If you think the intersection at Short Hills Ave backs up now, what will happen when there are 10-20% more cars on Millburn Ave heading to and from this "Super Stop & Shop"?

Many of the residents of "that end of town" are very concerned about traffic safety, especially the large number of tractor-trailers that would be traversing an already congested traffic corridor. They don't address that in the Traffic Safety section of the new website AT ALL. At the last hearing they made it clear that the Morris Ave driveway would not allow any truck traffic. All of the trucks supplying the store will be coming in and out via the Millburn Ave driveways.

Tractor trailers would make their delivery at off hours, when traffic is less congested. I'm quite sure this would be addressed if asked.
Adding a traffic light at Baltusrol seems to make sense (closing it off most certainly does not--would only make things worse.

mom, it's not just a traffic light, it's a complete re-working of the Baltusrol Way intersection from a suburban street corner into a widened, busy intersection.

See gallery:
http://www.stopandshopspringfield.com/gallery

What are the estimates of the additional traffic on Millburn Ave and surrounding streets? A 10-20% increase in traffic seems likely.

The proposed "Super Stop & Shop" would be 64,000 square feet (Kings on Morris Ave is 45,000 square feet). While everyone wants to see something built on the now-vacant lot, it's unlikely a mega-supermarket is the answer.

To add, Springfield township may control that building lot, but Millburn township controls Baltusrol Way. If Springfield wants to allow building a giant store bringing in a large volume of road traffic, we should close off Baltusrol Way.

I'm assuming that you're joking. That would be an interesting experiment, though. If they did that, then everyone in Glenwood would then have to go through side streets to reach Millburn Ave and popular destinations such as town, 24, 78, 22, and the Vauxhall retail stores.

Are you really saying that we should just accept the inevitable and welcome Stop & Shop with open arms or do something even more damaging to our community out of spite? I'm not sure.

People in Glenwood would likely welcome the reduction of traffic and speeding from Baltusrol Way. Rather than "damage" this section of town, it would actually increase property values (and tax revenues). In any event, it's just an idea, perhaps worth exploring.

Also, I'm not saying to give up, but the fact is, the Stop & Shop property is not located in Millburn township. Perhaps, the township should have purchased that land, and the Tutor Time land, to prevent these unwanted issues from arising.

People in Glenwood have cars, too. Sometimes we like to go places in them.
The problem with speeders on Baltusrol is a matter of law enforcement, not of closing a street that serves many local residents as a gateway to the world.

Three years ago MPD had placed an officer on this road to nab speeders. On my way back from shopping, I pulled up along side and thanked him. He said that he was pulling over a constant stream of motorists almost as fast as he could return to his position. He also said that he was clocking many of them at 50-60 mph. In a 25!!!

I've never seen this happen again and last year I called asking that they consider doing it again. No response.

I would hardly describe Baltusrol Way as a "gateway to the world" when there are myriad other roads nearby providing similar access to all local roads and amenities.

Have a look at the gallery provided by the "Super Stop and Shop" people to see how they intend to widen Millburn Ave to accommodate more lanes of traffic.

http://www.stopandshopspringfield.com/gallery

This is more than the addition of a traffic light, it's an increase in the volume of traffic on Millburn Ave, and surrounding roads, particularly Baltusrol Way which intersects at the proposed expanded intersection.

If today there is a constant stream of motorists traveling at 50-60 MPH in 25 MPH zones, consider what will happen when the volume of cars on these roads increase 10-20%.

You can keep inserting the URL for the gallery section as many times as you want. It doesn't change the fact that the site mention truck traffic or that none of it will be routed directly to Morris Ave via the third driveway. The Stop & Shop engineer was clear about this fact at last week's hearing.

Adding large truck traffic to an already congested area is different that just adding more automobile traffic. Trucks have different spacial requirements when maneuvering. As for mom's comment on trucks only delivering during off hours, I'm not sure what fact that statement is based upon. I see plenty of Shoprite and other large retail trucks around during the day.

Ms. Smythe, It's clear from your comments that you don't live in the part of town most directly impacted by your idea to close Baltusrol. Of course there are alternative ways to get out of this area, including going north and routing through narrow residential streets to come out on Morris Tpk west of Benihana, but Baltusrol is the most direct and fastest way to access 24E (78, GSP, NJTP, EWR, NYC) and 24W (287N, 80, Mall). All of that involves going down Baltusrol Way from here. Maybe you never have reason to leave town. Nothing wrong with that, but for those of us that live in this section and do leave town on a regular basis, Baltusrol is important and needs to stay open.

I'm ok with a light, so long as it's timed carefully with the ones on either side of it.