No Left Turn from 17th Ave. If Measure Passes

Make a left onto southbound Route 35 from westbound 17th Avenue and you could face a ticket for an illegal turn if an ordinance being considered by the Township Committee is passed next month.

The measure, which would make illegal a left turn from the busy, unsignaled intersection, was introduced by the committee Wednesday. The vote was unanimous. Committeewoman AnnMarie Conte was absent.

A public hearing on the local law is scheduled for Sept. 12.

Committee members, who do not discuss ordinances on its first reading, have previously said in workshop meetings that the intersection is dangerous and that the police reported a number of accidents or near accidents.

While 17th Avenue is a township road and the committee has the authority to regulate it, the same does not go for Route 35, which is a state road.

But the committee also unanimously supported by resolution a move by the state Department of Transportation that would also close off southbound Route 35 to left turns onto eastbound 17th Avenue.

A division of the DOT is recommending making illegal that left turn, according to the resolution. There was no word late Wednesday on when the DOT would officially make that turn illegal.

In a related traffic matter, the Township Committee, also unanimously, passed a resolution supporting another DOT measure that would make Route 71 in the area of 18th Avenue a "no passing zone.''

The DOT is taking an inventory of its centerline markings along the state highway and is recommending the change, according to the resolution.