Moorestown Petition Addresses North Church Street Speed Limit Concerns

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown residents are spearheading an effort to get the speed limit reduced on a busy street in town. Township Manager Tom Merchel presented a petition to council at its meeting on June 26 at town hall concerning an effort to get the speed limit on North Church Street, which is currently 35 mph, reduced. The petition was passed along to the county for consideration.

Resident Paul Conlow went door-to-door on North Church Street between Flynn Avenue and Main Street, collecting 73 signatures from most of the adults who live in that 10-block radius, as well as business owners and churches.

“Kathy and Fred Sutherland initiated the effort to lower the speed limit after a vehicle slammed into their porch,” Conlow said in an email. “They contacted council, the police department, and the county freeholders inquiring about a reduced speed limit, and their efforts led to the council's resolution requesting the County Traffic Engineer's study.”

That resolution was approved during the May 8 council meeting.

“The North Church Street neighborhood is an old and busy one, with heavy vehicular and foot traffic,” Conlow told council in the cover letter that accompanied the petition. “Most homes and buildings stand just a few feet from the roadway. Trinity Episcopal and Bethel AME churches, Yancy Adams Park, and the Recreation Center stand on the street. Baker Elementary School, Maple-Dawson Park, the softball field, Library, and Town Hall are located within a block of the street.

“If you walk the street and talk to the residents, as I did, you will have no doubt that heavy, speeding traffic negatively impacts the neighborhood’s quality of life. A young mother told me she doesn’t allow her child to play in the front yard. A lifelong resident waved his arms to illustrate how heavy trucks rattle his windows and shake his house. I was told of limbs shorn and trees lost from passing tractor trailers, and of fears that the heavy trucks are wrecking infrastructure like water lines into homes.”

He also cited the story of a family dog that was tragically killed in the street, and of cars that have swerved onto front lawns, as well as the Sutherlands’ porch.

“Quite a few residents believe that enhanced enforcement and a series of pedestrian crosswalks, along with a reduced speed limit, will discourage speeding and calm traffic flow on North Church Street,” Conlow said. “I think I speak for the entire neighborhood when I express gratitude to the Moorestown Township Council, Administration, and Police Department, and to the Burlington County Freeholders and Traffic Engineer for undertaking this study, an important first step in improving the quality of life on North Church Street.”

During the June 26 council meeting, council members acknowledged the speed limit has been an issue for quite some time on North Church Street. One resident asked if something could be done about South Church Street, and Councilman Mike Locatell said the township could consider adding concerns about that side of the street to the conversation. Church Street is a county road, so any changes must go through the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Anyone interested in information about the Church Street speed-limit issue may email churchstreetspeed@gmail.com or visit Church Street Speed on Facebook.

Patch file photo