No Turn for Neighbors in Shrewsbury

Editor's note: A right turn onto Silverbrook is restricted during the day. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the left turn was restricted.

Following complaints from at least one resident that drivers turning right onto Silverbrook Road and using it as a cut through to bypass a section of the heavily traveled Route 35 in Shrewsbury were creating a hazard, the council approved an ordinance restricting right turns, on behalf of those living in the neighborhoods.

There’s just one problem: some living in the neighborhoods say they weren’t even notified that the change was taking place.

At Monday’s , three residents of the area impacted by the no turn change, speaking, they said, on behalf of even more people, said they were never given their turn to object to the traffic change because they never even knew it was happening.

Greg Arek and his wife Gale live on Williamsburg Drive, which is only accessible from Silverbrook. One day Greg said he just saw a sign saying that turning right was prohibited. When he asked the borough why and when this happened, he was told that a traffic committee was formed and that they used surveys, surveys from his neighborhood, to guide their decision.

The Areks never received a survey, nor did any of the residents living on Silverbrook side streets. Mayor Donald Burden said at the meeting that only those living on Silverbrook were surveyed about the traffic change, inadvertently ignoring everyone else impacted by the decision.

“We’re receptive to the theory of reducing traffic, but how can they say they’ve surveyed us, as homeowners, when none of us have gotten a survey,” Arek said. “We’re not anti-reducing traffic volume, we’re just questioning how it can be done without notifying the residents.”

Though right turns are still allowed onto Silverbrook, drivers who need to access the neighborhood from the southbound lanes need to instead turn left on Sycamore Avenue, which comes up prior to Silverbrook. Miss Sycamore and you’ve got to turn left into a shopping center or other, arguably busier public roads and intersections.

The real concerns, resident Melanie Cotenoff said, are the traffic tickets. She said a couple of residents of the neighborhoods have been pulled over for the illegal turn. The ticket includes three points on your driver’s license, she said.

What do the residents want? Well, to be notified next time, and maybe an allowance for residents to turn left.

“We as residents don’t feel as though access, our only access, can be denied,” Arek said.

It’s unclear if their protestations will amount to much, however. The council acknowledged the resident’s complaints, but moved on to the next item of business without any discussion on the matter.