Solving transport issues - one idea at a time
Forum views towns' traffic woes as interrelated
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS - Local officials exchanged ideas recently about transportation and traffic issues in eastern Monmouth County.

The group of municipal officials and legislators participated in a transportation roundtable during the May 5 meeting of the Two River Council of Mayors.

According to Tinton Falls Councilman Brendan Tobin, who attended, the roundtable was a free exchange of ideas about transportation and traffic issues affecting all of the towns in eastern Monmouth County from Red Bank to Ocean Township.

The meeting was held at the Little Silver Municipal Building.

In attendance were representatives from 14 towns, Congressman Rush Holt's office, Fort Monmouth, the county, the state Department of Transportation, NJ Transit and others.

"I met people I hadn't met before, like the mayor of Fair Haven," Tobin said. "It was really a very open and productive meeting that ran for several hours. As far as I know, it's going to be done on a regular basis."

He explained attendees were asked to list their concerns regarding local and regional traffic and transit issues.

Tobin said it is important to analyze problems holistically so "we don't just handle a problem in one town and throw it on another one."

"Everyone knows we have a lot of problems," he said, adding that the charm of the area is in jeopardy because of inadequate planning.

"It's foolish to simply plan or act for one town or one intersection. We've done that and seen traffic build," he said.

He explained that a lot of traffic lights have been added, but they aren't always timed properly, so they lead to backups instead of improvements.

"Proper planning requires a broad-view approach since we are a mobile society. We have 8 percent of the nation's population in the metropolitan region, but we have 35 percent of the transit trips in the nation and the roads are choked," he said.

Tobin noted that ridership on public transportation is at an all-time high in the state.

One of the ideas discussed was the possibility of reopening the train station at Monmouth Park to make it a regular station, instead of one that is only open for racetrack denizens.

"That would alleviate the problem of a shortage of parking at the Little Silver station. In addition, we discussed the possibility of a transportation hub on the Fort Monmouth property that is in Oceanport," he said.

One of the related problems is the issue of trains coming into Little Silver.

"They are not supposed to block both intersections, but sometimes they do. The guy from Transit, Tom Clark, who lives in the area, said they would look into it."

Tobin said that many of the people who were at the meeting, even those from agencies other than municipalities, were from the area and know the problems firsthand.

"If traffic backs up in Little Silver, it can affect Shrewsbury and Red Bank," Tobin said.

Another issue that came up was a complaint about a no-turn sign from Rumson into Sea Bright that backs traffic over the Sea Bright-Rumson bridge.

"The sign was put up because of one complaint letter and caused a bigger problem," Tobin said.

Tobin said the meeting included ideas about handling current traffic, rail and bus capacity issues and whether to change or leave things alone.

"We also discussed future growth when Fort Monmouth closes and as already-approved projects throughout the region come online.

"A lot of this is a 'down the road' sort of thing," he said, "but we did get one great bit of info for immediate improvement that needs to be passed along to everyone."

Tobin noted that there is a toll-free number to report the motorists' bane, and motorists can call when they see potholes: 1-800-POTHOLE (768-4653).

He said that many good ideas were put on the table at the roundtable.

"I thought it was an excellent discussion."