Be Alert To New Four-Way Stop At Busy Manalapan Intersection

MANALAPAN, NJ — The intersection of Union Hill Road and Pension Road is now a four-way stop intersection, police have announced.

They ask motorists to use "extreme caution" at this intersection.

And they reminded drivers about the rules of a four-way stop:

• The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right of way to a vehicle which has entered the intersection.
• When 2 vehicles enter the intersection at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield to the driver of the vehicle on the right.

The responses to the police Facebook post from residents was mixed. Some residents felt it was an improvement to have the four-way stop. But many said the intersection still requires a light for added safety.

But Deputy Chief Leonard Maltese said the township used federal guidance in installing the stop signs rather than a traffic light at this time. And he said that at this time there is not a plan to install a traffic light at the intersection.

He pointed out that the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), a federal publication that regulates how traffic control is implemental throughout the country, supported installation of a four-way stop as opposed to a traffic signal.

He highlighted the relevant guidance:

"Traffic control signals are often considered a panacea for all traffic problems at intersections. This belief has led to traffic control signals being installed at many locations where they are not needed, adversely affecting the safety and efficiency of vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic," the document says.

Some of the unanticipated results of poorly placed traffic signals include "increased use of less adequate routes as road users attempt to avoid the traffic control signals, and significant increases in the frequency of collisions (especially rear-end collisions)," according to the document.

"Alternative guidance indicates that since vehicular delay and the frequency of some types of crashes are sometimes greater under traffic signal control than under STOP sign control, consideration should be given to providing alternatives to traffic control signals," the document says.