Adjust traffic lights on Rt. 18 stretch; don’t spend money needlessly

I read with some amusement and much disgust the article on the proposed improvements to the traffic flow along Route 18 around Tices Lane ("Plan Would Ease Tie-ups at Route 18, Tices Lane," Sentinel, June 20).

As someone who commuted to New York by bus for more than 20 years, I can offer a much simpler, less expensive solution that should take about a week to implement. It seems that, as usual, the town is proposing to build a nuclear device to kill a fly. Anybody remember the $4 million Edgeboro Road jughandle?

As I and many of my fellow commuters concluded long ago, most of the congestion in that area could be relieved by two simple steps.

First, increase the time for the green light on Route 18 at Tices Lane and decrease it for the green light on Tices Lane. Night after night, I watched as my bus sat among hundreds of vehicles while a handful of cars crossed Route 18 along Tices Lane. We often remarked how ridiculous that was. The duration of the green light for vehicles on Tices needs to be shortened significantly, at least during the morning and evening rush hours.

Second, the lights on Tices Lane and West Prospect Street need to be synchronized so that in the direction of the traffic, the second light changes to green shortly after the first one does. This would ensure that very few cars would need to stop between Tices and West Prospect. It would also shorten the line of cars waiting at the jughandle at West Prospect.

I’m willing to bet that these changes could be made quickly and inexpensively and that they would have an immediate positive impact on the traffic flow at the affected areas.

I’m also willing to bet that the township won’t even consider such an approach. After all, it’s never been able to manage traffic adequately. There are numerous examples, but that’s another letter to the editor.

Larry Marden

East Brunswick