Speeding Concerns On Vosseller Avenue Raised By Bridgewater Residents

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Speeding concerns were raised by Bridgewater residents who asked township officials to take stronger action along Vosseller Avenue.

"I'm here on behalf of my family and several of our neighbors to raise ongoing concerns about the constant and egregious speeding on our residential road," said resident David Kitchen.

The section of roadway that is seeing the speeding issue is between Route 22 in Bridgewater and Route 28 in Bound Brook.

Kitchen said residents have been contacting local police about speeding since 2021.

He said multiple speed studies over that time showed vehicles traveling up to 65 mph on the road, where the posted speed limit is 25 mph.

He described drivers passing other cars, including near driveways, and said families worry about children playing outside, riding bikes, and crossing the street to reach a school bus.

"My wife, who is eight months pregnant, also had to dodge out of the way of a car as well," said Kitchen.

A portable speed radar is currently placed on the street, which Kitchen says has helped in the past but only for short periods.

He asked the township to consider more consistent enforcement, more visible signage and a permanent flashing radar speed display for both directions of travel.

Council President Joan Geiger said speeding has come up repeatedly in town.

"When I was canvassing and running for Council, I was really surprised at the number of people that brought up speeding as an issue," said Geiger.

She said it is on her "to-do list" to talk with the mayor and the traffic safety unit about possible solutions, including buying permanent speed traps.

Bridgewater Police Captain Douglas Thorsen said he is aware of a "speeding issue" in that section near Route 22 and said he would speak with the traffic safety unit "to make sure it does get attention to make sure they do show up there on a regular basis."

He also said the township has limited resources and cannot address every speeding problem at once.

"It's difficult, though, because obviously this is a very large Township and it's hard to address every single speeding need when we have limited resources," said Thorsen.

The discussion also touched on the Route 22 exit ramp onto Vosseller Avenue. Officials said the ramp and its yield sign are under state authority, not Township control.

Councilman Timothy Ring suggested asking the state to consider whether a stop sign would slow drivers before they turn onto Vosseller.

Township Administrator Michael Pappas said the township engineer should be involved and said Bridgewater should also speak with Bound Brook because Vosseller is shared by the two municipalities.

Pappas said officials would "certainly look into this in greater detail."

Another Vosseller resident, Tom Schaffrey, told the council he has been raising the same issue for 25 years.

"I started taking people to court for passing school buses on Vosseller to protect my children," said Schaffrey.

He added that just last week a car passed his entire 88-foot property in less than 1 second, which he estimated is about 75 miles an hour just coming off the highway.

Schaffrey also noted that years ago, while riding a bicycle, he was hit head-on by a truck and spent five months in rehab.

"What would a car at 65 miles an hour do to a young child? So, I'm urging this council to do something quickly that would be devastating to this community," said Schaffrey.

Kitchen said that, "Our goal is simple. To make our neighborhood safer for everyone who lives here."

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