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ABOUT US
Those of us who commissioned this website in June of 2007 are working to quickly gather the names and email addresses of hundreds of like-minded Marlton Residents willing to meet, strategize, sign petitions, get the word out, write letters to public officials , STOP the OVERPASS and replace it with an "Intelligent Intersection with Smart Lights".
Very few Marlton Residents believe that the Marlton Circle should remain as is, untouched. I have lived in Marlton since 1984 and I LOVE “taking the Circle”. But even I recognize that it is a confusing and inefficient hazard that MUST be eliminated.
That said, I strongly object to the “Powers That Be” dictating to local residents a solution that will not solve Marlton’s broader traffic problems but will create a tangled mess of driving for many of us and will destroy the character of the central part of our historic community.
Please study the various Internet references to the Marlton Circle Elimination Project. Part of our research indicates how much of the Overpass decision was driven by those outside our community. It appears that the Overpass decision had already been made by NJDOT by FY2004, but was euphemistically being referred to as “a grade-separated interchange”.
The overpasses nearest to us are on Route 73 crossing over Route 38 in Maple Shade and on Route 73 crossing over Route 30 in Atco. Cars can go flying over both of those overpasses without any thought to the local community and local businesses.
Four circles nearby (Medford, Berlin, Race Track and Ellisberg) have recently been eliminated without overpasses. In all four cases (in my opinion) they are more complex than the “INTELLIGENT INTERSECTION with SMART LIGHTS” plan that could quickly, easily, inexpensively and effectively replace the current Marlton Circle.
There's a good chance we will see bumper-to-bumper traffic at a standstill on the overpass waiting for the lights to change and traffic to move north and south on Route 73. And when I spoke with the NJDOT Project Manager (asking him about the continued congestion in the 4 directions), he said NJDOT is “studying” these areas of concern beyond the immediate area.
Concern was also raised that the Overpass configuration will make it more difficult for our police and fire departments to quickly reach the homes and businesses in the SW quadrant of Marlton. We need the professional opinion of those two departments to determine the validity of that concern.
Clearly, we’re voicing our concerns and trying to get other Marlton Residents involved at a very late stage in the process. However, we must try our best to have a better solution put in place if at all possible.
Please sign up so we can email you with Meeting Alerts.
Also, help mobilize your friends and neighbors by placing notices in public areas and private door jams – or by arranging no-charge meeting rooms we can use to strategize and sign petitions.
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Note: If you wish to provide any additional published information to this site, please e-mail it to LynnMarlton@MarltonCircle.com .
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