On Friday, Aug. 2, the state Department of Transportation held a meeting and an audit at the Delran Municipal Building to discuss multiple intersections and crosswalks along Route 130. In attendance were consultants, engineers, Delran school principals, the Delran Police Department, administration members and both mayors of Delran and Cinnaminson, Ken Paris and Ernest McGill.
In general, the meeting was called to look at multiple intersections that could be harmful to pedestrian safety. Each of the members of the meeting traveled to the intersections of Taylor’s Lane, Haines Mill, the Holy Cross crosswalk, Chester Avenue and Fairview to dissect any problems that may need to be fixed.
“What we ended up doing is we went to each intersection and we looked at all the issues for pedestrians,” said Paris. “Some of the things that we discussed included the crosswalks for pedestrians weren’t very defined. Even the access to the button for pedestrians to hit in order to walk across was hard to get to.
“We also looked at the design of the intersections,” Paris continued. “For some of the intersections, the timing of the intersection wasn’t ideal. We talked about widening the crosswalk because some were too narrow or having a bigger median for people to stand because that was also a small space.”
According to Paris, after the members of the meeting went from intersection to intersection diagnosing issues, everyone went back to the Delran municipal building to discuss their findings.
“After we looked at the intersections and identified the issues, we went back to the building to discuss recommendations that the state could then take back and use to create a plan for the future,” said Paris. “We have had some problems on Route 130. There have been accidents and some fatalities. I’m not sure what number it is, but Route 130 is one of the top hazardous roads.
“The New Jersey State Department of Transportation did a similar project before,” Paris continued. “These are the same people that brought the highway down from three lanes to two lanes in order to reduce speed. So we were very interested in letting everyone in the meeting and discuss improvements. We have done a lot of sidewalk improvements so pedestrian safety is a main priority for us and for the people who use these crosswalks and intersections.”
While the meeting took place at the Delran Municipal Building, it is important to note this is not a project from Delran or Cinnaminson. The members who attended the meeting were there to provide information and feedback to the Department of Transportation. There is not a timetable on any safety improvements. The Department of Transportation simply gathered information and will take it back and further develop plans for the future and enhancement of pedestrian safety.
