Hopwell Borough is excited to announce several important changes to our town’s traffic rules, increasing public safety in our downtown with the help of our partners in Mercer County and Hopewell Township.
Last year, the Borough Council unanimously voted to lower the speed limit to 25 mph for the entirety of Broad Street and to prohibit right turns on red at the intersection of Broad Street and Greenwood Avenue in an effort to improve pedestrian and bike safety. Because Broad Street is a County road, the Mercer County Board of Commissions has supported the Borough’s efforts by introducing an ordinance to make these changes. Working with Mercer County and Hopewell Township, the Borough has also received the approval to revise the speed limit on a portion of Pennington Hopewell Road approaching the Borough to act as a buffer.
Starting this week, signage reflecting the new 25 mph speed limit on West Broad Street and prohibiting right turns at Broad Street and Greenwood Avenue in all directions is being installed. Variable message signs are also in place helping alert residents to the new rules. The next phase will soon include the County installing 25 mph signage on East Broad Street between Princeton Avenue and the Eastern edge of the Borough, and a new reduced speed limit on Route 654 approaching town.
The Borough and the Hopewell Township Police Department (HTPD) will initiate an awareness campaign in March to help spread the word about this exciting step towards safer streets. Following the awareness campaign there will be a period of increased enforcement from HTPD. Additionally, the Borough’s Pedestrian, Bicycle and Safety Advisory Committee (PBSAC) has developed banners, signage and flyers to help educate the public about the changes as well as the safety benefits of the lower speed limit.
The changes are part of our Borough’s long-term Vision Zero commitment to protect pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users and create a more walkable, livable community for our residents, visitors and businesses. We are thankful of the hard work and assistance from our partners at the Mercer County Board of Commissioners, county engineer Basit Muzaffar and his staff, County Executive Dan Benson, the Hopewell Township Committee, our volunteers on the Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Advisory Committee, and the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, who all assisted in the Borough’s efforts to make this change a reality.
