New Commuter Bus Stop Gets Thumbs Up

Commuter bus riders will have a stop closer to home for some, after the Manchester Township Council on Monday night passed a resolution approving a request from Academy Bus Lines to add a stop on Route 571.

Riders will be able to board Academy Bus Lines buses bound for New York City at the corner of Ridgeway Road (Route 571) and Hope Chapel Road (Route 547), as well as exit the bus at that location. The northbound stop will be on the eastern side of the road, with the southbound stop on the west side. Academy Bus had proposed the addition earlier this year, and a traffic study supported the request, the council resolution stated.

Hank Glen of Wycliffe Road asked whether parking will be made available at that location, but Council Vice President Brendan Weiner said there won’t be any additional parking set up initially.

The resolution will be forwarded to both Academy and to NJ Transit, but a timetable for when the stops will start receiving service was unclear on Tuesday.

In other business, the council approved the purchase of two new Chevy Tahoes for the police department through their collective purchasing agreement with Cranbury. The maximum approved for the purchase was just shy of $60,000.

The council also approved an ordinance allowing the township’s police department to enforce traffic regulations within the Ridgeway Mobile Home Park. Township Clerk Sabina Skibo said the ordinance was requested by the mobile home park, to allow the police to enforce such things as parking on one side of the street only, while the roads remain private roads. It was the result of the mobile home park’s officials seeking a variance from the Board of Adjustment to change the width of the roads in the development, Skibo said.