As Borough Manager Jim Gant looks on, children from the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County paint stencils as part of the “tactical urbanism” project at the corner of River Street and Leighton Avenue. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
The Red Bank intersection of River Street and Leighton Avenue has been recently transformed into a streetscape that resembles a cross between the set of The Dating Game and an Olympic slalom ski run, with rows of narrow plastic bollards sprouting from asphalt newly bedecked with a painted floral pattern.
Despite the apparent collateral effect we gleaned from a local Facebook group page, the purpose of the makeover is not specifically to enrage local curmudgeons who seem to hate the idea of kids painting flowers on the street.
Rather, the goal, officials say, is to improve pedestrian and traffic safety at a corner where residents have been demanding action on the issue for years. The strategy is called tactical urbanism, defined as “flexible and short-term projects to advance long-term goals related to street safety, public space, and more.”
It wasn’t the borough’s first choice, but it’s experiment officials hope will help, with Borough Manager Jim Gant calling it “a small project with a bigger purpose.”
Children from the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County and Borough of Red Bank officials paint stencils as part of the “tactical urbanism” project at the corner of River Street and Leighton Avenue. (photo by Brian Donohue)
“The goal was to calm traffic by narrowing the visual scope of the intersection — essentially “pinching” it,” Gant wrote in an email to redbankgreen. He said the effect was “the same spirit as the bump-outs that were proposed as part of the state-funded infrastructure grant we unfortunately didn’t receive.” (More on that below)
And so on Friday, children from the Red Bank chapter of the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County were joined by Gant and other Borough officials as they painted pastel patterns between the curb and white lines that had been put down over the previous weeks. Like the new striping, the bollards had been installed over the previous week.
All of it – especially the bollards – force drivers to remain at the center of their lane and slow to a crawl as they turn in either direction.
And that is just the point.
The intersection is one where residents fear a combination of factors, including a nationwide epidemic of reckless driving; drivers using Leighton Avenue as a north-south cut-through alternative to Shrewsbury Avenue; and kids and families walking to the nearby Red Bank Primary School is a recipe for potential tragedy.
Community advocate Freddie Boynton has been appealing to borough officials to put in a four-way stop at the intersection. (see previous redbankgreen coverage below.)
RED BANK: RESIDENTS SEEK (FOUR WAY) STOP TO SPEEDING
But police and borough officials say national traffic safety guidelines do not recommend four-way stop signs as a way to slow traffic because they are ineffective at the task.
As an alternative last year, the borough applied for a grant under the state’s Safe Routes to School program to install curbed bump outs on all four corners along with lighted pedestrian crossing signs. The state rejected the application.
Instead, the borough received a mini-grant of $10,000 to employ tactical urbanism to slow traffic down and raise driver awareness.
“Tactical urbanism is a widely accepted, low-cost approach to traffic calming and public space improvement, and this effort reflects that philosophy — immediate, visible change that improves safety and walkability,” Gant said. “My hope is that residents who live in the immediate neighborhood and the children and families who walk to and from the Primary School each day will feel just a bit more secure, seen, and prioritized as they navigate this corridor.”
Gant has previously stated the borough is also exploring the possibility of adding more speed bumps to Leighton Avenue.
After crossing Leighton Avenue Friday evening, Sunset Avenue resident Varela Reina stopped to take a picture and asked a reporter if he had painted it.
“I think it looks beautiful,” she said before moving on down River Street.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
