Traffic Concerns Discussed At Quick Chek Hearing

A more civilized and orderly Zoning Board meeting was held last night as officials laid down the law before proceeding with discussions of a proposed QuickChek on Route 22 East.

“This is not a theater, arena or stadium,” Zoning Board Attorney Lawrence Vastola said to residents at the start of the meeting. “This board sits with a judicial purpose. It is like coming into a courtroom…Your conduct at the last meeting kind of offended me.”

This was the third public hearing on the project, which calls for a 24-hour, 5,700-square-foot convenience market on Route 22 East at the site of the vacant 5.47-acre Tectonic property. There will also be 16 gas pumps and two deisel pumps.

The first hearing in June drew more than 300 residents at the municipal complex, which exceeded the building’s capacity.

The second meeting, on Nov. 17, ran over the three-hour allotted time slot with more than 400 people showing up to ask questions about the project. Emotions ran high at the previous meeting causing applause, cheering, booing and screaming to occur.

“If everyone abides by the rules it will go a lot more smoothly than it already has,” Zoning Board Chairman Donald Sweeney said.

Sweeney also reminded residents that according to law NJSA40:55D-73, if a variance is not heard by the board it will be automatically passed.

The third meeting, held on Dec. 1 at Somerset County Vocational & Technical Schools auditorium, drew less residents than previously yet it still lasted the full three hours.

Keith Cahill of Bohler Engineering started off Quick Chek’s testimony with minor modifications made to the plan.

Working with the town fire official, the plan will now include an emergency access route from Route 28. It will come through the existing Melick’s Farm Stand parking lot and enter through a locked gate. This will eliminate two parking spots, bringing the total to 52.

Traffic

The focus of the meeting revolved around the traffic expert’s testimony.

Charles Olivo of Stonefield Engineering and Design presented his traffic impact study.

He noted there are 35,000 trips on Route 22 and 15,000 trips on Route 28 on a daily basis already.

As of Oct. 30, Olivo projected 233 people coming into the site in the morning and 290 people in the evening on weekday peak hours. From that 73 new cars would come in the morning and 96 in the afternoon.

“That is a conservative estimate,” Olivo said. “It could be lower.”

Most board members and residents were concerned on the impact to the Garretson Road and Route 28 intersection that is already experiencing backed up delays.

“That intersection is already far over burdened,” Michael Kirsh, board member said. “Even one extra car makes a bad situation worse.”

Olivo didn’t expect many drivers to come from Route 22 West through the Garretson Road intersection to come over to the site due to the already heavy traffic area.

“They would have to be a real Quick Chek loyalist,” Olivo said.

Many residents disagreed as they pointed to the high school on Garretson Road and how students would now take that route to Quick Chek. Some also pointed to newcomers who could be attracted to the destination.

“We know Garretson Road is bad and we deal with it,” Eric Rutkowski, a resident of Mahnken Drive, “It’s bad enough for the people who know the road and to introduce new people who don’t know the road - it’s a recipe for disaster.”

Some residents were concerned with the entrance of Quick Chek being close to the ramp of Route 28. Jing Li and Carol Shi of Bridgewater purchased helium balloons from Party City and staged them along Route 22 East to mimic the proposed signage of Quick Chek.

“We drove by multiple times and we couldn’t see the sign until after the curve,” Li said.

Li believes the lack of visibility will cause drivers to cross lanes to get over at the last minute which will cause congestion or accidents on Route 22.

Quick Chek officials declined to comment on her study as they “hadn’t had a chance to review it.”

After three hours of discussion, the zoning board thanked the audience for their conduct that night and adjourned. No decision was made and the next meeting will be held Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School auditorium.

For more information on the proposed project visit quickchek-bridgewater.com.

(Photos by Alexis Tarrazi)

What do you think about the QuickChek project? Send me your comments alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.