Burlington County plan may offer some relief from traffic-clogged Taunton Lake Road in Marlton.

The annual surge of traffic that coincides with the start of the school year is about to begin on the stretch of Taunton Lake Road near the Kings Grant development in Marlton — and Burlington County is on the verge of doing something about it.

"The nature of three schools right on the same block…that is a recipe for knowing you are going to have (more) traffic," Kings Grant resident Dave Scott said of the elementary and middle schools and Cherokee High School campuses off Taunton Lake Road.

Scott likely knows the pain more than most: He co-owns the Laurel Oak Garden Center on Tomlinson Mill Road, at the intersection of Taunton Lake Road that handles the heavy traffic flows from Kings Grant and Medford. A right-hand turn toward the schools can be challenging on busy mornings.

Daily traffic on Taunton Lake Road has more than tripled between 1984 and 2019, the latest year for which counts are available. In 1984, there were 6,200 daily vehicles and in 2019, there were about 19,300, said David Levinsky, Burlington County public information officer.

Burlington County leaders and engineering firm Taylor Wiseman & Taylor of Mount Laurel are planning virtual public meetings at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, August 27, and Thursday, August 29, to discuss changes coming to Taunton Lake Road/County Route 544 from the vicinity of the intersection with Tomlinson Mill Road and the intersection of Kings Grant Drive/Barton Run Boulevard.

Project construction is expected to begin in late 2025 or early 2026, according to Levinsky, who added that federal funding is expected to cover all construction costs.

Details of the two meetings are on the Evesham municipal website here. The project plans at Taylor Wiseman & Taylor are here.

"This is first and foremost a needed safety improvement," Levinsky said of the project. "A secondary benefit of the project will be congestion relief."

Bruce Easterly of the engineering firm said the project calls for overlaying Taunton Lake Road and installing eight-foot-wide shoulders on both sides beginning at Kings Grant Drive toward Marlton Parkway. In addition, a culvert and the bridge that spans Black Run near Camp Creek Run on Taunton Lake Road will be replaced.

Frequent flooding problems along the road will be addressed by one stormwater basin constructed on a currently unused part of the Laurel Oak Garden Center property and another on open-space land that Burlington County owns on Marlton Parkway, he said.

"There are wetlands on both sides of (Taunton Lake Road)," Easterly explained as the reason for putting in stormwater basins. "We could not put any stormwater management alongside the road."

Scott of Kings Grant is far from the only resident concerned about traffic on the road.

Mary Beth Riccobene-Iannarella, a resident of the Barton Run community, also off Taunton Lake Road, said congestion has increased during the 23 years she has lived in Marlton, adding: "It happens every year with the school buses….I do not go down certain streets if I know that it is the time (for) school buses or people (to be) picking up their kids." 

During busy hours, it is not unusual to see one lane of traffic backed up in either direction from Tomlinson Mill to around the Kings Grant main entrance. While there is a stoplight at the intersection of Taunton Lake Road, Kings Grant Drive and Barton Run Boulevard there is none at the Crown Royal Parkway intersection, the other major road into the development. Cars exiting there often have to wait some time before getting a break in traffic.

"There certainly was not as much housing all the way around," Scott said of the area when he and his brother opened Laurel Oak Garden Center about 24 years ago.

"I daresay 30% to 40% of the people who commute in Medford come down this way in the morning."

As an emergency vehicle with its siren sounding went past his shop during the interview, he added that the nearby firehouse in Kings Grant can sometimes cause traffic congestion.

A representative from Evesham Fire-Rescue declined to comment on how the narrowness of Taunton Lake Road impacts the department's response times, telling a 70and73.com reporter the entity "does not comment publicly on matters associated with traffic." Representatives from the Evesham Township Police Department, Public Works Department and Mayor's Office, through a spokesperson, also declined to comment, citing that the road is county-owned.

Levinsky said after the meetings next week, the project's plans and design will be finalized, and the needed right-of-way acquisitions will begin.