 directed patrols during 13 different days. So, we vary the times that we do the directed patrols on that road," Mitzak said.
He said police stopped 27 vehicles and issued 21 summonses and six warnings during those patrols over the last 13 days.
Mitzak also said a speed sign had been monitoring southbound traffic and, as of the day before the meeting, was moved to track northbound traffic.
"Once that's done for another week, we'll take the sign down, and then we'll see if any of our efforts have caused people to slow down," he said.
Mitzak said Sgt. Kevin Florczak, who leads the traffic safety unit, is working with Bound Brook traffic officers so that both sides of the road are being covered.
He also said enforcement on one road does not eliminate speeding concerns elsewhere.
"Bridgewater has hundreds of roads and we're doing our best, but just because we're there today and we moved, it's going to happen again, unfortunately," Mitzak said.
Previous reporting:
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