Legislation known as Antwan’s Law that permanently lowered the speed limit on the busy highway between Wood Street and Jacksonville Road and raised the fines for speeding there was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last December, but it has yet to be implemented by the state Department of Transportation, which must post alerting motorists of the permanent speed limit change. Until that happens, police cannot enforce the reduced limit.

BURLINGTON CITY — Speeding motorists may soon be facing higher fines and tougher traffic enforcement on a stretch of Route 130 near two schools.

Legislation known as Antwan’s Law that permanently lowered the speed limit on the busy highway between Wood Street and Jacksonville Road and raised the fines for speeding there was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last December, but it has yet to be implemented by the state Department of Transportation, which must post alerting motorists of the permanent speed limit change. Until that happens, police cannot enforce the reduced limit.

But the changes are expected to be implemented soon, according to Sen. Troy Singleton, who met with DOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti last week and was told to expect the new signage on the state highway within the next 90 days.

“I spoke to her directly,” Singleton said Monday. “Over the next 90 days we’ll see new signage in that area. She remains committed to making sure (the law) is implemented.”

Singleton, who sponsored the measure with Assembly members Herb Conaway and Carol Murphy, said he had hoped for the new law to be implemented before the start of the new school year last week but was satisfied with the new timeline.

Students are now walking across the busy highway on their way to and from home and nearby Burlington City High and the Wilbur Watts Intermediate School. And while the speed limit on the highway decreases from 40 mph to 25 mph on the stretch near the two schools before and after school hours when most students are crossing, pedestrians who cross at other times of the day and night often do so with vehicles traveling at high speeds.

Antwan’s Law was supposed to change that by reducing Route 130′s speed limit to 25 mph near the schools at all hours rather than just shortly before and after school. The law also lowered the speed limit on the highway leading up to the school zone to 35 mph and tripled the fine for speeding in the designated area.

The measure is in honor of Antwan Timbers Jr., a 17-year-old Burlington City High student who was struck and killed by a drunk driver while walking home with a friend on Route 130 after midnight in 2016.

Timbers’ death was one of a state-high 50 traffic fatalities in Burlington County that year, and inspired a campaign by many of his classmates to lobby for safety improvements on Route 130, which has repeatedly been named the state’s most dangerous road for pedestrians due to its high death toll.

A spokesman for the department could not immediately comment on the plans for implementation of the law. However, Singleton, Murphy and Burlington City High School students received assurances the signage was coming last week when Gutierrez-Scaccetti visited the school and participated in a rally near the highway to raise awareness about the new law.

“Congratulations to the students at BCHS. This is evidence that when you’re willing to get involved, change can happen,” the DOT tweeted Friday after the event.

Singleton said improving safety along Route 130 is a priority up and down the corridor, but is particularly important in Burlington City, where the two schools are located nearby, along with several commercial properties, such as a convenience store, two fast food restaurants, two pizzerias, a pharmacy and an ice cream parlor that students and residents visit.

“The community is basically cut in half by Route 130 and we know it has a dubious reputation,” Singleton said. “I know the commissioner appreciates that.”

Carol Murphy said her office would continue to work with DOT to ensure Antwan’s Law is implemented and that other steps are taken to improve road safety across the county.

“My office has been working with the Commissioner of Transportation to post the signage outside of Burlington City High School. I am hopeful that transportation will hold themselves to that timeline, as it is critical for our students in Burlington City to be safe,” Murphy said. “I will work hard to see to it that any new signage in Burlington County that should be implemented according to state rules and regulations will be, in a timely manner. We have to keep our residents, especially our young children, safe on our roadways.”

Sonia Szczesna, an organizer with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit that advocates for transportation improvements in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, said the group hoped the law is implemented sooner than three months.

“We were really hoping to see (signage) changed by the first day,” Szczesna said Monday. “At least something is moving, but we would think it should be within a few weeks, not three months.”

The group was one of the first advocates to shine a spotlight on the issue of pedestrian safety on Route 130 and other New Jersey highways more than a decade ago when it released its first list of the most dangerous roads for pedestrians. Route 130 and Atlantic County’s White Horse Pike had the dubious distinction of being at the deadliest with nine pedestrian deaths on them between 2005 and 2007.

In the years since, Route 130 has continued to have high numbers of pedestrian deaths, as well as other traffic fatalities. Publicity about the deaths and other advocacy, like the Burlington City students “25 Save Lives” campaign, has helped bring about some changes and improvements.

The Department of Transportation has already made of school some improvements to signage and traffic signals along Route 130 in recent years in order to try to improve pedestrian safety, as well as funded increased enforcement efforts. And in 2017, the DOT reduced the travel lanes on Route 130 between East Federal and Wood streets in Burlington City to lower speeds and better protect pedestrians.

Antwan’s Law implementation would be another positive step towards creating a so-called “vision zero” policy in New Jersey where roads and highways are improved in a way that safety is the top priority and traffic fatalities are not acceptable, Szczesna said.

“Antwan’s Law is a really good example of something moving towards a vision of zero,” she said, adding that more physical improvements are still needed. “There’s a lot to be done with Route 130. We’re glad something is happening but we think there should be way more.”

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