TRAFFIC CALMING EFFECT OF BIKE LANES

Hello readers~

Whether you ride a bike or not, you’ll probably agree…

Asbury Park has been slow to implement bicycling infrastructure. Over four years ago some painted stripes and sharrows (stenciled “sharing arrows”) were installed, but since then there has been negligible painted implementation, and there are no protected, delineated bike lanes anywhere in the city.

After this Rutgers study was done in 2022 there was some hope that it would have inspired permanent implementation of protected bike lanes, or even painted striping, particularly in this area of the study, since bike lanes were proven to have a positive traffic calming impact.

There are no protected, delineated bike lanes, or markings of any kind in the area of this study, and we are still waiting for bicycling infrastructure to be implemented consistently throughout the city.

We expect Asbury Park leaders to recognize that it is inequitable to prioritize driving over vulnerable road users, and to take action to make our streets safe for everyone.

From the NJ 4′ Safe Passing Law advocate Rebecca Feldman:

Let’s be clear about the endgame. It’s not that we want people to travel slower, it’s that we NEED fewer people being injured and killed by speeding drivers.

TRAFFIC CALMING EFFECT OF BIKE LANES

In this study, protected bicycle lanes marked with simple traffic cones and plastic delineators were associated with a reduction in average maximum speeds of 20 to 30 percent.

The findings prove the traffic calming effect during the time of this pop-up in 2022.

The findings come from an analysis of almost 10,000 cars during a temporary pilot demonstration project in Asbury Park, N.J., where bike lanes were both painted and delineated with traffic cones. The study incorporated 24-hour video footage of the intersection for 10 dates in March and April 2022.

The results of the study: “The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes,” by nine researchers at Rutgers University, including the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, will be published in the June volume of the Journal of Urban Mobility.

Average top speeds of vehicles dropped by 28 percent, by 21 percent for vehicles turning right, and by up to 8 percent for drivers going straight.

Painted-only bike lanes were also associated with a reduction of 11 to 15 percent solely for vehicles turning right. Traffic moving perpendicular to the bicycle lane experienced no decrease in speeds.

Bicycle lanes with traffic delineators will have a stronger traffic calming effect, such as reductions in speed, than with painted-only bike lanes, according to the study.

“In the context of traffic safety and Vision Zero initiatives, this finding is significant in that it suggests that delineated bike lanes can reduce traffic speeds, making the overall road environment safer for all. The pop-up bike lane reduced the traffic lane width and created a sharper turning radius, which likely served as a traffic calming mechanism.”

There is no shortage of assistance to help New Jersey towns and cities to take action, such as from NJTPA. The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority is the federally authorized Metropolitan Planning Organization for the 13-county northern New Jersey region. Each year, we oversee over $2 billion in transportation improvement projects and provide a forum for interagency cooperation and public input.

Federally, the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Transportation Discretionary Grant program provides a unique opportunity for the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to invest in road, rail, and transit.

The Rutgers New Jersey Bicycle & Pedestrian Resource Center assists public officials, transportation and health professionals, and the public in creating a safer and more accessible walking and bicycling environment through primary research, education and dissemination of information about best practices in policy and design.

Let’s make Asbury Park an accessible, equitable city for everyone.

Onward.

Polli Schildge, Editor

November 21, 2023November 30, 2023

Survey: How are you getting around in Asbury Park, and in Monmouth County?

Have you seen or encountered obstacles to getting around in Asbury Park, or in your city in Monmouth County?

The Monmouth County Division of Planning, Transportation and Community Services hosted an open house on Thursday, Nov. 16 asking for feedback to improve mobility throughout Monmouth County.

An interactive mapping tool that let’s you easily pick and comment on places that need imorovement: It only takes a few minutes to do it!

This open house was the first public event for Monmouth Paths Access For All, a transportation study that will evaluate existing barriers to mobility and recommend strategies to achieve equitable mobility,

We look forward to seeing the results and next steps to improving access for everyone to get around our county and Asbury Park!

Here are some obstacles we’ve experienced in Asbury Park:

#NJDOTengineering: 4 intersections in Asbury Park’s Main St. include raised concrete corner wedges for zero purpose. Trip hazards, so they painted the edges yellow. Still trip hazards, so they came back again and glued on plastic flex posts, which have almost all fallen off. Can these meaningless chunks of concrete be removed?

No purpose for these weird blocky corners. Notice here, one flex post is gone. That was months ago. Now ALL of them have fallen off.

If you’re a bike rider, what does it mean when you see a sign like this “bike lane ends”? What does it mean to drivers? Whose interest is being served with this kind of signage?

If you drive around the Asbury/Neptune circle heading north and west, you might never notice this overgrown sidewalk. If you have to walk along that sidewalk, it’s dangerous, disappearing under encroaching weeds, and unlit, dangerous at night.

If you’re a person on a bike coming off the Ocean Grove bridge toward Lake Ave you’ll see that the concrete path does not lead to the ramp to the street, so people on bikes have created a “desire path” to get to the ramp, although a dirt path isn’t the safest place to ride a bike.. How could the city improve this situation? Moving the ramp could be a good solution.

NJDOT/NJTransit One of 2 closed railroad crossings in Asbury Park. It has eliminated a access for people who live in that neighborhood to get home, or to destinations in the city, and collected debris and trash.

NJDOT Confusing instructions on Main St. in Asbury Park for pedestrians to cross the street, especially for non-Engllsh speakers. Our streets should not prioritize drivers above other road users.

No curb ramps on 5th Ave in Asbury Park to roll a wagon with kids, or a stroller, or for anyone with a handicap.

We need your help to understand the mobility challenges you encounter (or that you observe) when travelling to work, school, healthcare appointments, shopping, or whenever you’re walking or rolling in Monmouth County.

Whether you drive, take public transportation, walk, bike, or use another mode of transportation, you might notice or encounter mobility barriers, such as in these photos, or traffic congestion, unsafe intersections, infrequent bus service, no bus shelters, missing sidewalks or ADA curb ramps, no bike parking, etc.

It’s easy! Use the online mapping tool to identify and comment on places with mobility obstacles in Monmouth County that you’ve noticed, or experienced yourself.

The information you provide will be vital to informing the Monmouth Path Study, a transportation planning study that will identify and develop measures to reduce or eliminate mobility barriers for Monmouth County residents.

The goal of this study is to provide guidance for the County and its municipalities to reduce or overcome existing barriers and prevent new obstacles. This will be accomplished by combining data analysis and the lived experiences of County residents to evaluate infrastructure, policy, socioeconomic, and awareness factors that can be major limitations for the traveling public. Potential outcomes of this study include strategies to improve the built environment in a variety of land-use areas within the County.

Onward~

Polli Schildge

Editor, APCSC

June 17, 2023

UPDATE on Railroad Crossing Closures: CC Meeting Video

Thanks to The Coaster for this excellent coverage of the RR crossing closure issue.

The Coaster: 3 Railroad Crossing Closures Under Review in Asbury Park

Cover photo of The Coaster June 14, 2023 article.

The city council meeting went well on Wednesday night 6/14- each person who spoke made very effective points. Thanks so much for stepping up to the mic!

APTV video of the City Council Meeting

Public comment segments:

29:27 – 34:30 (Polli Schildge)

38:44 – 41;29 (Michael Kushner)

42:20 – 50:30 (Rhiannon Long; Mimi Jen; Sylvia Sylvia AP Chamber Of Commerce)

✅Thank you for your letters. Continue to spread the word: Email: apcompletestreets@gmail.com. The new DOT contact is: Christopher.Yandoli@dot.nj.gov..

✅IF YOU WANT A TEMPLATE FOR A LETTER please email: apcompletestreets@gmail.com.

DOT communication with the city this week said that the closure at 6th is “on hold” now, pending more study. But it there is no guarantee that it will not be closed.

We need to stay diligently on top of this.

Onward~

Polli Schildge, APCSC Editor

June 1, 2023June 1, 2023

Community Opposition To RR Crossing Closures in Asbury Park

Hello APCSC friends~

Since we recently learned of the slated closure of the 6th Ave grade crossing closure (and the proposed closures at 5th Ave, and 1st Ave) we have received over 60 opposition emails, which will be compiled in a document to DOT.

The city officially and adamantly opposes the closure.

Contact AP Complete Streets Coalition to oppose RR grade crossing closures: apcompletestreets@gmail.com

Contact Vanessa Meades at NJDOT from the Office of Government & Community Relations: vanessa.meades@dot.nj.gov

We appreciate the great coverage from The Asbury Park Reporter!

Proposed Railroad Crossing Closures Rile Community Members

Asbury Park Complete Streets is sounding the alarm, educating people about what is being proposed and asking community members to join with the organization to oppose the closures.

Overview:

Asbury Park’s Sixth Avenue, Fifth Avenue and First Avenue Railroad Crossings are all proposed to be closed by the NJDOT. Asbury Park’s Complete Streets Coalition says, “not so fast,” and claims the closures will not meet any one of those goals.

The study cites safety as the reason for closing grade crossings. We believe that safety would be better served if the crossings were brightly lit, with upgraded gates, and flat surfaces for bike riders, walkers, and strollers.

Polli Schildge

Asbury Park was developed as a racially segregated community, and the railroad tracks were the border. Today, this division is still present, and closing west-to-east crossings in Asbury Park will not be well-received here.

Kathleen Mumma

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition is committed to equitable access across the city, east to west, and north to south. for everyone.

Let’s work together to prevent any further grade crossing closures.

Contact AP Complete Streets Coalition to oppose RR crossing closures: apcompletestreets@gmail.com

Contact Vanessa Meades at NJDOT from the Office of Government & Community Relations: vanessa.meades@dot.nj.gov

Onward~

Polli Schildge, Editor

August 23, 2022August 24, 2022

The Quest for Safer Streets In Asbury Park – And A New Documentary

We’re excited to share the documentary,“The Street Project, premiering on PBS International and Amazon Prime Video on Aug. 25.

The film will be illuminating for many, especially those who drive – which is almost everyone. It brings the American traffic safety crisis — and its possible solutions — to a TV audience.

Bicycle fatalities increased more than 40% between 2010 and 2020, according to the National Safety Council, and preliminary 2021 data from the Governors Highway Safety Association showed that last year saw 7,485 pedestrian fatalities, the most in 40 years.

Bicycle infrastructure on Asbury Park streets, particularly protected infrastructure) is far behind were we have hoped it to be since we began advocating in 2015, outlined in the AP Complete Streets Resolution, and in the city’s Plan For Walking And Biking.

The surge in vehicle crashes is disproportionately harming lower-income families and Black Americans.

Many people in Asbury Park walk and ride bikes or scooters for daily transportation.

Pedestrian behaviors like jaywalking (fake, made up by the auto industry) have been a smokescreen to get drivers off the hook for the surging numbers of walker and bicyclist injuries and deaths in the US. Drivers have gotten off for years claiming, “she came out of nowhere”, and the media, influenced by the auto industry has been blaming people walking distracted by cell phones, or blaming people riding bikes and scooters.

It’s almost NEVER the case that crashes happen because people ride or wander into traffic.

The US leads the world in traffic deaths. Crashes have increased to catastrophic numbers in 2022, the highest in 20 years, and it’s NOT due to the behaviors of people walking or rolling.

The design of our roads encourage (or do little to deter) speeding, and the proliferation of huge vehicles, and driver distraction from dashboard screens have led to a surge in crashes, injuries and deaths of people outside of vehicles.Tom Flood, a former auto ad executive, now a walking and biking advocate using his ad skills created this jarring video: Dashboard screen experience: iCrash, iKill.

Drivers are speeding in gigantic “living rooms on wheels”, with built-in dashboard distractions, on roads that were designed to expedite the movement of vehicles. The incredible power of auto industry advertising has hijacked our brains into believing that we have a human right to drive, that our vehicles are tied to our identity, and that drivers own the road. Safety campaigns aimed at the behavior of people walking and rolling, and the mistaken idea of “shared responsibility” on our roads are contributing to the ongoing problem of traffic violence.

The government has blamed the increase on speeding, impaired driving and other reckless driving behavior. The USDOT has pledged to fund investments in speed enforcement and to build safer roads. We can do the same here in Asbury Park.

We can do things right now to stop traffic violence in Asbury Park.

Crashes have been occurring with greater frequency in Asbury Park.

Reducing car dependency with alternative transit options (Via in Jersey City is an idea!) will reduce traffic. Traffic calming measures are not always laborious or expensive, and there is already grant funding appropriated for projects which have not yet begun. AP administration has been advised by APCSC of NJDOT grants, and Federal grant programs: SS4A and RAISE grants.

There is funding available, but it takes prioritizing, commitment, and political will to get things done.

We are advocates of safe streets for the most vulnerable road users in Asbury Park – that’s literally anyone not inside a car. Cars still rule here, and there’s a political fear of alienating and angering drivers. We get it. Drivers vote, and votes matter. But what matters more is the human health crisis of traffic violence. We believe that a message promoting a safe and healthy city will win votes.

APCSC supports bold candidates who will step up to make permanent change on our streets. Stay tuned.

Onward~

Polli Schildge Editor APCSC

April 6, 2022April 6, 2022

Speeding Is A Problem In Asbury Park

No surprise there.

Our streets are especially dangerous for people walking or rolling. There’s an ongoing need to build more and better protected biking and walking infrastructure. We need to enable people to get around safely without dependency on cars, whether walking, riding a bike, riding a scooter, skateboard, or using a wheelchair.

What can be done right NOw?

We must design physical elements on our streets to deter speeding.

Bicyclists, scooter riders, skateboarders, elderly, children and their families are the most vulnerable road users. Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition is committed to helping to make our streets safe for everyone to get around safely – if streets are safe for an 8-year-old or an 80-year-old, they are safe for all.

Asbury Park is the recipient of a generous grant of 500,000 from Safe Routes To School for a project utilizing roundabouts as a traffic calming method to prevent speeding.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) safety and access improvements will provide traffic calming measures on Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue between Prospect Avenue and Comstock Street. The project Design and Construction cost is funded by federal funds administered through NJDOT Local Aid Transportation Alternatives (TA) Program and Design Assistance.

The SRTS funds are intended to install mini-roundabouts in key locations where speeding has been a serious problem.

How effective are mini roundabouts?

The city of Carmel, Indiana has more than 100 roundabouts and is installing more. Studies have consistently found roundabouts to be safer than conventional stop signs or signal systems. In fact, replacing signals with roundabouts has been shown to decrease an intersection’s number of traffic fatalities by 90 percent (PDF).

Mini-roundabouts throughout the US are showing promising results as safety-conscious, cost-effective solutions, replacing less efficient all-way and stop-controlled intersections.
Mini-roundabouts are used where the existing speed limit is 25 mph or less and in urban, suburban and smaller municipal environments.

Bottom line:

“Traffic calming is a full range of methods to slow cars, but not necessarily ban them, as they move through commercial and residential neighborhoods. The benefit for pedestrians and bicyclists is that cars now drive at speeds that are safer and more compatible to walking and bicycling. There is, in fact, a kind of equilibrium among all of the uses of a street, so no one mode can dominate at the expense of another.”

For a deeper dive, take a look at the USDOT Federal Highway Administration Lesson In Traffic Calming:

FHWA COURSE ON BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN TRANSPORTATION describes objectives, considerations, and various methods to calm traffic, such as circles and roundabouts, medians, bumps, speed humps. raised crosswalks. raised intersections, bump outs, curb extensions, and more. All of these devices are intended to #slowthecars, and are carefully determined to be applied in areas in which they will be most effective.

How you can help:

Subscribe to this website to stay informed.
Share your email to APCSC mailing list/Google Group: apcpompletestreets@gmail.com.
Call and email Mayor and City Council to offer your support for safe streets for the most vulnerable, and using traffic calming methods, especially mini-roundabouts.
Talk to neighbors and friends.
As always we welcome your constructive comments!

February 28, 2022

NEWS! Asbury Park Bikeway Grant

NEWS!

THE CITY OF ASBURY PARK AWARDED $1,135,000 from NJ Department of Transportation through Bikeway Grant and Safe Streets to Transit Grant Programs.

The City will begin the Asbury Avenue Bikeway project and upgrade the intersection at Bangs and Prospect Avenues.

The Asbury Avenue Bikeway project will include upgrading the traffic signal at Asbury and Grand Avenues and bike infrastructure improvements to benefit cyclists and pedestrians.

Safe Streets to Transit projects facilitate the implementation of projects and activities that will improve pedestrian conditions within a 1-mile radius of a transit facility or station.

The grant funded by this program will be used to install a new traffic signal at Bangs and Prospect Avenues as well as to make necessary safety upgrades to the intersection.

“We’re thrilled to be awarded these NJDOT grants and look forward making much-needed improvements to Asbury Avenue and the Bangs Avenue/Prospect Avenue intersection,” said Mayor John Moor, “Funding like this allows us improve overall safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in Asbury Park without burdening local taxpayers.”

New Jersey awards $8.6M grants for Safe Streets to Transit Program

New Jersey awards $5.9M in Bikeway Grants

Friends, share your emails! Please email apcompletestreets@gmail.com for the new Google Group!

May 12, 2021

NJDOT Commemorates Asbury Park’s Main Street Road Diet

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition was created in 2015 when we learned about the proposed NJDOT reconfiguration on RT 71, Asbury Park’s Main Street. After some initial hesitancy, and much lobbying on the part of APCSC, Mayor Moor and City Council agreed to move forward with the project, which is now nearly completed. Almost all agree now, including many original naysayers, that this was a great step in enabling Asbury Park residents and visitors to walk, ride bikes, and drive more safely on Main Street, and to improve the health and economic stability of the community.

Among many documents and evidence of the effectiveness of this type of traffic calming measure was an educational piece, A Better AP Main St FINAL ROAD DIET PAPER, created by APCSC founding member Doug McQueen. It was helpful in communicating the goal of a road diet to community members and city leaders.

As an advocate for safe, equitable access for everyone in Asbury Park, I personally appreciate the ability to engage with city leaders, and NJ legislators who want the best for our city, and NJ. It was a pleasure to see and speak with Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, NJDOT Commissioner Gutierrez-Scaccetti, Senator Vin Gopal, NJ Representatives Eric Houghtaling, and Joann Downey.

This is a great example of how our legislators truly get what it means to embrace complete streets philosophy. Making streets safe for everyone, especially the most vulnerable. Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition worked with AP city council and DOT to move forward to implement the Rt 71 road diet, improving the way traffic flows, and creating a safer, better, healthier environment for people and businesses on Main Street, Asbury Park. This is how we work together.

Watch:

Video of remarks by Mayor Moor, Lieutenant Gov. Sheila Oliver, Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, NJDOT Commissioner, and Representatives Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey.

October 3, 2020October 3, 2020

What is a Slow Street? NJDOT Doesn’t Get It.

NJDOT ignores need for social distancing, favoring 1950’s era policy

NJDOT issued a directive to shut down NJ Slow Streets based on a 1955 Attorney General’s decision.

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition has joined with NJ Bike & Walk Coalition and The Bicycle Coalition Of Greater Philadelphia, and advocates in other communities to sign a letter to tell Governor Murphy:

Allow Slow Streets for Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety.

Asbury Park rolled out our Slow Streets plan quickly in an effort to enable people to walk, ride bikes, and move about in the city safely during the pandemic. It was a fast, but not so well-communicated effort. An explanation of Slow Streets was included at the end of the ReOPEN Asbury Park pilot for community and business recovery in June. It was disbanded in July.

Some businesses and residents didn’t understand it, and some were not fully invested in the idea. People driving into the city to do business were confused.

Plastic road barriers were utilized, and no actual signage to explain their meaning.

Slow Streets and Open Streets are intended to be welcoming to people, improve business, (not just during a pandemic but ALWAYS), and enable people to utilize city streets safely, without danger from motor vehicles. In almost every scenario all over the world Slow Streets improve cities, by making livable streets, and improve businesses by creating walkable neighborhoods. It didn’t quite happen that way in AP, so our Slow Streets were put on hold.

But NOW, even if AP were to re-evaluate and desire to reinstate our Slow Streets initiative, there is an effort on the part of NJDOT to shut down ALL Slow Streets in NJ based upon a 1955 AG formal opinion. Read on…

Sign the letter!

During the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey residents are increasingly accessing the streets as a means to safely get out of the house and exercise to maintain their physical and mental health. In urban neighborhoods bicycling and walking have been seen as viable alternatives to short transit trips.

But our roads are not safe for vulnerable road users — this year, while overall traffic fatalities are down slightly in New Jersey, bicycle and pedestrian fatalities are up and now represent 40% of all traffic deaths. In our urban areas sidewalks are too crowded for safe social distancing.

That’s why we are calling upon the Governor issue an executive order to allow communities to designate slow streets. Slow streets are designated to alert motorists that they are sharing the road space with cyclists, pedestrians, and children.

Read and sign the letter to NJ Governor Murphy.

If Governor Murphy responds and DOT reverses this decision, Hopefully AP will reinstate the Slow Streets program with community input and creative communication.

Examples of welcoming Slow Streets signage:

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019

NJDOT Has The Money – It’s Time To Use It To Save Lives

NJDOT has money available for walking and biking projects, but small towns and municipalities find it very difficult to access the funds. NJDOT claims that there are not many projects in the pipeline — NOT TRUE.

“New Jersey has the second-highest amount of uncommitted federal transportation dollars in the nation, and it consistently ranks among the worst when it comes to spending a specific type of transportation funds — Transportation Alternatives, which is intended to fund trails, walking, and biking projects. ”

As of last week in NJ, at least 165 people have been killed in 2019 while walking or bicycling. In 2018, New Jersey State Police reported that bicyclists and pedestrians comprised 34% of the state’s crash fatalities.

NJDOT has a responsibility to make the funds available for biking and walking projects in cities like Asbury Park.

Dozens are killed each year walking and biking in N.J. We have the cash to make roads safer. | Opinion

By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist

Sonia Szczesna and Liz Sewell

As of Dec. 9, 2019, at least 165 people have been killed this year while walking or bicycling on New Jersey’s roads. Meanwhile, New Jersey has millions in federal transportation funds it can spend, Sonia Szczesna and Liz Sewell say.

New Jersey has the second-highest amount of uncommitted federal transportation dollars in the nation, and it consistently ranks among the worst when it comes to spending a specific type of transportation funds — Transportation Alternatives, which is intended to fund trails, walking, and biking projects.

At the same time New Jersey has a backlog of transportation dollars to spend, it has an enormous bicycle and pedestrian safety problem. As of Dec. 9, 2019, at least 165 people have been killed this year while walking or bicycling on New Jersey’s roads. In 2018, New Jersey State Police reported that bicyclists and pedestrians comprised 34% of the state’s crash fatalities — the second deadliest year for walkers and bikers on record. The deadliest year was in 2017.