Motorists are becoming accustomed to a new set of traffic signals, which are now operating at the four-way intersection of Church Hill Road, The Boulevard, and the main driveway for The Village at Lexington Gardens at 30 Church Hill Road.

For about one week, the eight signal fixtures had been operating in blink-mode, flashing bright yellow lamps to approaching motorists, but they are now fully functioning as red-yellow-green signals. The area, at certain times of day, becomes congested with commuter traffic, plus the traffic generated by three nearby schools.

Police Chief James Viadero said February 3 that when there are more commercial tenants in place at Lexington Gardens, the overall effectiveness of the signal array will become more clear. So far, the signals appear to be better regulating traffic flow in the area, he said.

The new signals are synchronized with other traffic signals in the area.

The widened intersection has been re-marked to create left-turn lanes on Church Hill Road, which are controlled by "protected-turn" green arrows in the traffic signals. Also, a crosswalk across Church Hill Road is provided for pedestrians who are now able to activate a switch that halts traffic for their safe crossing of the street.

The Church Hill/Boulevard intersection has been a hazardous junction where many accidents have occurred. Those crashes often involved eastbound motorists on Church Hill Road driving into the rear end of eastbound vehicles which were waiting to make a left turn onto the northbound Boulevard.

Also, southbound motorists on The Boulevard, who sought to make turns onto Church Hill Road, had very limited sight lines when looking eastward to the left, due to a curving Church Hill Road and the presence of vegetation. Previously, the intersection was controlled by a stop sign on The Boulevard.

Boulevard residents have long called for signals at the intersection. However, signals were not required for that intersection until September 2012, when a developer gained Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) approval for the redevelopment of 30 Church Hill Road. That site now holds five commercial buildings, four of which are new construction, and one of which will be renovated.

In September 2012, the BZC approved the new retail center for a 6.3-acre site. Plans approved by the BZC list constructing 60,500 square feet of new commercial space in the form of four two-story buildings. Each new building has retail space at ground level and office space on the second story. To make way for that new construction, the former Lexington Gardens plant nursery and garden shop was demolished.

A flat-roofed, two-story, red-brick 16,000-square-foot commercial building located near Church Hill Road, commonly known as the Morganti building, will receive a variety of external improvements to enhance its appearance, making it visually complementary to the new construction.

The Lexington Gardens developer assumed the costs for the new traffic signals.