What Is Asbury Park Waiting For? Advocating for Quick Build. And what the heck is a “sneckdown”?

Hello friends of Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition,

Hoping that you’ve all been safe and healthy during these winter months.

In a communication today with The City Of Asbury Park administration we discussed the removal of bollards during the recent mini, almost non-snow storm, and the delay of DPW putting them back because of the threat of another (zero) snow event. Instead of being taken away with the first forecast of snow and stored for the entire winter (snow or not) as in previous years, they were moved to the side of the roads, But it’s taken time to get them back in place where they do a critical service making streets safer for people walking and rolling. Essentially putting peoples’ safety at risk while protecting plows and bollards.

City officials too often neglect to improve road infrastructure, using snow plowing as the excuse that mini-roundabouts, curb extensions, (aka “bulb outs), speed bumps, pedestrian islands will impede plows.

First, safety road improvements can easily be designed not to interfere with plowing.

Second, the snow in our area is negligible, but even in cities where there is snowfall, it can be beneficial to safety with the snow itself creating a road narrowing effect, called a “sneckdown”,

The “portmanteau mashes up “snow” and “neckdown,” an engineering term for a sidewalk extension or street island designed to damper drivers.”

This is what happened in Asbury Park when one bollard was not removed during a snowfall. It’s a snowy mini-roundabout, creating a road-narrowing, traffic calming effect.

In addition to being a snowy safety measure, DPW wouldn’t have to spend time picking bollards up and putting them back.

Recently across the US there have been advocate and administrative meetings, and articles published about how to quickly implement measures to make our streets safer.

On Jan. 25th I attended a great meeting with the NJ Bike & Walk Coalition SAFE Network “Streets Are For Everyone”.

The topic of the SAFE Network meeting was Quick Build Demonstration Projects.

Advocates from several municipalities shared projects they’ve completed, most with with help from technical assistance grants.

This Free Complete Streets Technical Assistance grant expires Feb. 2nd. We do not know at this time whether Asbury Park has submitted an application.

Crashes occur regularly in the city, especially during the tourist season. I’ve seen the aftermath on multiple occasions, and I’ll be some of you readers have too.

We don’t know current crash data in Asbury Park, or numbers of injuries or deaths.

We do know that there’s a terrible speeding problem in Asbury Park.

Some residents have protested traffic calming measures like speed bumps and mini traffic circles with the mistaken belief that they’ll lose street parking. So far no other prescribed solutions have been installed, and we don’t know of projects slated for implementation. (Not for lack of inquiring, so we’ll let you know when we find out.)

We know that “Quick Build” tactical urbanism projects work to make streets safer.

Take a look at Red Bank’s report on their project.

Pedestrian Safety Demonstration Project Borough of Red Bank, Monmouth County, NJ

The NJBWC meeting was right in line with an opinion piece in the Washington Post yesterday, by Janette Sadik-Khan, former Transportation Director on NYC, and Kate D. Levin.

Gift article: Washington Post: Want safer streets? Paint them.

Opinion Want safer streets? Paint them. By Janette Sadik-Khan and Kate D. Levin January 29, 2024 at 6:30 a.m. EST

Lastly, a piece was published today in Strong Towns:

No One Should Be the Second Person To Die on a Dangerous Street

As I noted above, we don’t know whether there have been recent injuries or deaths on Asbury Park streets.

Many streets are poorly lit, like intersections on Memorial Drive and other streets are wide and invite speeding.

Do any of the city leaders walk or ride a bike throughout the city day or night, and have a true sense of this reality that many people face every day?

This dark intersection looks exactly like many in Asbury Park.

Here’s a great example taken from the Strong Towns article showing before and after, how a simple paint project can make an intersection safer.

We do have the power to make our streets safer, and in doing so save the lives of people in our communities.

It had been true for many years, according to the previous traffic engineering guide, that cities had to adhere to specific standards in street design to allow for the movement of vehicles over the safety of people, including requiring a certain number of fatalities in order for infrastructure to be built.

This guide, the Manual Of Uniform Traffic Control Devices has been updated, allowing municipalities much more leeway in making changes for safety.

There is grant money available to do Quick Build projects, and the projects themselves are not costly – usually only paint, then easy next steps as described in the featured articles.

What is Asbury Park Waiting for?

Onward.

Polli Schildge, Editor

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020

This Is Our Future. The Birth Of A Healthy, Resilient City

Asbury Park is looking at a great opportunity to initiate progressive, and permanent change to prioritize people walking and people riding bikes, to offer alternative transportation, and to restrict the use of cars. We owe it to ourselves. This is our future, so let’s plan for it.

Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been countless articles about cities creating more space for people to protect the environment and to save lives. I’ve had so many in the queue I can barely keep up.

Read more here in this deep dive into what’s happening all over the world, followed by a great Twitter thread for more illumination.

Are we witnessing the death of the car?

“Cities around the world are seeing dwindling numbers of fossil-fuel powered cars on their streets, and many are planning to keep it that way after

lockdowns ease.”

To accommodate streets now busier with bikes, as well as facilitate social distancing, some places have installed temporary cycle lanes or closed streets to cars. Pop-up bike lanes have appeared in cities including Berlin, Budapest, Mexico City, New York, Dublin and Bogotá. Governments from New Zealand to Scotland have made funding available for temporary cycle lanes and walkways amid the pandemic. In Brussels, the entire city core will become a priority zone for cyclists and pedestrians from early May for the forseeable future. Meanwhile, temporary street closures to cars have taken place in Brighton, Bogotá, Cologne, Vancouver and Sydney as well as multiple US cities including Boston, Denver and Oakland. In England, restrictions have been lifted to enable and encourage councils to more quickly close streets to cars.

But these, of course, are temporary measures. What will happen when lockdowns are lifted?

Cities that seize this moment to make it easier for people to walk, bike and take public transport will prosper after this pandemic and not simply recover from it – Janette Sadik-Khan

This Twitter thread from @modacity, begins with a post from PhD candidate Brett Petzer.

“Cities across the globe are moving quickly and ambitiously to reclaim hundreds of kilometres of streets from the car monopoly and reallocate these public commons to people walking, cycling and rolling. It‘s like seeing decades of activism happen in a month.”

“The Great Reclamation: I am losing track of the number of cities that have moved suddenly and ambitiously to reclaim hundreds of kilometres of streets from the car monopoly and reallocate these public commons for people walking, cycling and using wheelchairs.”

@modacity began with a family’s move in 2010, and was the impetus to “educate people and cities about the inherent benefits of moving away from a car-centric transportation model, to a more inclusive one that is accessible to people of all ages, abilities, and economic means.”

“Using writing, photography, film, and the power of social media, we used this revelation to communicate a more human image of multi-modal transportation.”

“It is like watching decades of activism happen in a month. Like watching generations of ‘cycling and walking plans’ or ‘sustainable mobility plans’, which have always been aspirations, turn into facts (literally) overnight.

It has taken a crisis that is new, sudden, total and full of unknowns to break, albeit briefly, the car monopoly on urban space which has been in place for 70-100 years in the rich West…”

Read the tweet here.

November 5, 2019November 4, 2019

IT’S TIME TO DESIGN FOR SAFETY, NOT SPEED

We know how to save the lives of people walking and biking…but will we #slowthecars?

Policy makers might not understand how to design safe roads, but more problematic, they are influenced by the automotive industry, so it behooves them to prioritize motor vehicles over other road users – the most vulnerable are not driving or buying cars.

Traffic engineers by definition prioritize the level of service (LOS) of automobiles moving in traffic. In the world of traffic engineering, speed limits are determined by allowing drivers to self-govern, thereby setting speeds according to the 85th Percentile Speed – the speed at or below which 85 percent of vehicles travel.

The numbers of deaths increases drastically with every 10mph. (See graphs/images in the article.) APCSC would like to see Asbury Park determine speed based upon safety. Most drivers know that they can exceed speed limits by 10mph, so how about #20isplenty?

SAFETY OVER SPEED WEEK: THERE’S ONE THING THAT ALMOST EVERY FATAL CAR CRASH HAS IN COMMON

It’s “safety over speed” week here at T4America, and we are spending the week unpacking our second of three principles for transportation investment. Read more about those principles and if you’re new to T4America, you can sign up for email here. Follow along on @T4America this week and check back here on the blog for more related content all week long.

Let’s start with a number: 49,340.

That’s how many people were struck and killed by cars while walking on streets all across the United States between 2008 and 2017. Almost 50,000 preventable deaths.

And yet, by and large, we call these crashes “accidents”. We still believe that these 50,000 deaths, and the deaths of almost 32,000 people every year killed inside of vehicles, are either just the cost of doing business for our transportation system, or were the product of bad behavior: distracted drivers, fatigued drivers, drunk drivers, or drivers not wearing seat belts.

There’s no doubt that distracted driving increases crash risk and should be punished. But distracted driving can’t explain all of these deaths. There’s one thing that almost every crash has in common, though: high vehicle speed.

When crashes occur at higher speeds, they are more likely to be fatal, especially when they involve a person biking or walking.

Read all about it:

http://t4america.org/2019/11/04/safety-over-speed-week-theres-one-thing-that-almost-every-fatal-car-crash-has-in-common/#easy-footnote-bottom-1-28661

October 14, 2019October 13, 2019

SUVs Are Killing Us

The auto industry is scared. Manufacturers are ceasing production of small and mid-sized cars because people aren’t buying them. The reasons are varied, but many consumers cite climate and environmental concerns, traffic congestion, and parking, plus more options in mass transit and other modes of mobility. This is true in the US, as well as Germany, and the UK. The truth is the big push in selling big vehicles is all about money. The industry feels the pinch of lower “product profitability” from cars, and the margins are much higher for SUVs, crossovers and trucks. So the spin in advertising is that larger vehicles are preferable for safety reasons (oh yeah, and they’re so tough, and cool, and rugged – you get the picture)… but it’s a LIE.

Drivers in families with children have been brainwashed into the belief that they’re safer if they’re in a bigger vehicle, but “studies show they lull drivers into a false sense of security, encouraging them to take greater risks. Their height makes them twice as likely to roll in crashes and twice as likely to kill pedestrians…”

The question as to whether to ban large vehicles from cities is being batted about on social media – the debate is centered on tradespeople who “need” them. That’s another story.

‘A deadly problem’: should we ban SUVs from our cities?

Laura Laker Mon 7 Oct 2019

“SUVs are a paradox: while many people buy them to feel safer, they are statistically less safe than regular cars, both for those inside and those outside the vehicle. A person is 11% more likely to die in a crash inside an SUV than a regular saloon. Studies show they lull drivers into a false sense of security, encouraging them to take greater risks. Their height makes them twice as likely to roll in crashes and twice as likely to kill pedestrians by inflicting greater upper body and head injuries, as opposed to lower limb injuries people have a greater chance of surviving. Originally modelled from trucks, they are often exempt from the kinds of safety standards applied to passenger vehicles, including bonnet height. In Europe legislation is being brought in to end such “outdated and unjustified” exemptions.

In New York City, two children were killed by SUV drivers mounting the sidewalk in the first two weeks of September. “Are we safe anywhere?” asked sustainable transport news site Streetsblog.”

Learn more…

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/oct/07/a-deadly-problem-should-we-ban-suvs-from-our-cities

January 2, 2019December 30, 2018

What Happens When A City Is Designed For Kids And Families

The benefits of a city designed for kids is that it becomes safe, healthy, and a desirable place to live for everyone. Traffic injuries and fatalities have dropped dramatically, and this city now has lowest crime rate in a decade

What Happens to Kid Culture When You Close the Streets to Cars

JAIME VELAZQUEZ NOV 26, 2018

In the Spanish city Pontevedra, a family-friendly “pedestrianization” policy has helped increase the population of kids, despite the country’s low birth rates.

“By restricting traffic and eliminating physical barriers, the city council has redesigned Pontevedra from the sight line of a child. Doing so, Mosquera believes, helps the city address everybody’s needs, especially the disadvantaged. “Where there are children, there are healthy adults,” Mosquera said. The policy, which has been expanding for almost two decades now, has had many impacts on the community.”

“The crime rate has gone down, too, adding to the feeling that the city is safe for unattended kids. In 2010, Pontevedra reached its lowest crime rate in a decade with 34 offenses per 1,000 citizens, and last year it reached a new low of 27.”

Safe Walking and Biking At Every Age And Every Ability

We all know that physical activity is necessary for health. But what about when physical activity is hampered by infrastructure that prevents people from getting around due to a disability, age, or injury? Cities are finding great ways to make it possible for everyone to get around for daily activities. “The Physical Activity Community Strategies and Resources website has ideas about building environments that make activity possible when it comes to accessing schools, stores, and public transportation. The goal is to make it easier for people on bicycles, in wheelchairs, or walking to safely and seamlessly get to where they need to go, all while improving their health.”

MOBILITY FOR ALL

December 11, 2018 by Micah Ling

Mobility as a way of life

According to the CDC’s Community Strategies, to increase and maintain necessary physical activity, the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends “environmental approaches that combine one or more interventions to improve pedestrian or bicycle transportation systems (active-friendly routes) with one or more land use and community design interventions (everyday destinations).” In other words, complete networks that allow people to be active and safely go about their daily lives can improve the health of most Americans. We already have significant data that shows the annual individual medical cost of inactivity ($622) is more than 2 ½ times the annual cost per user of bike and pedestrian trails ($235). There are endless benefits to getting physical activity via transportation. When it comes to new infrastructure, wider spaces and attention to detail allow for more inclusive facilities, and overall, healthier communities.

Read about it:

https://peopleforbikes.org/placesforbikes/mobility-for-all/