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Residents press Bernards Township officials for action after Allen Road crash
Summary
On Nov. 11 residents urged Bernards Township (Basking Ridge) officials to pursue traffic-calming, lighting and enforcement after an Oct. 31 crash left a local resident critically injured; the committee stressed the road is under county jurisdiction and said it is coordinating with the county and police.
Residents pressed Bernards Township officials during public comment on Nov. 11 for near-term steps to reduce speed and improve lighting on Allen Road after an Oct. 31 crash that left a local resident in critical condition.
"The victim is still... in critical ICU," said Saravanan Thiagarajan, who identified himself as a family friend of the injured person and asked, "what are our next steps?" Thiagarajan and several other speakers asked whether speed bumps, rumble strips, brighter streetlights or an engineering study could be pursued to prevent future incidents.
Multiple residents described a history of collisions on Allen Road. "This is not the first incident... there's been a history of many incidents in the past," said Bridal Singhvi, who asked whether the township or county had ever commissioned an engineering study. Kathrese Lakshmanan said a petition with about 1,000 signatures has been submitted urging action. Longtime resident Nancy Dondread noted Allen Road is a county road and said the township and county are aware of safety concerns but that detailed steps await the police report.
Deputy Mayor Andrew said the township has received petitions and resident feedback, has shared those ideas with the engineering and police departments, and is working with appropriate county officials. "Allen Road is a county road," Andrew told the meeting, and the township will act as a liaison while the county retains engineering jurisdiction. He added that the township's police investigation is being done in cooperation with the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and is not yet complete.
Speakers urged multiple responses: updating or building on a 2017 traffic study, improving lighting at crosswalks, restoring crossing guards at key junctions and stepping up enforcement. Suhas Kondargi said flashing beacons and yield signs are not sufficient and suggested a human-activated signal in one location to improve school crossing safety.
Township officials encouraged residents to continue pressing county commissioners at their public meetings, while the committee and police pursue investigative and liaison work. The public-comments portion of the meeting closed after more than a half-dozen residents spoke; the committee reiterated that formal engineering changes on Allen Road will require county approval and that the police investigation must be completed before certain actions are taken.
