LAKEHURST – The popular Tom Cruise film “Top Gun” features the line, “I feel the need, the need for speed” but police and public officials in the borough are feeling the need to lower the speed limit on two well-traveled roads in the community.
Police Chief Matt Kline spoke during a recent Borough Council meeting about a speed study taken on Union Avenue and Brown Avenue. Union becomes Brown right before it joins Route 37 when heading east.
Ocean County also conducted a study there and recommended that the speed limit of 35 mph be reduced to 30 miles per hour and the 30 miles per hour street be reduced to 25 mph.
Chief Kline told The Manchester Times that “the changes will take effect later in the year. The borough must pass an ordinance first then must be adopted by county resolution. Five speed studies were done from March 2025 through June 2025, and the studies reflect the Borough can lower the speed limits due to volume and speed.”
“The changes would be both on Union and Brown avenues. Both roadways have 35-mile per hour zones that will be lowered to 30 miles per hour and the 30 mile per hour zone from Union Avenue and Church Street to Brown Avenue in the vicinity of Second Street will be lowered to 25,” Kline said.
The chief added, the entire length of Union and Brown avenues from Route 70 to Route 37 “will be affected by the speed reductions. Five miles per hour across the entire length of Union and Brown avenues.”
“As of now it is not in effect, and we must pass an ordinance. I believe the first reading will be October 2. These studies stemmed from resident complaints on both Union Avenue and Brown Avenue,” the chief remarked.
He added, “the study showed that 85% of the vehicles travelled during that one-week period (at the end of June, which was the most recent study) were at or under the posted speed limit (35 mph). Additionally, 91% of the vehicles travelled 41 miles per hour or less.”
“Over the one-week period, the last study end of June, 41,877 vehicles were evaluated, and the average speed was 35 miles per hour (speed limit 35 mph). Only 1% of those vehicles travelled 45 mph or over,” Chief Kline added.
Council members will be introducing an ordinance at their October 2 meeting concerning the speed rate change. A public hearing on that ordinance will be held at the council’s October 16 meeting.
