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The Asbury Park City Council voted Wednesday on a series of transportation related changes. From the bike share program launch date to new meters and residential parking zones and spots on the horizon, here’s a transportation overview to date.  

Bike Share:

The bike share program will launch August 24 in Asbury Park, Transportation Manager Michael Manzella said. Final agreements were approved Wednesday by the City Council. There will be six stations funded sponsored by iStar, Madison Marquette, The Asbury, and Home Drugs on Main Street. The hubs will be located at the Transportation Center, in the downtown, at the Springwood Center on the west side, and along the waterfront. 

New Meters:

The City Council, Wednesday, also approved the purchase of 12 new meters, to be implemented over the next year. They will be installed along Summerfield, Sunset and Fifth avenues, with a few replacing broken meters, Manzella said.

“These new pay stations will be added in high demand areas to facilitate a better parking turnover rate,” he said.

The IPS Group was chosen following a trial period that vetted its capability against the existing meters and a second company.

“They were selected for the positive response from the surveys that were conducted during the trial period and for their overall user friendliness,” Manzella said.

Eventually, pay stations will be added in the area around the new Monroe complex [iStar’s latest residential complex].

“We wanted to try to get away from any parking overload once the Monroe comes online,” he said. “So we will allow people who live there to get residential permits and we can regulate how much demand is on that area.”

Heck becomes One Way:

The City Council has also introduced the designation of Heck Street between Cookman and Lake Avenues as one-way south, Manzella said. New parking spaces will be added on the west side of the block.

15-minute parking:

Also approved Wednesday were additional 15-minute parking spots on Fourth and Fifth avenues.

“The Parking Committee is constantly listening to people’s requests for 15-minute spaces and if it makes sense, we’ll put them in,” Manzella said.

Bike Racks:

Two bike corrals were place along Lake and Cookman avenue and 10 bike racks were installed throughout the downtown along Bangs Avenue, Bond Street and the west side of Main Street along Fifth,Third and Bangs avenues, Manzella said.

“We wanted to cover some other commercial areas that were not specifically Cookman or Ocean avenues,” Manzella said. Additionally 44 bike racks, paid for by Madison Marquette, were installed along Ocean Avenue, with a concentration in front of Convention Hall and the First Avenue Pavilion.

Parking App:

In just its first month, the new Asbury Park parking app has doubled the utilization of the previous app, Manzella said.

Parking Permits:  

But contrary to that, there has been a decrease in residential permit parking and increase in employee parking permit sales, Manzella said. Soon, residential permit parking will be permitted along Summerfield Avenue for Central Business District residents.

Stop For Pedestrian Signs:

The city has deployed close to 50 stop for pedestrian sides in crosswalks not only throughout the downtown and waterfront but at unsignaled intersections across the city, with a concentration along Bangs, Grand, Kingsley, Ocean, Memorial, and Springwood roadways.  

“We focus them on intersections that over the past five years have had a pedestrian involved crash,” Manzella said. “Over the past five years there were 76 involved pedestrian and bike crashes, which is why the the bike and pedestrian master plan is so important.”

Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan:

The city was awarded a state Department of Transportation Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Assistance grant in April. While no monetary value was placed on the award, it does offer municipalities technical assistance and lends recommendations to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and access within a study area.

“We recognize that bike and pedestrian safety should be of the highest priority of our transportation system,” Manzella [at right] said. “I think we can easily become the walking and bicycling capital at the very least of the Jersey Shore. We have a history of a car-centered culture. Springsteen wrote about ‘semi powered drones,’  ‘suicide machines’ and drag racing on the circuit. Those days are gone, with all due respect to ‘The Boss.’ Our next chapter will be written by traffic-calmed streets, curb extensions, bike facilities, wide sidewalks and slow moving vehicle speeds.”

The steering committee for the Bike/Ped Plan consists of the following: members of the governing body, Complete Streets Coalition, Police Department, Chamber of Commerce, NJ Transit, EZ-Ride, Parking and Transportation Committee, City Manager Michael Capabianco, Planning and Development Director Michele Alonso, and Business Committee member Isaac Jones. Their first meeting will be held on July 19. There will be two public meetings and an online mapping component for public commentary.

Road Construction:

Road work along portions the western portions of Fourth and Sunset avenues, under construction this summer, will include bicycle lanes and facilities, Manzella said.

“Which is good for Sunset especially because there are bicycle lanes on Sunset in Wanamassa over the bridge,” he said. “So we are starting to build a network, slowly but it is happening The bike-ped master plan will really define for us what the network will be. So that way when we do any road work in the future, the map is already there.”

Parking Changes:

While the metered parking time-frame was extended from midnight to 2 a.m., downtown [zone four] residents with parking permits can park anywhere in the downtown between 10 p.m and 10 a.m. for free, Manzella said.

“It was a request of the residents,” Manzella said. “The only places we allowed residents to park during the day is along Lake Avenue and at the municipal complex [and soon to Summerfield Avenue]. It’s a compromise for them because after 10 p.m. we are not getting that many people coming into town, people are starting to leave.”

Back in angled Parking:

The pilot launched in May along Eighth Avenue between Webb and Kingsley, with the hope that it could be utilized along Ocean and Lake avenues in the future. The design not only increases the parking supply but is a much safer maneuver not only for motorists but for cyclists, Manzella said.

“When you are reversing out of a spot that is pulled-in angled, you don’t what’s behind you,” he said. “And, especially at the beach area, now when you pull into space your door opens to the street. If you were to back in, your doors and trunk open to the sidewalk. So if you have little kids and they run out, they will be running toward the sidewalk, not the street.”

Angled parking has also been added along Springwood Avenue near Second Baptist Church, thereby increasing the number of parking stalls.

Handicapped Parking:

In accordance with State laws, handicapped parking spaces are free but if you park in any other metered space, charges are applicable, Manzella said.

Winter Season rate:  

Parking rates were reduced from 50 cents per hour downtown to 25 cents per hour during the week from mid-November through mid-March, Manzella said. The weekend rates remained the same due to demand.

“Our whole goal with parking is to make sure our rates align with what the demand is,” he said. “The intent of charging for parking is to make sure that there is adequate turnover and people can find spaces when they need them.”

On The Table:

Currently Manzella and the Parking and Transportation Committee are vetting bringing a car share program to the city, implementing valet parking in the downtown, commuter permits, and loading zones.

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