Our Concerns > Neighborhoods

OUR NEIGHBORHOODS ARE CONCERNED

What happens to the serene beauty of our scenic road? The untouched naturalness will be replaced by a very urban feel. We don't want to lose the character of our area. We don't want nightlife, or increased noise, or increased traffic.
  • Kings Highway East
  • Movie Theatre
  • NJDOT Responsibility
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  1. Kings Hwy East should remain a scenic drive.
  2. There should be a much larger border/ buffer zone surrounding the project so residents who live on the border do not lose their country setting, or  have to deal with the noise, and the visual of seeing the project. This will protect their property values. The buffer is now 75ft.
  3. There should be more usable open space on the proposal, not just wetlands and water drainage basins.  This is not usable open space.
  4. With more open space can there be trails or a park for the residents?
  5. Can we keep a good amount of the existing large trees in the buffer zone, and not take them down to be filled in with small saplings?
  6. We do not want or need a movie theatre since the one in Hazlet is newly renovated. We don’t want nightlife in our scenic setting, and this will create it. We do not live in Red Bank or Asbury Park. We live in a country suburb and like it that way.
  7. Retail stores that have committed to the project on the NRDC website for the Shoppes at Middletown are: Pet supplies Plus, Spirits Unlimited, and a Cinemex movie theatre. None of these are “high end” as the developer has proposed. None of these are unique to the area. There is a Stop and Shop across the street, a movie theatre in Hazlet (never crowded), and a liquor store around the corner. On the NRDC website they are touting the “high income level of the area “ to secure high end stores. I have never seen a high end store that would place one of their stores into a shopping area with the type of stores that the developer has already secured above.
  8. By not securing a unique variety of stores, and not keeping with the country like setting, this strip mall will be like every other discount mall in the Middletown area. We already have plenty of vacant retail locations that are of similar caliber.
  9. Can Middletown use Green Acres money to purchase the border zone around the project to protect the residents and reduce the project?
  10. NOISE--A multiplex theater and many stores will bring traffic noise late into the night.
  11. LOSS OF THE CHARACTER OF THE AREA--What happens to the serene beauty of our scenic road? The untouched naturalness will be replaced by a very urban feel.
If the Cinemex movie theatre is built as planned on this site, there will be residents driving from Route 36 to Kings Hwy , from the Red bank Area/ South 35 as well as people coming from the North and GSP Exit 114 to get to this location. Many local roads and side streets will be affected: Sleepy Hollow Road , Chapel Hill, Tindall Road, New Monmouth Road, as well as all the roads surrounding historical Kings Highway. The movie theatre location on the developers plans shows the placement of the theater very close to the existing Kings Landing and Colonial Square condominiums. This excess noise, lighting of the parking lot at all hours, excess water run off and high traffic volume seem  "inappropriate" to be placed next to a scenic drive residential area.
Some people have inquired if the NJDOT and not the town is responsible for Route 35. The NJDOT is responsible for Route 35. They had seen the plans previously and asked the developer to make changes already based on what they felt were congested areas near the proposed project. That is why the plans now show Kings Highway East proposed to line up with Twin Brooks Avenue . The developer claims this will ease congestion near the Duncan Donuts. We all know that to get to the parkway, you need to take the jug handle on Tindall Road (which is NOT slated for any revisions) or try your hand at the Laurel Ave jug handle which is even worse. Even though some changes were made and the NJDOT approved the changes, it is obvious that there is still way too much traffic coming into the area .

​There are some intersections that are not planned to be re-worked and these intersections are almost full now at peak hours. This is why we need a traffic expert. Only an expert will be able to contest the revised traffic patterns that are now state approved. Only an expert can review the ratings they have set forth on their study and counter them. Sadly the NJDOT is okay with excess traffic going into the neighborhoods, as it alleviates the traffic on their highways, and then they do not have to deal with as much congestion.

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