Notice anything new on Route 9 at Lacey Road? Public safety officials hope it'll help reduce the risk of sidelong crashes and perhaps unclog the intersection.

Dedicated red signal, Rt. 9 at Lacey Road (Lacey Twp. PD)
Dedicated red signal, Rt. 9 at Lacey Road (Lacey Twp. PD)
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Northbounders on the state highway planning to turn left onto westbound Lacey Road now encounter a dedicated arrow signal.

The new addition is the result of prolonged studies by township police and the New Jersey Department of Transportation of traffic volume, timing and patterns at the intersection.

The goals, according to Lacey Police Chief David Paprota, are to break up the flow and to reduce accident odds by preventing northbound drivers from trying to run the gauntlet of Route 9 traffic and squeezing a left onto Lacey Road.

Police acknowledge that waiting for the red arrow to turn from red to green, plus a limited span of time until it turns amber and back to red, likely means fewer cars turning in one cycle, and a little extra time to budget for the trip.

From their perspective, it's still preferable to serious crashes that they say have become consistent.

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