Intersection is frequent scene of car accidents
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

MONROE - Tires screech, then comes the crash.

It is a scenario that's become all too familiar to Janet Baptista.

"I can't even tell you how many accidents I've seen," she said. "God forbid, one of these days it's going to be me."

Baptista lives near the intersection of Buckelew Avenue (Route 522) and Mounts Mills Road (Route 614), which turns into Hoffman Station Road. She said the intersection is the scene of frequent car accidents, and she would like to see something done.

Monroe Township police, acknowledging the high number of accidents there, tried to amend the problem over the past year by installing a larger-than-normal stop sign with a metallic reflector down its post at Mounts Mills Road, and painting the roadway to alert drivers of the upcoming stop, according to Detective Bob Bennett.

During part of the year, he noted, a cornfield obscures the view for drivers who are at the stop sign on Mounts Mills Road.

Police Sgt. Michael Lloyd, who heads the traffic and safety division of the police force, said visibility is typically good at the intersection, allowing drivers to see about 1,000 feet in either direction.

"There are quite a few accidents there, and why that is, I'm not sure," Lloyd said. "Looking at the accidents, speed doesn't seem to be the cause. My guys hit it pretty regularly. When they're out there, they don't see much [speeding]."

Baptista questioned why that area is the only stretch of Route 522 with a designated speed limit of 50 mph, when most of the remainder of the road between Jamesburg and Englishtown is 45 mph. She said the higher limit is especially dangerous because there are access roads to both the Heritage Chase and Highlands developments nearby.

"Nobody obeys the speed limit around here," Baptista said.

A stay-at-home mother to her 5-yearold daughter, Baptista said she is concerned for her child's safety. She also pointed out that many school buses travel through the area, which is another cause for concern.

"[The accidents] look devastating from here," she said. She noted that it has become routine for her to hear the crash, run to the phone and call 911.

According to Lloyd, about 25 percent of the accidents there have injuries reported. But he is concerned about their frequency.

"I would just like to know why this is happening, and what Monroe is going to do to remedy it," Baptista said.

Due to the fact that three-quarters of the intersection is owned by Middlesex County, it would be up to county officials to determine what should be done to deal with the problems there, Lloyd said.

"I think, at some point, a [traffic] light is slated to go there," Lloyd said.

As a result of an e-mail from Baptista, township officials requested that the county conduct a speed survey at the intersection. From there, county and township officials would have to determine how to fund whatever is deemed appropriate to curb the high number of accidents, Lloyd said.