BRICK – Residents came to the most recent Township Council meeting to voice their concerns about the safety of Lanes Mill Road after a tragic incident in which a Brick Memorial High School student was fatally struck by a car during his morning bike ride to school.
A memorial now stands where 15-year-old Jackson Mueller was hit, filled with candles, flowers and photos. Brick Memorial High School now has an electronic sign outside warning people to watch out for bikers, but residents want more action taken to address their concerns.
A few of the residents pointed out that this is not the first time that they have brought attention to the issues that are plaguing Lane Mill Road and wanted to know why nothing has been done about it.
One of the main issues raised by residents who live near Lanes Mill Road is that people constantly run red lights on that road without any repercussions. It was brought up at the meeting as well that some of the flashing lights that are supposed to signify that students are present and to go 25 mph do not work and do not flash when they need to.
Several pleas throughout the meeting were made to have a study conducted so that the speed limit on the road could be permanently reduced to 25 mph because of the number of schools on that road and the fact that the sidewalks don’t extend all the way along both sides. The issue of the sidewalks puts more students in danger because they have to cross over the road without anything like a crossing guard.
It was pointed out by another resident that this is not the first time an incident like this has occurred on Lanes Mill Road in recent memory. A few months back, a crossing guard working during school dismissal was hit by a car, and it was made known at that time that the blinking light was not working.
Each speaker at the meeting that was a parent of a high schooler or a soon to be high school made it clear that they don’t trust the safety of the roads and that they will not let their kids walk to school because of it.
After the meeting was over, Mayor Lisa Crate took to social media and posted a video addressing the safety concerns on Lanes Mill Road.
She started off by notifying the public that the police traffic safety division has already been in contact with the county and that they are working together to create a plan and collect data to find out the best way to make the road safer. In addition to that, she said the 25 mph school zone signs that were not lighting up properly will be replaced and that more police officers will be concentrated in that area and near Brick Township High School as well.
In an effort to address the sidewalk concerns, Mayor Crate said that she personally will head to the site with the township planner to see the what can be done about extending the sidewalks so that students don’t have to cross the street without the safety of a crossing guard.
Before the end of the video, Crate mentioned how the issue of changing the speed limit is not up to the township, as Lanes Mill Road is a county road. She then went on to encourage the same group of people who showed up to the town council meeting to go to the Ocean County Commissioners Meeting on Wednesday, June 10, and Wednesday, June 17 at 4 p.m. to bring to light their concerns over the speed limit to those who can change it.
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