Resident says busy road is outdated
Built in 1929, Church Lane connects East & North Brunswick
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff Church Lane residents in North Brunswick want county officials to put sidewalks along their roadway. Above, a car passes a resident’s mailbox on Monday.

Tractors, trailers and dump trucks have George Saloom saying, “Oh my!”When the North Brunswick resident moved into his Church Lane home 35 years ago, morning traffic consisted more of horses than cars. Now, the 75-year-old said he can count an average of 40 vehicles an hour.

“During the week now, there’s 10-, 14- and 18-wheelers speeding by here, cement mixers, and school buses,” Saloom said.

Despite the evolution from hooves to horsepower on top of it, Saloom said Church Lane remains almost exactly as it was built in 1929.

“Putting blacktop over the cement road is the only renovation the county has done since they put the road here,” Saloom said.

The large trucks aren’t Saloom’s major complaint. In fact, he’s lived with the traffic so long that when he sits in his kitchen, the rumbling and noise of air brakes rarely faze him anymore.

Although Saloom would like the county to ban large trucks on the county roadway, he and his neighbors really want officials to renovate Church Lane to make it more conducive to its residents.

“When you have people who live in this neighborhood who haven’t been able to go for a walk down their street for the last 15 years, something is wrong,” Saloom said.

Church Lane extends from North Brunswick to East Brunswick and is comprised of 10 inches of cement.

The portion in North Brunswick measures eight-tenths of a mile from Farrington Bridge to its end at the intersection with Old Georges Road.

In the last 15 years, residential development has taken place on both sides of Church Lane. All of the streets that lead off the roadway into the developments end in cul-de-sacs, leaving Church Lane as residents’ only means of entry and exit.

About 550 residents who live in the 166 homes on the no-outlet streets use Church Lane daily.

Whereas all of the dead-end streets measure 30 feet wide, Church Lane only measures 21 feet wide.

“The large trucks barely fit between the yellow line and the white line for the shoulder,” Saloom said. “There are no sidewalks for people to walk on and I fear that there will be a tragedy one day soon.”

Despite not having sidewalks, the postal service only delivers mail to one side of the street.

Mailboxes line the west side of the roadway where residents on both sides of the road pick up their mail.

“I moved my mailbox back as much as I could and I still look to make sure it’s safe when I get my mail,” Saloom said. “The people on the other side of the street not only have to cross the busy road to get their mail, but then they have to worry about getting hit.”

Although the county set the speed limit for the road at 40 mph, Saloom said he estimates vehicles travel the lane averaging at least 50 mph.

“Church Lane is straight and inviting to speeders,” Saloom said. “Because there aren’t any sidewalks, I’ve seen people, in the winter, jumping into the plowed snow, just to avoid a speeding truck.”

Although the road doesn’t have any sidewalks, Saloom said neighborhood children don’t refrain from using it.

“There are very young bikers on Church Lane and children that ride scooters,” Saloom said. “They have to ride down the middle of the road, and few vehicles pass by them traveling 40 miles per hour. Children also have to wait for the school bus on the road.”

Most of the road has a very narrow shoulder, or no shoulder at all. There aren’t any crosswalks or traffic signals on the North Brunswick portion either.

When Saloom and his neighbors went to a Middlesex County Freeholders meeting in June, Saloom said he didn’t get the response he wanted.

“The director said the county has over 600 miles of roadways that need sidewalks,” Saloom said.

Saloom said Freeholder James Polos did meet with Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack regarding the matter.

Polos, chairman of the county’s public works committee, said, “It is not the policy of Middlesex County to install sidewalks along county roads. A project of such magnitude would ultimately be the responsibility of the municipality.”

Polos said the township could present the county a proposal to install sidewalks and inquire about financial and other assistance.

Womack said the township will survey Church Lane residents about installing sidewalks, prior to drafting a proposal for the county.

“The township said they’re willing to help me any way they can,” Saloom said. “I just hope someone does something soon, and not after a tragedy occurs.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, from 1998 to 2003, about one in every seven traffic deaths involved someone walking or pedaling on or next to a road.