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The county has secured funds to redesign the traffic pattern on a portion of Memorial Drive in Asbury Park.

Commonly referred to as the “road diet,” the plan would reconfigure a portion of Memorial Drive from Munroe Avenue south [shown above] to Route 35 in Neptune from a four lane thoroughfare into two through traffic lanes with a dedicated turning lane in the center. Two bike lanes may be added between the through lanes and parking lanes on both sides, according to Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ectore.

A similar project to redesign the traffic pattern along Main Street in Asbury Park has been proposed by the state, which has jurisdiction over that road which is also known as Route 71.  The affected roadway in that plan includes the entire length of Main Street, as well as Deal Lake Drive from Main Street to Grand Avenue.

For the Memorial Drive project, a total of $422,000 was secured through federal funds administered through the state Department of Transportation [DOT], Ectore said. The affected section of Memorial Drive falls under county jurisdiction. Memorial Drive north of Munroe Avenue, where the city’s right-of-way resumes, is already a two-lane street.

A preliminary concept exists, but the final design has not been established yet, according to Ectore.

“It’s not a sure thing it is going to happen,” he said. “We have a template, but it may not be implementable.”

A preliminary study done by the DOT showed the region as being dangerous to pedestrians, said Monmouth County Freeholder John P. Curley.

“It is the responsibility of the governing body to follow through,” he said. “I’ve ridden that road and it sometimes feels like you are on a freeway, and then you hit a stop sign.”

Within the next three months, a design consultant will be brought on board, Ectore said.

“It is a challenging project because of the number of access points and side roads, as well as the train crossings that exist,” said Ectore.

Before any redesign takes place, the county government will hold a meeting to advise the public and solicit the opinions of the proposed plan from local residents who travel the road on a day-to-day basis.

“We very much want and need that input from residents,” said Ectore.

As for the Main Street road diet, the city government and the DOT are still in negotiations as to whether Main Street will be subjected to the same slimming.

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