NJ makes a U-turn on U-turns at busy Parsippany intersection, confusing drivers: ‘Why??!?’
PARSIPPANY — Nobody knew why a "No U-turn" sign was put up late last year at one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in the township, where Route 46 and Beverwyck Road meet.
And by many accounts, most drivers ignored the change, risking fines and points on their license.
Now, just as suddenly as it appeared, the ban on U-turns starting on Route 46 East is gone, and a mystery that baffled Parsippany officials has finally been solved.
The answer: The state goofed when it put up the sign, Department of Transportation officials told the Daily Record on Monday. The sign was removed last week.
"A no U-turn sign on Route 46 westbound was knocked down, and when it was replaced, the signs that were posted indicated 'No U-turn' on both sides, eastbound and westbound," DOT spokesperson Stephen Schapiro said. "The sign facing eastbound was an error and the sign was removed on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The No U-turn sign facing westbound remains."
For a simple sign, the snafu stirred up a lot of angst in Morris County's largest town.
Chick-fil-A to blame?
When the issue came up a November township council meeting, officials said they were never informed about the sign and were as puzzled as constituents.
Residents, meanwhile, speculated about the sign on social media, attributing the ban to the construction of a Chick-fil-A along Route 46 West and center-median work further west of that.
"People weren't seeing it," Matt Avrach commented on a Parsippany Police Facebook post. "Literally about a quarter of the cars in that lane were still doing U-turns regardless of the sign."
"Oh they definitely saw the sign at the intersection they travel every single day where a sign was not present before, they just brazenly chose to ignore it!" Joseph Anthony replied.
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Regardless of the reason, some complained about the prohibition, and some applauded it. Route 46 around Beverwyck is one of the busiest commercial corridors in the area, and there's likely to be more traffic there in the future, with a Topgolf entertainment center proposed just to the west and Home Goods and Marshall's coming to the east.
"Why??!?" Ginger Lee posted at news that the sign was gone. "The best thing was having it there. People making U-turns slows down that whole lane on a daily basis!!"
"Everyone U-turning there to get to Chik-fil-A is going to make that intersection worse than ever," Dave Mikulka posted.
No U-turn on Route 46? No problem
Others admitted to defying the ban even while the sign was still up.
"Thank God," Louis Yuliano wrote of the removal. I was sick of getting cursed out," .
"Now what will I do for an adrenaline rush?" Rob Berry asked.
A comment from Dana Rivenburg Pirnie summed up the feelings of drivers in Parsippany, where routes 80, 287, 46, 202 and 10 all experience daily traffic jams.
"No matter what they do, traffic will be nuts," Rivenberg Pirnie posted.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com
Twitter: @wwesthoven
Town officials were baffled when the u-turn prohibition began in November at the intersection of eastbound Route 46 and Beverwyck Road,
Mystery solved: a controversial “no u-turn" sign was installed last November at the intersection of eastbound Route 46 and North Beverwyck Road, near construction for a new Chick-fil-A, baffling residents and town officials. Last week, the sign was removed. I checked with DOT and they say the sign was installed in error.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ makes a U-turn on U-turn ban that angered some Parsippany drivers
