Road improvements on Pearlcroft Road in Cherry Hill include new curbs and making sidewalks adhere to ADA requirements.
When residents share their gripes with their local governments, the condition of the streets often dominates the list of irritants.
And Cherry Hill is no exception: More and more is being spent on the 309 miles of local streets in the municipality with the largest population in South Jersey.
"The largest investment in improving our neighborhood streets in the township's history," is how Mayor Dave Fleisher describes the upcoming annual program to reconstruct or simply mill and resurface the bumpiest roads in town.
Fleisher told 70and73.com in an interview: "Roads and public safety such as speeding are the top issues that are raised."
In 2024, the Township will spend about $10 million repairing its streets — far more than the $8.1 million last year and $3.4 million in 2022, Fleisher explained. In the years around 2006 and 2008, just $1 million to $1.5 million was allocated annually.
Of course, the greatest current roadway headache for Cherry Hill residents is not a local street, but the rebuilding of state highway Route 70, where drivers today face frequently changing lane patterns and last-minute merging.
Businesses along Route 70 have registered many of the complaints, noting how the construction has made it difficult for customers to reach their restaurants, stores and offices.
"We've never gotten more calls on anything than (we have) Route 70," said Fleisher, who noted he has the state Department of Transportation "on speed dial." The Route 70 project will not be complete for another three years.
Fleisher also does not control the county roads that run through Cherry Hill, such as Kresson Road, Haddonfield Berlin Road and Chapel Avenue.
However, the mayor added that the Township will advocate for residents with complaints about non-municipal roads. "We welcome the calls even if they are not our roads," he said.
But the Township-owned roads are the focus of the municipal program.
This year, 22 miles of roads will be covered. Last year, the program totaled 16 miles. In 2022, it was just five miles.
Much of the upcoming work will be in the Kingston, Cherry Valley, Columbia Lakes, Knollwood, Downs Farms and Barclay Farm neighborhoods.
Each municipal road goes through a rating process after an inspection by an engineer. If a utility company, such as PSE&G, needs to open a street, that road also may rise to the top of the priority list to be improved after the utility work is over.
How much will it cost in property taxes? The road improvement program is part of the Township's full capital program, which includes investments in parks and sewers. The money is borrowed in bonds and repaid by taxpayers over several years.
"This is a very important investment in the town's quality of life and property values," Fleisher said of the road improvement program.
