'Our lives matter': Frenchtown is bustling, but traffic safety lags, say locals

FRENCHTOWN – Mansour Tabibnia was shocked to come home one day last summer to find a flipped car, downed trees and a telephone pole in his Kingwood Avenue yard.

But not too shocked. It was the third time a car had plowed onto his property in a decade.

Tabibnia isn’t the only one to have calamity land on his lawn.

A car once plunged onto Jan Fisher’s property on Everittstown Road, damaging her car, a stone wall and shrubbery. It tore her mailbox out of the ground and dragged it all the way downtown.

Now she doesn’t even garden in her yard along the road because she is afraid of being struck by a car.

Other members of Frenchtown Safe Streets have similar stories of speeding cars damaging property or narrowly missing people. The group of 10 residents is focused on improving traffic safety in the now-bustling borough.

They are not alone. More than 150 people have signed their petition advocating for more traffic safety measures.

The petition includes comments like, "I fear everyday that either a pedestrian or bicyclist will be hit on Kingwood Avenue," "In a year I've seen dozens of near-hits" and "Lower the speeds it can't hurt. OUR LIVES MATTER."

Frenchtown has not been immune to catastrophic traffic accidents. Four years ago, a tractor-trailer hurtled into Galasso’s Pizzeria on Bridge Street, burning it to the ground and destroying the neighboring Frenchtown Café.

“We have been very lucky with some of these car accidents,” said Tabibnia, a founding member of Frenchtown Safe Streets. “One day our luck will run out and that day will be a very bad day for Frenchtown. We just won an award for being the best small town for shopping. Imagine if we got into the paper because someone was killed after someone else was driving erratically.”

Although Frenchtown has long enjoyed popularity due to Delaware River tubing, the opening of ArtYard, restaurants, new residential developments and a renewed interest in post-COVID outdoor activities have made the borough a popular weekend destination. But that popularity has been accompanied by traffic woes.

“There have been traffic issues all long – the difference is that it was a much quieter town before,” said Veda Partalo, also a founding member of Frenchtown Safe Streets. “It feels like especially on the weekends, it’s busier now. Now, with pedestrians colliding with traffic that was already wonky to begin with, there is the increased risk for something dangerous to happen. We don’t have as much room for error anymore.”

Tabibnia said he has voiced his concerns to borough officials for years, but he hasn’t seen much change.But according to Mayor Brad Myhre and Council President Michele Liebtag, big changes are coming to Frenchtown’s streetscape.

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“Some of the frustration is that the group was organized to a point and then there was a period of inaction, but it doesn’t mean that the council is not moving forward with getting grant applications in to address some of the issues and keep this issue moving forward and an eye on pedestrian safety,” said Liebtag. “It takes time to implement these things.”

Frenchtown was awarded a $1 million Transportation Alternatives Program grant to promote and improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, enhance pedestrian lighting, improve downtown aesthetics and enhance borough connectivity, said Myhre. Those changes will include sidewalk improvements and repairs, installation of ADA curb ramps, and streetlight, signage, plant, benches, trash cans and bicycle racks.

The borough was also awarded a $450,000 Safe Routes to School Grant which will increase safety measures around Frenchtown Elementary School through sidewalk repairs, ADA standardized curb ramps, permanent crosswalk markings and school zone signs. goHunterdon, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable transportation, recognized the borough and its elementary school for its use of the grant on Sept. 23.

Frenchtown was also awarded a $203,000 New Jersey Department of Transportation grant to improve Bridge Street by replacing existing accessible ramps, installing new ramps, improves drainage, upgrade storm inlets, resurface the road and repaint crosswalks, parking limits and road striping.

Myhre said he believes that many of the improvements will be implemented next year.

“With the implementation of this $1.7 million, you’re not going to recognize our town,” said Liebtag. “We’re a town of less than 1,500 people so for us to have gotten a million dollars for the downtown was huge for a municipality of this size.”

However, Frenchtown Safe Streets members are frustrated at the time to implement the changes as well as what they believe is lacking in the proposed changes.

"We are truly supportive of all of their efforts but want to see actual changes where rubber hits the road ASAP," said Tabibnia. "Many of their updates stem from a 2017 TAP grant that has yet to be implemented in the five years the money has been available. What's more, if you take a look at the grant details, you'll find the majority of it will not resolve any of the issues on the main Frenchtown arteries and is instead focused on downtown beautification, things like improved lighting, and some improvements around ArtYard."

The river town is at the hub of Route 12, Route 29 and Route 513 and on weekdays, commuters and truckers fill the roadways.

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“In some ways there is always going to be a heavy volume of traffic moving through Frenchtown, regardless of anything inside the borough,” Myhre said.

Frenchtown Safe Streets has proposed implementing a 25-mph speed limit within the entire borough.

“We need to slow all of these vehicles down,” said Jan Fisher, one of the founding members of Frenchtown Safe Streets. “We think it’s important that you have enough time to have a reaction and make a decision. If you’re a large truck that’s loaded with 45,000 pounds, maybe you should even go slower because it’s even more difficult for you to navigate around these turns. Most try to especially if they’re familiar with town, but a lot are not. We are a pass-through town.”

That speed change is unlikely to happen, said Liebtag. The borough requested that the county lower speeds on two county roads in Frenchtown, but that request was denied.

Hunterdon County conducted a study on Kingwood Avenue (Route 12), which recommended a speed increase rather than decrease. That was rejected by the borough.

“The town and council are quite aware of these issues because they too live in town,” said Partalo. “But to do anything, we need support from the county and that’s where it feels like perhaps Frenchtown’s street safety has not been made a priority. We are the crown jewel everyone wants to talk about due to Frenchtown’s recent popularity, but the other side of that coin is some issues have arisen and we need help not just locally, but from the county and the state.”

The county partnered with goHunterdon to install "crosswalk ahead" signs throughout the borough, widened and re-striped crosswalks, created and striped an area at the intersection of Route 513 to deter illegal turns and installed a "no right turn" sign under an existing sign on Route 513 to match another on Milford Road.

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Another problem is enforcement of traffic laws, according to Frenchtown Safe Streets.

After the retirement of the borough's police chief and the resignation of several officers, Frenchtown has three full-time officers. The borough has faced difficulty finding part-time officers to work during busy periods. Next year the borough hopes to hire an additional full-time officer if its budget allows and, if necessary, additional part-time officers.

Although Frenchtown Safe Streets is glad to see some of its ideas becoming reality, the group believes more improvements are necessary to ensure safety outside their doors – and they’re not going to let borough officials forget it.

“As much as the council may not like it, we are not going away,” said Tabibnia. “We are going to constantly remind them of these changes we need. We are hopeful and we want to help them anyway we can.”

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA Today Network New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Contact: JIntersimone@Gannett.com or @JIntersimone.