Lincroft residents must unite to solve traffic problems

The growth of Brookdale College has had an effect on everyone who lives in Lincroft. In the morning (between 8-9 a.m.), the volume of traffic into Brookdale is more than the local schools were ever designed to handle. Traffic backs up on Route 50 and Route 520, and there are actual traffic jams and gridlock in Lincroft. This affects everyone and is a problem the county of Monmouth needs to address.

Ms. Barbara Thorpe’s "open letter" was long on hyperbole and short on facts. The letter appears to be nothing more than a personal attack on our deputy chief of police and fellow Lincroft residents [who] she refers to as the "tree street society."

In 1965 (the year Ms. Thorpe built her home), Monmouth County was far less populated and there was a lot less traffic. Brookdale College did not exist, nor could the growth of the college be anticipated. Unfortunately, she chose to build on Route 50, which is a county road, not a local road.

The speed limit on both county routes 50 and 520 is 40 mph. In the morning, the intersection of Route 50 and 520 backs up. This backup causes Brookdale students to find new and creative ways to get to class on time. Many of them avoid waiting at the light by using Pine, Lindy and Oak (the three streets closest to the intersection) as short cuts. This is dangerous because there are many children waiting at school bus stops on the tree streets at that time of day. The college students exceed the posted 25 mph and there have been two car accidents at the intersection of Lindy and Holly (a bus stop) in the past year.

I fail to see how the new signs that advise drivers not to cut through the side streets or face a fine would affect Ms. Thorpe or her neighbors.

Homeowners from 1965 would have grown children by now.

Anyone who purchased a home on Route 50 or 520 more recently would do so with full knowledge of the current traffic conditions.

It may be inconvenient to live on a busy county road, but it is downright dangerous to have college students using narrow and tree-obstructed side streets as short cuts while small children wait for their school bus.

All Lincroft residents should work together (not attack each other) to solve the traffic problems plaguing our village.

The traffic is not going to go away on its own. This is a Monmouth County issue. Brookdale is the "county college of Monmouth."

Maureen Howell

Lincroft section of Middletown