Pedestrians crossing Broad Street Monday. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Would you support “reallocating parking or driving space” to install safety improvements?
Those are a few of the questions the Borough of Red Bank is asking residents in a new survey as part of a plan to improve cycling and pedestrian safety in town.
A cyclist waits for the walk sign at the hair-raising intersection of Harding Avenue and Broad Street Monday. (Photo by Brian Donohue)
A link to the survey is here.
Director of Community Development Shawna Ebanks said the survey is part of an application process for a grant from the federal Safe Streets for All program. The program allocates $5 billion to communities nationwide as part of the massive 2021 infrastructure bill.
“The Borough is looking for your input on transportation safety in our community as part of our Safe Streets for All (SS4A) planning process,” Ebanks wrote in an email. “Fill out the brief survey to help us better understand the current state of safety and decide the top priorities for future improvements locally.
We need your help in making our roads safe for everyone.”
In January, the Borough Council approved a resolution awarding a contract with consultants Alta Planning Design to develop a comprehensive “Vision Zero” plan to improve transportation safety.
An RFP issued in October for the maximum $150,000 contract states “the Borough has completed studies to examine the needs in this area and has begun implementing projects to increase safety; however, a more comprehensive plan that considers the entire transportation layout is needed. “
The RFP calls for the company to do a “comprehensive crash analysis”, collect community feedback and data collection and “develop a prioritized list of safety projects and develop an overall Vision Zero Plan for the borough.”
The Vision Zero effort comes amid a boom in the number of Red Bank kids riding their bikes to school, as reported by redbankgreen last year.
While their chosen mode of transportation may have kept them appearing youthful, many local cyclists have nonetheless grown old waiting for widespread cycling safety improvements to come to fruition.
The latest push by the borough comes 15 years after a 106-page report paid for by a state grant that called for bike lanes and a list of other improvements to improve cycling safety in town as part of the volunteer effort called Safe Routes.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
