Here's What Middletown Is Doing To Make Newman Springs Road Safer

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — We reported in early March that Middletown Township is working with Lincroft residents and Monmouth County to address safety issues on Newman Springs Road, including cars speeding, car collisions and people being hit by cars — such as this woman who was hit April 30 trying to cross Newman Springs at Hurley's Lane (she's been released from the hospital and is recovering).

The Township has been hosting a series of public chat sessions about how to make Newman Springs Road safer, and the second will be this Tuesday evening, May 13, from 6-8 p.m. at Middletown town hall.

All are welcome to attend, learn what the town is doing and give their input. Dozens of residents attended the first meeting, held in March.

Middletown is taking some concrete steps to reduce accidents on Newman Springs: The Township plans to make what is currently a one-way road behind the Acme shopping plaza into a two-lane road, Middletown Mayor Tony Perry said Tuesday morning in advance of tonight's meeting. It is currently an exit-only from the Acme shopping center.

"Two years ago the town started working to create a two-way road behind the Acme shopping plaza," said Perry. "Once that road becomes a two-way, you can now come down Middletown-Lincroft Road and turn to get to either the Luigi's shopping center or the Acme shopping center. You will not have to go on Newman Springs. The whole idea is to take traffic off Newman Springs."

Perry said construction to make it a two-way is expected to start sometime this year; he did not have a month.

But he did say Middletown started looking into this nearly two years ago, when Lincroft resident Abe Littenberg brought it to the town's attention that Newman Springs needed to be addressed.

"The number of incidents was something no one could deny," Perry said Tuesday morning. "We had to improve traffic flow. This idea came out of the members of Lincroft Village Green and the town working together on this for several years now."

As for that woman who was hit two weeks ago, she was in her 30s and was struck by a car at 9:30 a.m. while trying to cross Newman Springs. She has been released from the hospital and is recovering.

"She's lucky to be alive," said the mayor this week.

It has been a known problem for years that Newman Springs Road can be dangerous. One of the biggest issues is people speeding: The speed limit is 40 MPH but people routinely go 60 MPH. People also tailgate, plus many cars have to stop to make turns onto neighborhood side streets.

And traffic volume on Newman Springs is only expected to increase now that the new LifeTime athletic club and the massive new Red Bank Veterinary Hospital both opened at the Parkway entrance. Also, there's a new apartment complex coming to Newman Springs, One River Center, which is expected to have 340 apartments once it opens.

"The situation has become dire" in recent months, Lincroft resident Coralee Dixon told the Middletown Township Committee in February. She said children cannot walk on the sidewalk along Newman Springs to get ice cream in Lincroft village, and it is so dangerous they cannot even walk 100 yards to go to a friend's house.

Perry did previously say Middletown Police are paying close attention to Newman Springs Road and they've made traffic enforcement on Newman Springs a priority. In the first two months of 2025, Middletown Police conducted 176 motor vehicle stops on Newman Springs, 83 of which resulted in a summons. That is higher than the routine traffic enforcement on all other roads in Middletown, said the mayor.

First report: Middletown Hosts Meeting March 18 To Make Newman Springs Road Safer (March 5)

Woman Hit By Car On Newman Springs Road In Middletown (April 30)