Resident renews request for emergency access st.
When Hawkins Road is blocked, people cannot leave the area
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — A resident has once again asked the Township Committee to develop an emergency access route into and out of a semi-isolated area of the township that has been dubbed the Hawkins Road peninsula.

Hawkins Road intersects with Union Hill Road in Marlboro, near Millay Road. From that point Hawkins Road runs past a park and residential developments in Marlboro and Manalapan. The end of the road touches Old Bridge.

Speaking on behalf of residents, Lloyd Stone, Candeub Court, has previously told municipal officials that on several occasions when Hawkins Road was blocked following an emergency, residents had no way out of their area.

Stone came before the committee on Dec. 1 and reminded officials there are approximately 140 homes (about 500 people) in the Marlboro and Manalapan portions of the Hawkins Road peninsula.

“Try to understand the urgency for immediate action with reference to an emergency access/egress route for the communities accessible only by way of Hawkins Road,” he said.

Stone said an emergency route could be built through Templar Road and Clayton Lane, looping back into the Ivanhoe development, but he said that is a long way out of the Hawkins Road peninsula.

That alternative was one which township engineer Greg Valesi identified as a possibility.

Stone noted two times when Hawkins Road was blocked — once when a tornado lifted a construction trailer onto the road and once when a storm knocked a tree across the street. In the second instance, power was knocked out and school buses had no way to get back to Union Hill Road, he said.

“Fire trucks used their bumpers to push the tree aside,” Stone told township officials, adding that he does not want to wait for another emergency in what he called the “dead end” neighborhood.

Deputy Mayor Rebecca Aaronson said the township engineer was asked to come up with some options.

“He has done that,” she said, adding, “the next step is to find the funding.”

Aaronson said the state Assembly members who represent Manalapan have suggested that the township contact the state Department of Transportation’s director of local aid and economic development. It was suggested that a letter be sent requesting discretionary aid for the project, along with maps and the estimated cost.

“The costs that Greg [Valesi] came up with did not include any of the land acquisitions, and all three options included land acquisitions,” she said.

Aaronson said the committee believes it is necessary to develop an emergency access route for the Hawkins Road penin-

sula and said officials do not want to wait for another emergency. She said the assemblymen were sending a letter of support indicating the need for funding.

Stone has identified two other issues related to this area of the township. He has asked Manalapan and Marlboro officials to provide sidewalks on the portions of Hawkins Road that do not have them. The sidewalks would be on Marlboro property.

Manalapan officials have indicated their support for that effort and Stone said Marlboro Mayor Robert Kleinberg indicated before his inauguration in January that he would address the Hawkins Road issues.

Assistant Business Administrator Tara Lovrich said she would try to set up a meeting that would allow representatives of Manalapan and Marlboro to discuss the matter.

“Even though we’ve identified a clear path to the goal in Manalapan, Marlboro should be a part of the process, whether it means signing a request, writing their own letter or contributing funding. It’s just as important for their residents as it is for ours. We really do need to work together on it,” Stone said.

The third issue identified by Stone was the decaying Hawkins Road park in Marlboro. He said a bridge the was deteriorating has been replaced and new tennis courts, picnic tables, a foot path and a parking area have been provided.