A pedestrian takes his latte in his hands as he crosses Broad Street. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A police officer reported 54 pedestrians have been struck by vehicles Red Bank streets in the past five years.
A mother said she was “scared to death” for her children to walk through town.
A longtime resident described being hospitalized and having her ankle immobilized for three months after being struck by an SUV as she crossed the street at Chestnut Street and Shrewsbury Avenue.
“I was in the cross walk and she didn’t see me at all,” she said. “She was going too fast.”
Video of the June 25 Bicyle and Pedestrian forum.
A month after a public forum at which residents expressed fears and frustrations about bike and pedestrian safety, borough officials are poised to create a new committee and a new law aimed at creating “complete and green” streets that will be safer for humans and the environment.
The borough council will consider the introduction of an ordinance at Thursday’s meeting to both create the committee and add a chapter to borough ordinances pertaining to streets and sidewalks. The proposed ordinance can be read here.
The eight member “Complete and Green Streets Advisory Committee” will study the issue of bike and pedestrian safety and “recommend initiatives and policies designed to enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety.”
The new chapter added to the streets and sidewalks ordinance calls for traffic calming measures and bike and pedestrian infrastructure to be included in all transportation projects going forward. It also calls for permeable pavement and other measures to allow stormwater to seep into the ground instead of local waterways.
Stormwater runoff has been found to be a large source of the contamination of the Navesink River which prompted the state Department of Environmental Protection to close 500 acres of shellfish beds in the river in 2015.
And bike and pedestrian safety concerns are also a longstanding concern for many residents. A major citizen led effort in 2011 to amend the town’s master plan and overhaul road building practices wound up with small changes, but not the sweeping changes many had hoped for.
Whether the new committee and ordinance satisfy those who came out to vent their fears and frustrations at last month’s forum – or ever makes it less scary ride a bike in this town – remains to be seen.
The meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council begins at 6:30 pm Wednesday, 90 Monmouth Street. It can also be attended virtually via zoom here.
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