Rt. 18 traffic conditions frustrate E.B. commuters BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer EAST BRUNSWICK - Traffic congestion on Route 18 continues to be a hot topic at Township Council meetings, and with residents complaining and officials looking for answers. The topic reared its head Monday night after Lenore Gordon, a commuter, said current traffic conditions make it even harder for people to get to work from East Brunswick's park-and-rides. Councilman David Stahl called for the township to be more "proactive" in dealing with the traffic problems that plague so much of Route 18, especially near Tices Lane. Stahl said the state has turned Route 18 into a connector road with too many other high volume areas and said the council should pass a resolution letting state legislators know how important it is to East Brunswick's economic well-being to have traffic problems alleviated. Mayor William Neary took issue with the classification of East Brunswick as "reactive," and said the township has met with county engineers, the county Planning Board, state legislators and others to try and resolve the Route 18 issues. He also noted that East Brunswick has a traffic advisory board to discuss just such issues. "I do agree Route 18 is a problem for all of Middlesex County," he said. The township needs to find out how much money it can get from the federal and state governments, Neary said, to make improvements on the heavily traveled and crowded highway. Gordon said she drops her child off at the Irwin Elementary School on Racetrack Road each weekday morning, and it takes her a half hour to get to the parking facility. "It's really bad," she said, adding that traffic on Route 18 during rush hour is so intense it leaves commuters angry even after they get on the bus. "People are arguing and bitter when they get on the bus," she said. Of course, the traffic on Route 18 also sometimes makes the buses late for New York, a fact not lost on commuters who need to get to their jobs on time, she said. Council President Nancy Pinkin noted that all those who use Route 18, and not just commuters, are affected by the traffic. Officials did not make note during the discussion of the road widenings and traffic pattern changes that were made in the vicinity of Route 18 in recent years, and no specific suggestions were made as to how traffic conditions could be improved. Another resident and commuter, Madeline Molinari, asked if more police will be stationed at the intersection of Tices Lane and Route 18 to catch drivers who make illegal turns. Township Business Administrator James White said he spoke to Public Safety Director Barry Roberson, who told him police are already there quite often and that they do issue summonses for making such turns there. Molinari asked if the police presence could be increased, but White said the patrols are already there "a lot." When Molinari also asked about having two turn lanes there instead of one, White said that would entail a redesign of the intersection, which would require state approval and a great deal of money just for engineering studies.