Turn Left onto Main Street Downtown, Risk a Ticket

A driver attempted to make a left-hand turn from Millburn Avenue onto Main Street Thursday morning, but he stopped to allow pedestrians to cross the street. A driver stopped for the light on Main Street waved to him to say not to make the left hand turn. But he turned. That's when he was stopped for a ticket from police stationed there.

Drivers aren't supposed to be making left turns onto Main Street from Millburn Avenue as part of the new traffic pattern for the downtown bridge construction project. There are signs posted in the area about the traffic change.

Police, though, have received a number of complaints from pedestrians and drivers about people making the left turn, said Police Capt. Greg Weber. It's part of why officers were out on Thursday enforcing the no left turn.

Two officers were standing along Main Street in front of Martini Bistro & Bar and Pizzeta watching the traffic. When someone turned left from Millburn Avenue, they stepped into the road, pointing for the driver to pull into the right lane and stop. They then issued the driver a ticket for making the illegal turn. The ticket carries an $85 fine and two points on the person's license.

There were light cycles when no one made the left turn in the late morning, but they were stopping people steadily. At times they had three, four or five cars lined up on Main Street. Weber said he didn't have official totals on how many tickets were issued Thursday, but the officers at the scene said they issued around 50 tickets during a two-hour period around 8-9 a.m. on Thursday.

In addition to the complaints, Weber said police picked up the enforcement because school is opening in two weeks. "We're anticipating more vehicle and pedestrian traffic," he said. "We're trying to educate drivers... The quicker people comply, the quicker we can stop handing out tickets... We want a smooth transition (to the school year)."

In addition, Weber said, police are working with school officials to distribute information about traffic flow and pedestrian access throughout downtown. School officials also plan to route buses around downtown where they can.

County officials are overseeing a project to demolish and replace the Millburn Avenue bridge over the west branch of the Rahway River. The bridge is just east of Main Street. The project is expected to take about eight months to complete, and there have been traffic pattern and pedestrian access changes due to it.

In addition to the no left turn onto Main Street from Millburn Avenue, the right lane is for turns onto Main Street only. Two lanes of traffic are to be open at all times. The no left turn is expected to be in place for the first phase of construction. On-street parking also has been removed in the vicinity. The parking lot adjacent to the Millburn Deli and Basilico remains open. The sidewalk on the south side of the street in the area is closed for the first phase.