TOMS RIVER, NJ – Whitesville Road in Toms River between Riverwood Drive and Riverside Park is getting a traffic safety enhancement to accommodate pedestrians and drivers in the North Dover area.
The pre-election week upgrades included narrowing the north and southbound shoulders and installing center turns lanes to accommodate traffic, in particular to a residential home being used as a house of worship at the intersection of Whitesville Road and Stevens Road.
That location was the scene of a crash several weeks ago involving a vehicle into a telephone pole. It has become a busy and sometimes dangerous stretch as residents park vehicles along the road and make turns across traffic to access the shul, a house of worship.
In the past, vehicles have stopped traffic on Whitesville Road in the area and created unsafe conditions.
Now, in light of that incident and a fatal pedestrian crash further north on the road, officials have accommodated community requests to widen the road and create turning lanes and additional pedestrian crosswalk areas and signage.
The project comes during the week prior to a contentious local election for mayor in Toms River where candidates Maurice Mo Hill and Geri Ambrosio continue battling for votes among the township’s growing Orthodox Jewish community.
Old striping on Whitesville Road has been scraped away and replaced with the new traffic pattern that is intended to improve safety and the flow of traffic during periods of heavy traffic but does not address the issue of cars being parked on the road and people stopping traffic and dropping off passengers in front of the home.
Heavy, regular traffic and parking in residential neighborhoods has become a contentious issue in Toms River, in particular the northern section of town. Mayor Maurice Hill had met with Jewish leaders earlier this year to discuss a plan to allow residential shuls the ability to build parking lots in those neighborhoods to accommodate the vehicle overflow.
In that area, Whitesville Road is a 45-mile-per-hour county highway where vehicles frequently stop traffic. The home received its own left turn lane earlier this week, that directs traffic into the residential driveway. Motorists unfamiliar with the area do not anticipate vehicles abruptly stopping in front of the home, which has led to plenty of near misses over the past couple of years.
The project has come under scrutiny as local residents question the timing of the upgrades, so close to an election where political candidates Hill and Ambrosio are fighting feverishly over the votes of Orthodox Jewish residents in that section of town.
Last month, Jewish community leaders met with township and county officials and discussed roadway safety improvements.
Officials were unavailable for comment on Sunday when this article was written.