Livingston Township Planning Board approves one-way highway access

A new exit could change how drivers reach Route 10. The Livingston Township Planning Board unanimously approved an amendment allowing one-way access to the highway through adjacent Lot 7. Drivers would use the connection to turn right onto Route 10 eastbound. The change removes three on-site parking spaces. The applicant said existing cross-easements remain in place, and the approval includes signage, striping and other conditions.

The applicant’s traffic engineer projected approximately 10 additional trips during the peak period, or about one vehicle every six minutes. He said the connection would give residents another way to reach Route 10 eastbound and reduce traffic using the local street network to get there. He compared the projection with the state transportation department’s threshold of 100 additional peak-period trips for a significant increase at the existing driveway.

Livingston Township Planning Board members asked whether drivers might cut through adjacent commercial parking areas and conflict with vehicles backing out. The engineer said drivers headed toward Route 10 would stop and yield in the parking aisles; he did not anticipate safety problems. He said speed humps could be considered but expected the required stop signs to slow traffic. The applicant intends to request state review of the driveway change and ask the governing body to consider traffic-enforcement jurisdiction for wrong-way driving.

A proposed fence at an operating car wash would reach up to 10 feet high. The Livingston Township Planning Board reviewed the sound-mitigation proposal and asked for more noise modeling. Members questioned whether calculations using one compressed-air nozzle and one vacuum captured the effects of multiple stations operating at once. The hearing discussion described 17 air-gun stations at the car wash.

The applicant’s acoustical expert said decibel levels do not add in a straight line: a second identical source can raise a reading by about 3 dB. He said another air gun would not necessarily change his conclusion, but he could not assess 17 operating simultaneously without more modeling. Livingston Township Planning Board members asked whether multiple air guns could push noise above the 65 dBA limit.

The township sound engineer urged at least two more scenarios: one with a minimum of four vacuums and air guns operating, and another examining whether 17 could operate at once. He cited an April 16, 2026, county noise test that found a violation associated with higher frequencies he said were likely linked to air guns. Livingston Township Planning Board members sought time to review new hearing materials before assessing the proposal.