Public Response to the Mayor Regarding Academy Street Traffic Concerns

Dear Mayor Carley,

I appreciate your response, but I strongly disagree with the claim that there is no speeding problem on Academy Street. If you regularly drove on this road or lived on it, as I do, you would understand the severity of the situation. The excessive speeding is one of the major reasons why we created our petition. Residents throughout the surrounding area have been dealing with this issue, and we have contacted the police countless times because we do not feel safe on our own street.

I also want to address the timing of the Township’s response. We launched our Change.org petition on October 16, and once it reached 100 signatures, Change.org automatically sent it to the mayor. The pavement markings appeared only recently, just two days before your response. This timing raises a serious question: why are these markings being presented as an established traffic-calming measure when they were installed only after residents organized and brought this issue to the Township’s attention? From the perspective of residents, it appears that the markings were put down in response to our petition and then presented as evidence that the Township had already been addressing the problem. If these measures were planned or underway before our petition, please clarify when they were authorized and when installation was scheduled. Residents deserve an accurate account of what was done, when it was done, and why.

When officers do respond, residents have observed them sitting at the corner of Euclid Avenue without actively monitoring traffic. We have witnessed two separate occasions on Academy Street when officers remained parked for approximately thirty minutes without pulling anyone over before eventually leaving. We also have a police report regarding Academy Street that, as we understand it, does not show officers standing by or conducting the level of monitoring residents have been requesting. These concerns deserve to be investigated rather than dismissed based on patrols that supposedly found no speeding.

The Township’s own traffic data also raises serious questions about the claim that speeding is not a problem. The reported traffic count for Academy Street, conducted from March 23 to March 29, 2026, recorded an 85th-percentile speed of 36 mph on a road with a 25 mph speed limit, along with an average of 8,742 vehicles per day. On Mapleton Road, a traffic count conducted from September 15 to September 21, 2025, recorded an 85th-percentile speed of 45 mph on a road with a 35 mph speed limit, with an average of 3,743 vehicles per day.

These numbers are significant. The 85th-percentile speed represents the speed at or below which 85% of vehicles travel, meaning approximately 15% of vehicles travel even faster. On Academy Street, the 85th-percentile speed is 11 mph over the posted limit. On Mapleton Road, it is 10 mph over the posted limit. This means that vehicle speeds are substantially exceeding the posted limits on both roads, and a portion of drivers are traveling even faster than those already concerning figures.

How can the Township state that officers found no speeding problem when its own traffic data shows 85th-percentile speeds of 36 mph on a 25 mph road and 45 mph on a 35 mph road? These figures directly challenge the claim that speeding is not an issue and reinforce residents’ concerns about dangerous driving in our neighborhood. With thousands of vehicles traveling these roads daily, this is not a minor concern that can be dismissed. We are asking the Township to acknowledge its own data, explain how it reached its conclusion, and take meaningful, measurable steps to reduce vehicle speeds rather than relying on painted lines and occasional patrols.

The problems on Academy Street go beyond speeding alone. Residents are frequently unable to safely pull out of their own driveways because of the constant congestion and the speed at which vehicles approach. Getting out of our own homes should not be a daily struggle or a safety risk. In addition, the volume of dump trucks and other heavy vehicles traveling on our road is absurd, especially given our understanding that the road has a four-ton weight restriction. We would like the Township to explain how this restriction is being enforced and what is being done to prevent vehicles that exceed the limit from using the road.

Another major concern is the number of drivers who accelerate to try to make the traffic light before it turns red. This creates an additional speeding hazard, on top of the excessive speeding that already occurs throughout the day. Residents can constantly hear vehicles accelerating aggressively as they approach the intersection. This is not an occasional occurrence; it is part of what residents experience living on Academy Street. The combination of speeding, congestion, heavy truck traffic, and drivers racing to beat the light creates an environment in which pulling out of a driveway, crossing the street, or simply living peacefully in your own home becomes unnecessarily difficult and dangerous. What specific steps will the Township take to address these combined problems, enforce the road’s weight restriction, and ensure residents can safely enter and exit their driveways?

The “Don’t Block the Box” markings are also not an adequate solution. They are essentially white lines painted on the pavement, and since their installation, we have continued to see drivers block intersections. These markings have not meaningfully changed driver behavior or made residents feel safer. Installing pavement markings and calling it traffic calming does not address the underlying problem of drivers speeding through our neighborhood.

What other traffic-calming measures or physical deterrents are currently in place on Academy Street to prevent speeding? Beyond painted lines and occasional police patrols, what actual measures are being used to slow vehicles down and protect residents? If the Township believes the existing measures are sufficient, please explain what evidence supports that conclusion. If there are no other deterrents in place, what additional measures is the Township willing to consider, and on what timeline?

Pedestrian safety is an even greater concern. The crosswalk on Academy Street is extremely difficult to use without a flashing pedestrian signal. I have personally tried to cross the road and had cars come dangerously close to hitting me. There are times when I have to wait five to ten minutes for a safe enough opening to cross. A crosswalk that residents are afraid to use is not providing the safety it is supposed to offer.

Your response acknowledges that a pedestrian signal still needs to be designed and installed, that police patrols have not resolved residents’ concerns, and that a request to NJDOT is still only a proposed next step. Meanwhile, residents are continuing to deal with the same dangerous conditions. We need concrete action, not just explanations of jurisdictional limits or assurances that measures have been taken.

I understand that South Brunswick cannot overturn a development approval in Plainsboro. However, that does not eliminate South Brunswick’s responsibility to address the safety concerns of its own residents. The potential traffic impact from the Princeton Nursery development makes it even more important that these issues be addressed before conditions worsen.

Our petition called for several specific measures that go well beyond painting lines on the road. I would like to know why these requests have not been addressed in your response:

Inter-municipal outreach: Formal joint planning sessions with Plainsboro and Princeton so that the municipalities work together to account for the traffic their roads and developments send through our neighborhood.
Rush-hour turn and access restrictions: Restrictions at key points on Academy Street as an initial step toward evaluating permanent closure to cut-through traffic, with the goal of reducing unnecessary commuter traffic through our residential street.
An independent traffic signal warrant study: A study evaluating traffic signal needs and commuter cut-through impacts across the region, rather than examining Academy Street in isolation.
Developer-funded traffic calming: Measures such as speed trackers, resident-priority access, and road geometry changes incorporated into development approvals so that the costs of mitigating additional traffic do not fall entirely on existing residents.

These were specific requests made in our petition, not concerns we are raising for the first time. Why were none of these proposals meaningfully addressed in your response? Has the Township considered any of them, contacted Plainsboro or Princeton about them, or determined whether they are feasible? If any have been rejected, residents deserve to know why. If they are still under consideration, we deserve a timeline for the next steps.

I am asking for specific answers to the following questions:

1. What evidence supports the conclusion that speeding is not a problem on Academy Street, and during what hours and at what locations were speeds measured?
2. Will the Township conduct actual speed studies and make the results available to residents?
3. What steps will be taken to ensure that police officers actively monitor traffic rather than simply park on a nearby corner?
4. When will the flashing pedestrian signal at Euclid Avenue be installed, and what interim measures will protect people trying to cross?
5. When will the written request to NJDOT be submitted, and will residents be able to review the request and any resulting traffic study?
6. When were the “Don’t Block the Box” markings authorized and scheduled for installation? Were they installed in response to our petition, and if so, why were they presented as though they had already been an established measure?
7. What other traffic-calming measures or physical deterrents are currently in place on Academy Street, besides pavement markings and police patrols? What additional measures are being considered to address speeding, and when can residents expect action?
8. Will South Brunswick initiate formal joint planning sessions with Plainsboro and Princeton to address regional traffic and commuter cut-through traffic affecting Academy Street?
9. Will the Township evaluate rush-hour turn and access restrictions, including the feasibility of reducing cut-through traffic and considering longer-term access changes?
10. Will the Township pursue an independent traffic signal warrant study that considers regional commuter traffic and its impact on Academy Street and the surrounding corridor?
11. Will South Brunswick advocate for developer-funded traffic mitigation measures, including speed trackers, resident-priority access, and road geometry changes, where legally and practically feasible? If not, why not?                                                                           Residents took the time to organize a petition because this problem has been ignored for too long. The response we received does not demonstrate that the central concern—excessive speeding and unsafe pedestrian crossings—has been adequately addressed. From our perspective, painting lines on the road shortly after our petition reached the mayor, while continuing to deny that speeding is occurring, does not solve the problem.

We did not create this petition simply to have lines painted on the pavement. We created it because people are speeding through our neighborhood, intersections are being blocked, and residents cannot safely cross the street. We also asked for coordinated regional planning and meaningful measures to prevent our residential street from becoming overwhelmed. We want meaningful improvements, not a quick change that can be cited as a response without evidence that it is actually working.

We are asking for meaningful, measurable action that makes Academy Street safer for the people who live here. We should not have to fear being hit by a vehicle when crossing the street or worry about speeding cars outside our own homes.

I hope the Township will take these concerns seriously and respond to the questions above with specific actions, supporting evidence, and clear timelines rather than another general statement.

Respectfully,

Tom Copeland

Traffic Data Report