Restriping test planned for busy Morristown road

ABBOTT KOLOFF • STAFF WRITER • April 29,
2010

MORRISTOWN — Morris County officials plan to
narrow Morris Avenue from three lanes to two
between Ford Avenue and Columbia Turnpike as a
test to slow traffic after the town council voted to
allow them to do so.

The council voted 3-2 Tuesday to allow the test,
which county officials say could begin next month.
Residents have long complained about cars
traveling too fast in the Washington Headquarters
neighborhood. They also say cars sometimes go the
wrong way down the one-way street, which is a
county road.

If the new traffic pattern slows traffic and improves
safety, county officials said, it could become
permanent when the county repaves Morris Avenue
this summer. County officials say a study conducted
this year on Morris Avenue showed cars traveling
much faster than the posted 25 mph speed limit.

Dozens of residents showed up for the hearing, all
saying they have safety concerns, but not all in
favor of the proposed lane changes.

"The community is divided practically down the
middle," said Valerie Irwin, who said she had
concerns about the project worsening traffic
congestion in the area.

The council voted 3-2 to allow the test, with Raline
Smith-Reid and Alison Deeb voting no, saying they
wanted further discussion on the matter.

Irwin and other residents asked the council for
additional discussions after the test is implemented
and suggested the new patterns might create traffic
back ups all the way to the Green. They complained
that a similar test in 2003, which used barrels to
redirect traffic into two lanes, caused too much
congestion in the area and made it difficult for them
to get out of their driveways.

Chris Vitz, supervising engineer with the county
Department of Public Works, acknowledged that the
2003 test was not successful. But he also said the
proposed test would be different because the lanes
would be repainted instead of using barrels. He said
using barrels creates the impression of a
construction zone, causing motorists to slow down
too much.


Vitz also said the barrels created two lanes on one
side of the avenue, as opposed to two lanes in the
center with shoulders on each side, as restriping
would do. He said the shoulders would help
residents get out of their driveways. And arrows
would be painted on the road to emphasize that it's
one way, he said.

He added that residents and town officials would
have a chance to discuss the changes before they
are made permanent. "We are not going to ram any
striping changes down Morristown's throat," he
said.

Restriping for the test will cost the county between
$10,000 and $20,000, he said. Repaving the avenue
is expected to cost $1 million and to begin on
August 1.

While residents who spoke Tuesday night were
divided on the test, councilwoman Rebecca Feldman

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said she received pages of e-mails from residents in
favor of it.

Most residents who spoke on Tuesday, whether for
or against, said cars in the area go too fast. They
said motorists appear confused by the wide avenue,
apparently believing it to be two-way street. One
woman said she is considering selling the house
she purchased on Morris Avenue a little more than a
year ago. One man said he recently saw a state
police car going the wrong way.

Patty Gallagher, who lives on Morris Avenue, said
wrong-way driving is "is at least on a weekly basis.
It's a regular event. . . . We absolutely need a way to
reduce speed and increase safety."

Vitz said the offer to test the new patterns came
after years of residents' complaints, and the fact that
Morris Avenue was in line to be repaved this
summer, 10 years after its last repaving. He said the
test has to be completed by the time the
county puts the repaving out to bid in July. The test
would use painted lines, he said, while more
permanent thermoplastic striping would be applied
during the repaving.

Vitz said a recent county study showed fewer cars
than expected on Morris Avenue east of Route 287,
where cars then pick up speed.

The daily average was 15,206 west of Route 287,
according to the study, but Vitz said about half of
those cars apparently enter the highway. The study
showed an average of 7,586 cars traveling on
Morris Avenue east of the highway.

It also showed drivers speeding up as the traffic
thinned east of the highway. It showed 85 percent
going 30 mph or slower west of Route 287 and the
same amount going 40 mph or slower after the
intersection. One goal of the re-striping, Vitz said,
is for 85 percent of motorists to travel within 5 mph
of the 25 mph speed limit.

Abbott Koloff: 973-428-6636; akoloff@gannett.
com