Front St. Bridge Project Could Hinder M'Town Traffic

With the prospect of excessive traffic from the revamp looming, the issue of getting a guardrail installed along Hubbard Avenue in Middletown to protect walking students is at the forefront again.

The issue became a heated one after Hurricane Irene caused where the Swimming River Reservoir runs underneath it. There is a chain-link fence along one side of the road; but, it is bent and in a bit of disrepair.

For that reason, and the fact that they want something sturdy there to shield walkers, parents of children again asked Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ettore when or if they could expect to see the guardrail they want.

Ettore, at the Hubbards Bridge public forum, responded with information that offered a different perspective.

“You really don’t want a standard guardrail,” he said. “If a car were to hit it, the weight and density of that sort of structure would do more harm to the pedestrian on the other side.”

Ettore also explained that there are some guardrails, or guiderails, that coil when struck, releasing spiked metal.

“That’s not a desirable safety feature for people on the other side, either,” he said.

He said the county was working to come up with some sort of solution, even if it is to just repair the fence.

Resident Pat Walsh called the traffic problem on the street “perennial,” not just indigenous to detours due to bridge repairs — the Oceanic and the coming Hubbards.

What do you think should be done to provide more protection to walkers from the traffic on Hubbard Avenue? Weigh in below in the comments section.