East Brunswick To Ease University Road Congestion With Traffic Officers, Signal Control

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — East Brunswick will deploy two special police officers to manage traffic signals along University Road beginning this week, Mayor Brad Cohen announced, in response to mounting congestion that has made it difficult for residents to enter and exit their driveways.

Cohen said the problem has compounded over recent months due to Route 18 construction pushing drivers onto University Road as a detour, and the closure of a cut-through at the Lowmans complex during the Vermella development project.

"It essentially dumped all that traffic on your road, and you've been suffering, and we're aware of that," Cohen said in a video message posted to Facebook.

Officers will be stationed at the intersections of University Road and Tices Lane and Tices Lane and Hearts Lane on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., with full control of the traffic signals to improve flow during peak hours.

"Those lights do not connect very well, and one of the problems is that it's resulting in very little traffic moving through at the most important times of day," Cohen said.

The mayor said hours and days could be adjusted depending on conditions. He added that completing Route 18 construction, expected before year's end, would provide significant longer-term relief.

"Finishing Route 18, which is scheduled to be done before the end of the year, would be a big help," Cohen said.

Both intersections are also slated for reconfiguration as part of a previously approved development plan, though Cohen cautioned that undertaking that work now would create simultaneous construction projects on both ends of University Road.

"Even if we did do it right now, it would make things worse," he said. "Let's see how this goes, and we will work to try to make this problem something that is a lot less of an inconvenience."

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