Hunterdon County commissioners have approved new speed restrictions on the county roads running through Frenchtown and Alexandria Township, lowering limits in some stretches to as little as 25 mph and setting a 35-mph school-zone limit on County Route 513 when flashing signs are active. The changes, adopted by resolution on October 20, cap years of complaints from residents who said speeding traffic had become a constant hazard through the small Delaware River borough.
According to TAPinto, County Route 513 in Frenchtown will now carry a 25-mph limit from Kingwood Avenue to a point 3,075 feet north of Cedar Street, marking the borough's northerly boundary. From there, the speed climbs in stages: 35 mph to 3,925 feet north of Cedar Street, 40 mph to 1,635 feet north of Mill Street, and 50 mph on the stretch continuing to Pittstown Road. The same report notes that County Route 513 through Frenchtown and Alexandria Township carries a 45-mph limit to a point 1,265 feet south of Palmyra Road.
Kingwood Avenue, also known as County Route 610, gets its own tiered treatment. The road will be posted at 25 mph from Race Street to the centerline of Ridge Road, then step up to 35 mph from that point to the borough's easterly boundary at the end of State Route 12, per the same TAPinto account. A new Alexandria Township school zone on Route 513 will also drop to 35 mph whenever flashing signs are operating during school hours as children travel to and from class, running from 1,580 feet south of Mechlin Corner Road to 140 feet south of that intersection.
A Years-Long Fight Over Frenchtown's Streets
The push for slower traffic is not new. Residents raised concerns about speeding on county roads in the area back in 2024, seeking relief from the county to combat reckless driving through town, the TAPinto report notes. Motorists had reportedly been using Route 29, Route 519 and local streets as high-speed shortcuts, according to the same account.
The push for slower traffic is not new. Residents raised concerns about speeding on county roads in the area back in 2024, seeking relief from the county to combat reckless driving through town, the TAPinto report notes. Motorists had reportedly been using Route 29, Route 519 and local streets as high-speed shortcuts, according to the same account. That frustration dates back further still. Frenchtown residents also advocated traffic-safety measures. Frenchtown itself once formally asked the county to lower speeds on two county roads in town, but that request was denied, mycentraljersey.com reported — and a county study of Kingwood Avenue, then identified as Route 12, had actually recommended increasing the speed limit rather than lowering it.
School Bus Crash Renewed the Pressure
The issue resurfaced with new urgency earlier this year. Frenchtown residents urged the Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners on March 17 to lower the posted speed limit on Kingwood Avenue after a crash in December involving a stopped school bus, according to Citizen Portal. County staff told residents at that meeting that beacons had been ordered and that a renewed traffic study would be placed on a future agenda, the outlet reported.
The county had already made some changes in 2025, adding speed restrictions on Kingwood Avenue, Ridge Road, Everittstown Road and Cedar Street, per the TAPinto report. Hunterdon County also reached an agreement with Frenchtown that year to install enhanced pedestrian crossing signs at the intersection of County Route 610 and Creek Road.
Earlier Safety Measures
Traffic safety work in Frenchtown has stretched well beyond speed-limit signs. Frenchtown was listed in goHunterdon’s pedestrian-sign program.
Residents have raised concerns about traffic in Frenchtown. The county's October 20 resolution sets new limits along two corridors in the borough.
