BRICK – The Department of Transportation (DOT) reached out to the township on November 23, asking if the council would pass a resolution to ban left turns going in and out of the new Wawa on Route 88 after getting numerous complaints about traffic at the intersection there.
Residents had expressed their concerns about the potential for traffic problems when the application had come before the Township Planning Board, said Mayor John G. Ducey during the most recent council meeting.
“And during the process, it was brought up to the DOT [Department of Transportation] that there was going to be a lot of traffic because of people making lefts out of there onto Route 88, and also people making lefts into the Wawa off of 88,” he said. (The DOT has jurisdiction over the site since Route 88 is a state road).
Traffic was bound to get backed up because you can’t pass on the right, he said, but the application still passed.
The DOT said that motorists would access the Wawa by using Jack Martin Boulevard, but they have been making lefts into and out of the site, because it’s not illegal, the mayor said.
The governing body passed the resolution, which would ban the left turns and approve the appropriate signage.
In other township news, a new ordinance was introduced that would raise the cost of beach badges and parking for the 2022 summer season.
“The Recreation Committee has reviewed and approved amendments to the beach and waterfront area fee ordinance to include a range of seasonal beach badges of $30 to $50 per badge, update the range for daily badges to a range of $10 and $20, establish a range for seasonal parking tags of $30 to $50, and arrange for daily parking of $10 to $20 per day,” said Council Vice President Art Halloran.
Currently, seasonal badges are $25, daily badges are $8, and seasonal badges are $30 (no change).
The new fee would be the bottom side of the range, explained Councilwoman Andrea Zapcic. “We created the range so if the prices need to go up we don’t constantly need to be opening the ordinance again and again and again,” she said.
Under state law, any revenue collected from the beach has to apply to beach expenses, so there is no profit, Zapcic added.
The ordinance also updates operating hours at the beach, outlines the cost for senior and veteran badges, and removes any reference to the shuttle bus that no longer operates, he said.
A second ordinance increases the cost of a 95-gallon garbage can to $75 and $65 for a new 65-gallon or 35-gallon can.
When the robo-cans were first introduced to Brick, every residence got a can, said Mayor Ducey. There was always a charge for replacement cans, he added.
“For new houses that are still being built, they don’t have to pay for a can because it’s their first can,” he explained. Any additional or replacement cans must be purchased.
