Poll: A 4-Way Stop at Church and Somerville?

The has already approved a county plan to install four-way stop signs for drivers heading in all direction at the intersection of Somerville Road and Church Street. Extra signs and lane alterations are due to be put in place in the spring.

The intersection currently has stop signs and solar powered flashing red lights, on both sides of Somerville Road. Traffic along Church Street, which turns into Liberty Corner Road after crossing Somerville Road, now has the right of way. The township's Harry Dunham Park is at the intersection, located at the edge of Liberty Corner village.

Turning lanes will be removed from the intersection at the same time that the stop signs are installed, likely next spring, Township Engineer Tom Timko said after at a Township Committee meeting in late January. Timko said on Thursday morning there have been no new updates on the schedule for the project.

In response from a question, Chief Brian Bobowicz said police files show that no accidents had taken place at the intersection for 2012 as of early February; four were recorded in 2011; one in 2010 and three in 2009.

None of the accidents were fatalities, the chief said.

The Township Committee's vote to endorse the four-way stop was preceeded by a discussion about how the county is leaving open the door for further traffic control measures at that intersection, such as a traffic signal.

Township Committeeman Scott Spitzer asked that the resolution approved on Tuesday be modified to specify that the township at this time is only approving the four-way stop, rather than a traffic light.

For those who travel through the area, do you think a four-way stop is a good way to make the intersection safer? Or do you think the change will needlessly slow traffic? Would another solution be better?

By the way, do you think that the four-way stop functions smoothly where it is located further down Somerville Road, at the intersection with Allen Road leading into The Hills?

Let us know what you think in the poll and comments section below.