Where’s The Boardwalk North Of 6th Ave??

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition advocates for equity in access on all thoroughfares throughout Asbury Park. The Boardwalk is one of these thoroughfares. Did you know…?

If you’ve been to the boardwalk North of 6th Ave this past week you may have been wondering what’s going on. There’s heavy equipment and NO BOARDWALK. Work has begun on this latest phase of the Waterfront Redevelopment Plan which includes narrowing of the boardwalk north of 6th Ave to a 15 ft pathway, a membership beachclub, townhouses, and impervious paving.

Many people were caught off guard when work abruptly began last week with little, if any, communication to residents. A 2002 plan had agreed upon at that time, but conditions have changed since then. Residents want and deserve to be informed and be offered participation in any ongoing development. APCSC is NOT opposed to redevelopment, but we believe it must be transparent, be responsibly designed with respect for the environment, particularly on the oceanfront, and it must provide equal access to everyone.

If you are an interested resident, a supporter of equity in access in AP, and if you want to ensure that any development will protect our natural environment, here’s how you can help:

ONLINE PETITION: sign and share!

https://www.change.org/p/john-moor-save-asbury-s-waterfront

Be detailed, factual, personal in your reasons for signing!

*Attend the City Council Meeting on Thursday 11/8, 6:00 PM.

Please attend to show your support; there will be opportunity for public comment, so please prepare up to 3 minutes of remarks.

Attend the organizational meeting is Saturday 11/3 at 3:00 PM in the lobby room at North Beach (1501 Ocean, enter at corner of 7th/Ocean) – please invite anyone who is looking to organize and volunteer.

Attend the AP Homeowner’s Association Meeting on Sunday 11/4 at 10:30 AM at Capitoline downstairs – another opportunity to interact with neighbors and city leadership.

November 2, 2018November 1, 2018

How To Pass A Person On A Bike

Keep 3ft of space between a driver and a person a bike when passing? It may seem impossible, dangerous, or just annoying. Cross the double yellow line? Drive slowly behind a person on a bike and be held up in traffic? We know that drivers really don’t want to run into people on bikes, so here’s a simple explanation of how to pass a person on a bike. (It’s the same in the US as in Canada.)

How to Safely Pass A Person Riding a Bike

Some friendly advice for our motorist-only friends.

By: Hilary Angus

“So in light of all of the confusion, we thought we’d try to clear things up a bit with a handy safe passing how-to guide for motorists everywhere. Alternative title – how to not accidentally kill people with your car, for beginners!”

November 1, 2018November 1, 2018

Can UPS (and other delivery companies) Do This In Asbury Park?

Cargo bikes are becoming the answer to delivering goods to businesses on city streets all over Europe. UPS is starting up in Seattle where UPS started in Seattle in 1907 as a bicycle messenger company. The company said it is pursuing the experiment for both for sustainability and business reasons. Bike delivery is aimed at helping achieve climate goals and also reducing “dwell time” — idling in traffic — a nod to the efficiency of bike lanes, especially in crowded urban areas. This would be a great solution to concerns about double parked delivery trucks on Main Street in Asbury Park!

UPS to Test E-Bike Deliveries in Seattle

By Angie Schmitt Oct 30, 2018

Get ready for UPS in the bike lane — in a good way, finally. The global shipping company is testing out special e-bike cargo delivery in downtown Seattle and near the Pike Place Market.

The pilot program will use a specially made detachable trailer that can hold up to 400 pounds, using a bike that will powered by both pedals and electricity.

In a news release, the company said it is pursuing the experiment for both for sustainability and business reasons. Bike delivery is aimed at helping achieve climate goals and also reducing “dwell time” — idling in traffic — a nod to the efficiency of bike lanes, especially in crowded urban areas.

October 31, 2018November 1, 2018

The League Of American Bicyclists Is Opposed To The AV Start Act

Think autonomous vehicles are the answer to safety for everyone on our streets? Maybe not ready for prime time. Check out what the League of American Bicyclists says:

The AV Start Act will drastically increase the numbers of autonomous vehicles without safety standards for people on bikes or walking.

“The Senate is planning on voting on the AV START Act before the end of the year. The League opposes the bill because it doesn’t include serious safety protections for bicyclists and pedestrians.”

WHY THE LEAGUE IS OPPOSED TO THE AV START ACT

“The AV START Act will drastically increase the number of vehicles on our streets which are exempted from federal safety standards. Currently, each manufacturer of autonomous vehicles is allowed 2,500 exemptions. The AV START Act will allow each manufacturer to sell 80,000 vehicles by year three. ”

October 30, 2018November 1, 2018

There Are No Accidents

A stunning personal story about how a tragic car crash changed a life, starting with the realization that there are no accidents. “…over 35,000 people die every year in the United States from traffic violence. Every two years, more people die in our streets than the number of Americans killed during the Vietnam War.”

Misfortune changed this young man’s life. But he knows (as do we at APCSC) that the problem is solvable. He observes in his city: “We continually see elected leaders prioritize publicly-subsidized parking ahead of safe streets. Some publicly shame folks who get around using a bicycle. They wait to improve safety until after people are hit and killed. And most importantly, they often do nothing. They aren’t just killing bike lanes. But we know they can do better because sometimes electeds show leadership. APCSC knows that our Mayor and City Council are showing real leadership. Stay tuned for the Walking and Bicycling Master Plan, and design and implementation all over the city to make it safe for everyone to get around with slower, and fewer cars on our streets.

sA Better Street

By Owen Pickford October 23, 2018

“This misfortune irreversibly changed my life, the lives of everyone in that car, their families and their friends. I reacted by imagining life as capricious. Death and suffering seemed to be arbitrary “accidents” caused by human error. Life forced this on me every time I got in a car. With no effort at all I could be killed or kill someone else.

But seventeen years later, I feel much different. My friend’s death was not an accident. All of the 35,000 deaths each year in our streets include painful personal stories like the one I’ve recounted. These deaths are not accidents. Traffic violence is caused by public policy. It’s the result of our collective decisions about street design, speed limits, and land use. We know how to minimize crashes but we fail to care. ”

October 27, 2018November 1, 2018

Free Webinar: Small Places, Smart Mobility

Asbury Park fits the description of a small city developing smart ways to address equitable transportation. Learn about other ways that small cities are bridging the transportation gap for people who lack access to dependable transportation, or need a connection between their transit stop and final destination. Free webinar, “Small Places, Smart Mobility”, Thursday, Nov. 1 at 2pm EST.

By Natasha Riveron · October 17, 2018

The National Complete Streets Coalition continues the webinar series on implementation and equity this month with two stories of small towns doing big, innovative work to implement equitable transportation.

On Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 2 p.m. EDT is the next webinar, ”Small Places, Smart Mobility.”

https://smartgrowthamerica.org/register-for-small-towns-smart-places-webinar/

October 24, 2018October 22, 2018

How To Get Drivers To Slow Down And Stop

Asbury Park isn’t alone in working on implementing ways to #slowthecars, and to get drivers to yield and stop for people walking and on bikes. Using “human factors psychology,” (focused on altering group behavior) and positive reinforcement with a “community engaged approach”. Here’s how St. Paul is doing it. Check out the “gateway treatment”. Could AP use this idea?

From Planetizen: “Human factors psychology includes other jargon-y sounding terms like “social norming” and “implied surveillance.” “…clarify more of the concepts behind this tool for convincing drivers to slow and even stop for the safety and right of way of pedestrians.”

To Get Drivers to Yield, St. Paul Uses Psych Trick

By Angie Schmitt Oct 18, 2018

The third wave of enforcement, which was in August, we put up simple R1-6 signs (or “bollards“) . Those went up at our treatment sites and they were very effective. We started doing another wave of enforcement. Then we started seeing compliance in the 70s, which is just a dream compared to where we were last fall.

Then we did our fourth wave in October and we enhanced those in-street signs to “gateway treatments.” A gateway treatment is when you have that R1-6 sign on the center line and then when you have one in the outside lane. So you’re driving through multiple signs on a gate.

Does this sign look familiar?

October 23, 2018October 22, 2018

Let’s Get Over Helmets

Let’s do this- build infrastructure for bicycling. We shouldn’t have to arm ourselves as if we’re going into battle when we get on bikes, nor should anyone be shamed for not wearing a helmet. Bicycle riding is mentally and physically healthful, makes a positive impact on the environment, and reduces traffic, so let’s prioritize it. Point: there are a too many car/bike crashes, period. Most of them involve aggressive/inattentive drivers and grave bodily injury to the person on the bike, in which a helmet wouldn’t have mattered at all.

Vancouver authors focus on Dutch success in avoiding cycling head injuries without widespread use of helmets

by Carlito Pablo on October 17th, 2018

The Dutch could have made bike helmets mandatory. They didn’t. Bruntlett recalled that in the 1990s, they adopted a set of safety principles that state that road users make mistakes behind the wheel of a car or on a bicycle. That meant that roads should be engineered to minimize the impact of those errors.

“So if there are differences in speed between bicycles and cars, then there should be physical separation between the two,” Bruntlett said. “And if that physical separation is impossible, then the car should be slowed down to a certain speed.”

Podcast: Donald Shoup- PARKING!

If you’re a little bit interested in the science of parking, check out this fun and informative podcast with Adam Ruins Everything Adam Conover, and foremost urban planner Donald Shoup.

Listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj3gOlyms-M&feature=youtu.be

October 19, 2018October 17, 2018

Bicyclists May Use Full Lane

A clear explanation of “Bicyclists May Use Full Lane”. Can drivers be educated?

On a personal level, as a recreational and commuting road cyclist, my life is endangered numerous times every time I ride by motorists who assert what they think is their “right” to the road. Sometimes it’s outright aggressive behavior, and sometimes it’s in the form of inattentive entitlement, like rolling though stop signs and turning right on red without a pause. Drivers yell that I should get off the road, even though I have made eye contact and acknowledged drivers near me, and I’m riding in a courteous and careful manner. The reaction by many bicyclists is to move as far to the right as possible to allow drivers to pass. But hugging the line or riding in the shoulder (gutter) only reinforces the belief of any drivers passing people on bikes that they inherently deserve the entire lane, and puts bicyclists in danger of having to swerve around debris, and potentially ending up in the path of a vehicle. Can drivers be educated in this car-centric culture?

Bicyclists May Use Full Lane

Carlton Reid Oct 12, 2018

“The simple answer to why cyclists ride in the middle of “traffic lanes” is because they are allowed and advised to take such actions.”

Some motorists think roads were built for cars, and that people on bicycles are interlopers. Historically and legally, this is not the case: most global jurisdictions enshrine the right of bicyclists to enjoy the public highway – that is, to enjoy it in law if not always in reality. International traffic treaties also guarantee this basic right. Some bicycle advocates like to remind motorists that they and their motor vehicles are allowed on the road only under license while cyclists are allowed on the road by right.

As evidenced by the 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, U.S. bicyclists “may use [the] full lane,” but this doesn’t stop some motorists shouting that cyclists do not belong on roads.