Morris Avenue Restriping Experiment Seen As a Success

Striping is not meant to be a panacea, but a first step to address residents' and neighbors' concerns.

That was the final word from Morris County Division of Transportation Principal Planner Denise Chaplick  on the restriping of Morris Avenue after years of concerns about high speeds on the residential road. She presented her data and recommendations to the Morristown Council at its July 20 meeting.

Striping took place earlier this summer. Tests were then conducted based on four points, according to Chaplick: traffic volume, traffic speed, level of mobility and operations.

"We only met 50 percent of targets," she said at the meeting.

According to her summary, between Harding and Tiffany roads, the average "85th percentile speed," or prevailing speed, before the striping was put in place was 55 mph. That's on a 25 mph road.

It was 35 mph in the first week after the test had begun; it leveled off at 45 mph by the third week.

With the addition of shoulder lanes, Chaplick said, bicyclists are now allowed a lane of their own. Pedestrians on the sidewalk felt safer with a lane separating them from traffic, notably traffic entering and exiting from and onto Route 287, she said.

Councilmember Rebecca Feldman, who represents that area, said the 10 mph reduction was "huge considering the only change was paint."

Tests indicated 32 percent of vehicles traveled 50 mph and up pre-test. Only 2 percent of vehicles were reportedly driving above that speed after the third week of the test.

In a blind ballot, 26 of 30 residents in attendance voted in favor of the new striping configuration; four were opposed.

Beth Hurst, a Morris Avenue resident since 1990, was one of the few opposed to the change.

"It's a major roadway in the county," she said. "The volume will not decrease. Speeds will not go down."

She said that proposed development further up Columbia Turnpike will only further increase traffic, with cars fighting to fill two lanes now instead of three on the one-way road. 

"There was too much anecdotal evidence, and not enough empirical, objective evidence," Hurst said. "It's baffling how a government entity could propose this change."

Feldman said responses after the change were positive from the majority of residents. 

"Overall, the public has been satisfied with this as a first step," she said, adding the new lane configuration, which will become permanent in late August, also helps toward improving residential character, connecting a neighborhood that is divided by Morris Avenue.

"This is an excellent first step, seven years in the making," Feldman said.