Lakehurst Mayor Asks for County Help with Manapaqua Avenue Concerns

After numerous complaints over the safety of a heavily-traveled county road in , the borough's mayor has asked for help.

Residents have often complained that the 35 mph speed limit along Manapaqua Avenue — a main thoroughfare frequently used by residents and churchgoers traveling on the north side of the borough — is too high and often ignored by motorists.

Mayor Harry Robbins said at a borough council meeting last week that he has written to Ocean County Freeholder John P. Kelly, Law and Public Safety chairman, asking for help.

"Jack, this stretch of road is heavy populated with small children and a lot of curb side side parking. This is also a walking route for school," Robbins writes. "And if that's not bad enough, this road houses two churches which generates a lot of traffic."

Manapaqua often becomes clogged with traffic when Saint John's Roman Catholic Church and Harmony Ministries, the two churches on Chestnut Street — the road into which Manapaqua turns — hold services. Residents have raised the issue of road safety with borough administrators before. 

Robbins said that he has received "a few complaints" about the roadway and has viewed reader comments on Manchester Patch asking the borough for help. 

Resident April Chillemi has asked for that crosswalk to be added and said that a county representative will be meeting with her this week to discuss safety concerns.

"We are going to have a disaster happen and I don't want to wait for something bad to occur before you take action,"  in a letter to the editor submitted earlier this month. 

The mayor said that he has requested three changes to the roadway — reduce the speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph, install a crosswalk at the road's intersection with Orchard Street, and install rumble strips on three spots along the road. 

"[Rumble strips] make noise — they're not a speed bump," Robbins said. "We can't put speed bumps there."

As a county roadway, any changes made must be made through county officials.

"So, we'll see where that goes," Robbins said.