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Contact: John Nalbone
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Robbinsville, Amazon Reach Plan to Reduce Traffic With “Staggered Shifts’’
ROBBINSVILLE, NJ - (December 3, 2015) - Robbinsville Township and Amazon agreed to a plan Thursday that will stagger the shifts of inbound and outbound associates over a period of 90 minutes during peak hours, instead of the current 30-minute time frame.
Amazon began phasing in the new shift structure plan Wednesday morning, with “four shift stagger” implementation expected to be completed by December 7. The company has increased its work force for the holiday season, which led to much of the increased local traffic congestion on Interstate 195, Old York Road, Gordon Road and Mercer County Routes 539 and 526.
After December 23, traffic on those roads is expected to return to a more normal pattern.
“We were able to work out a solution that will hopefully satisfy everyone,’’ Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried said. “Residents in the area of the fulfillment center should see a significant reduction in traffic on the most impacted roads, including Route 539 and Gordon Road. Businesses in the Matrix Business Park also should see an increased ability of those employees to get in and out of the park, and this will improve the ability of Amazon associates to get into and out of their facility in an efficient manner. I am very appreciative that members Amazon’s senior operations team came today to collaborate with us in order to make these proposed changes happen.’’
To date, Amazon has provided more than $300,000 to fund the Z-Line bus route, which has been successful in reducing traffic by 10 percent. It also has procured off-site parking and bus service for 300 cars, and has hired five off-duty police officers during each shift change to assist with traffic flow.
“These efforts have helped take cars off the road and alleviate some congestion,’’ Tim Hall, Amazon Regional Director of Operations, said. “We realized challenges still remain and we have been working to address the issue.”
“With these changes we should see traffic and accident levels decrease,’’ Mayor Fried added. “We have arranged a December 16 meeting at the Upper Freehold Township Municipal Building to talk about more long-term solutions and next year’s holiday peak.”