One day after redbankgreen reported on the absurd placement of a pedestrian-crossing switch in the middle of a sidewalk on Riverside Avenue in Red Bank, the New Jersey Department of Transportation removed the offending pole Wednesday.
Perhaps there was some logic to installing a pedestrian crossing switch in the middle of a sidewalk, in front of a senior-living complex no less. Because that’s just what the New Jersey Department Transportation did recently on Riverside Avenue in Red Bank as part of its Route 35 makeover project.
What’s Going On Here? Read on. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)
A car, at right, waits for a break in the traffic to turn onto Riverside Avenue from Bodman Place. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Creating a new signal-controlled intersection on a busy stretch of Red Bank highway near the Molly Pitcher Inn is “not feasible,” according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Still, Mayor Pasquale Menna is hoping the DOT will reconsider its oft-stated position if and when there’s a new owner of the former VNA Health Group headquarters building, located on a problematic corner, he told redbankgreen Monday.
A car, at center, waits for a break in the traffic to turn onto Riverside Avenue from Bodman Place. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Hoping to nudge the New Jersey Department of Transportation to act, the Red Bank council adopted a resolution Wednesday night calling for a traffic light on a curving part of a road that Mayor Pasquale Menna says motorists “zoom” down.
Among changes recommended in the draft plan is an expansion of sidewalk coverage in town. Below, Councilman Jon Peters with residents at Monday’s event. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven residents and business got their latest opportunity Monday night to weigh in on host of walking-and-biking infrastructure proposals that could serve as a blueprint for decades to come.
The informational session, which preceded the borough council’s regular semimonthly meeting, was focused on the latest version of a draft document called the Pedestrian and Bike Active Transportation Plan.
A crew from Alert Traffic Lines painted a vivid blue line along Broad Street in downtown Red Bank Friday in support of local law enforcement. The borough-based company, owned by John and Michael Garofalo, paid for the project, which the borough council authorized by resolution in December.
The line was laid between existing double yellow lines in spite of objections voiced elsewhere by the federal Department of Transportation that they’re unsafe because the pavement between the yellow lines is not visible. Councilman and Police Commissioner Mike Whelan told redbankgreen in a statement that he and Chief Darren McConnell disagree with the DOT.
Both a bicyclist and an approaching a jogger appeared shy recently about using a new bike lane on the Little Silver side of Harding Road, seen here from Tower Hill in Red Bank. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
To go along with their shiny new Christmas bikes, cyclists on the Greater Red Bank Green have a new riding course: 2.8 miles of freshly minted bike lanes through Rumson and Fair Haven.
Marked with share-the-road “sharrow” icons, heavy white lines and signage, the lanes call attention to the presence of bikers in an effort to improve safety, says Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli, who advocated for them.
Mayor Ben Lucarelli heads to D.C. this week to sharpen his biker-and-pedestrian safety campaign. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Anyone who’s heard Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli talk about biking safety knows it’s an issue he’s passionate about.
And listening to him talk about the biking-and-walking safety program he’s attending in Washington, D.C., this week, you’d think he was charging down to the capitol on two wheels.
“I would, if I had the time,” Lucarelli told redbankgreen on Tuesday.
More →
The state Department of Transportation is expected to wrap up a months-long roadwork project on Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright this week. The work, which got started in early March, includes resurfacing the roadway between the bridges that connect the borough to Rumson and Highlands, and installing new curbing, borough Administrator Maryann Smeltzer said. Targeted completion date is Wednesday, she said. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
The town intends to install three to five red light cameras. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Drivers in Middletown might start thinking twice before speeding up to catch the yellow light before it goes red.
After receiving proposals from several vendors, the township is considering installing traffic light cameras to nab drivers running red lights.
The cameras could be installed by the end of this year, Administrator Anthony Mercantante said. The question is where?
Marc Dostie, Jim Willis and Jenny Rossano of the Safe Routes initiative.
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
A grassroots group focused on making it safer to walk or ride a bike in Red Bank is getting a little closer to fulfilling its mission.
Safe Routes Red Bank recently secured a non-financial grant of engineering help from the state Department of Transportation to raise awareness and implement new ways to make for safer, easier modes of getting around without a car.
Now that the grant is secured, it’s up to the DOT and borough officials, with some help from the Safe Routes group, to see the program through.
Highlands and Sea Bright officials don’t favor DOT plans to install signs that hang over the Route 36 bridge, shown here in November. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
It wasn’t that long ago that advocates of keeping that troublesome bridge that once linked Sea Bright to Highlands pooh-poohed the idea of constructing a new, larger once because it didn’t fit in with the landscape of the area.
Now, that the new Route 36 bridge is kind of here the Sea Bright-to-Highlands section is complete, with the rest targeted to be done in 2011 officials are echoing that old cry, with a plea to halt signs the state Department of Transportation intends to install, saying that they’re more useful for the Garden State Parkway or New Jersey Turnpike.
Sea Bright officials are finally getting started on an ordinance that will give residents permits to park on the street in the summer months. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Sea Bright officials are ready to respond to a clarion call for parking freedom in town.
Although it’s been on ice for a couple years, Sea Bright Mayor Maria Fernandes says she hopes an ordinance allowing residents to park on the street during the summer months will be introduced at the Borough Council’s next meeting on February 4 . It’s a step that’s been needed for a long time, she said, considering parking is at a premium when the beaches get crashed by out-of-towners.
“A lot of residents feel like they’re prisoners in their own home. This will alleviate it somewhat,” Fernandes said. “The residents have been asking for this for a long time.”