The orange rectangle shows where the Dunkin' would be built at Route 70 and Frontage Road. Residents expressed concerns about traffic already heavy from apartments (top of screen), the Route 70 jughandle to the left of the site, the Route 295 exit ramp onto Route 70 (right) and on Covered Bridge Road across Route 70 from the site. Residents said eastbound vehicles would use Covered Bridge Road to make a u-turn to cross Route 70 to go to the Dunkin'. Residents of Kingston Estates, which is to the north and west of this photo, said they also use Frontage Road to reach Route 70.
The Cherry Hill Planning Board last week approved a new Dunkin' Donuts on westbound Route 70 despite residents' protests that the restaurant would result in traffic tangles on both sides of the highway.
"The off-site traffic situation renders this application a non-starter," resident Martha Wright told board members. She said approval must be denied for safety reasons for both pedestrians and drivers.
Board members voted 5-2 to approve the Dunkin', although most agreed traffic in the area was a concern. But they said state land-use law did not permit them to consider traffic beyond the development site and that Route 70 was under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and not Cherry Hill Township.
Residents and some board members contended the traffic study and projected future traffic by Shropshire Associates LLC of Atco did not accurately reflect the site of the former Fulton Bank at Route 70 and Frontage Road. The Shropshire Associates study had been accepted after a review by board engineer Stacey Arcari of Environmental Resolutions Inc. of Mount Laurel.
Board member John S. Osorio took issue with both the Shropshire report and Arcari's acceptance. Osorio, who was one of the two votes against the plan, said the public had "legitimate safety concerns" and questioned whether the board had to agree with the traffic study.
Developer South Jersey Management LLC of Maple Shade proposed a Dunkin' with a drive-through lane and an entrance-only driveway on Frontage Road near Route 70 and an entrance-and-exit driveway at the back of the site on Frontage Road. A former bank driveway on Route 70 has been eliminated by the DOT.
South Jersey Management was seeking minor site plan approval with bulk variances to convert the former 2,300-square-foot bank into a 2,100 square-foot Dunkin' coffee shop.
Previous 70and73.com coverage: Cherry Hill Planning Board to consider plans for new Dunkin' donuts on Route 70.
Residents cited a number of potential traffic headaches, including a left-turn exit onto Frontage Road, the impact of traffic on Frontage Road near Route 70 where a jughandle merges with Frontage and the lane-shifting traffic generated by a nearby exit from Route 295 onto Route 70 West. Residents from across Route 70 said they feared traffic back-ups on Covered Bridge Road as eastbound drivers used Covered Bridge for U-turns to cross Route 70 at the traffic light.
Other residents said Frontage Road already is crowded with people who live in the Grand apartments and the Mark 70 condominiums north of the proposed Dunkin'.
"I live at the Grand. Frontage Road is my lifeline. I'm on it every single day, in and out," testified Susan Marks.
"When I'm leaving to get onto 70, there are times where I have to wait for three light changes before I can get to Route 70. If I'm on Route 70 going westbound and I'm turning right to get onto Frontage Road, merging with the traffic coming off of 295, it's extremely dicey," she told the board.
Marks said she is a fan of Dunkin' but that she would avoid this one because of the traffic.
Anne Einhorn, who lives in the nearby Kingston neighborhood and uses Frontage Road, said:Â "I just think this is an awfully inadequate site for a business that's going to increase traffic to that degree."
"I just think it's a dangerous site to begin with," she added.
Board member Sheila Griffith said she was voting in favor of the Dunkin' despite reservations about traffic issues. "I can't think of any business that would be safe there because of the traffic patterns," she said.
Another board member, Rowena Ripa, voted against the Dunkin', saying "In good conscience, I just don't think it's safe."
Ripa, who described traffic near the site as a "hot mess," said she did not think any business should be located there and suggested demolishing the former bank building and planting trees.
A site plan of the proposed Dunkin', showing traffic flow.
