---

Plans to make Asbury Park a more walk and bike friendly community advanced this month with the adoption of a master plan by the Asbury Park Planning Board and a proposal for adding e-scooters and e-bikes to the city’s existing bike share fleet.

Transportation Director Michael Manzella said benefits include reducing traffic congestion and parking demand, encouraging the use of public transportation, and reduction of vehicle emissions and air pollution.

E-Scooters & Bikes:

According to a Portland pilot, 74 percent reported they had never used a bike ride share and 42 percent said they’ve never ridden a bicycle.  

Potential micro hub locations, which could be installed by summer, would be added to existing bike share stations at the train station and city hall, downtown and waterfront regions, as well as along Springwood and Asbury avenues and Memorial Drive and Main Street. Virtual stations, marked by signage, could be set across the city.

The City would have the ability to set the hours of operation and speed, which would be capped at 19 miles per hour, and the average trip cost is an estimated $3. And whether it’s a bike, scooter or skateboard, riding on sidewalks is not permitted.

Master Plan:

Funded by a New Jersey Department of Transportation [NJDOT] technical assistance grant awarded in mid-2017, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan was developed with community participation through City outreach efforts, an online map survey, two stakeholder focus groups, and a steering advisory committee comprised of residents, City staff, County and State agencies, local advocacy groups, and the business community.

The plan lays an official framework for future infrastructure improvements that will enhance safety protocols for all who traverse city streets, particularly the most vulnerable – pedestrians and cyclists, Manzella has said.

Peter Kremer and Mikhail Kublanov of New York-based WSP, an engineering and land survey company, helped finalize the plan and bike/walk network, which is consistent with the State’s Complete Street design guidelines.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan will help drive the City’s capital improvement program and open grant funding opportunities, Manzella said. Everything from key destinations and existing conditions to bike share and crash data were taken into account.

Because many of the city roads are wide, walk/bike plan implementations need no more than restriping, curb extension and/or pedestrian islands, Kublanov said. Along the narrower roadways, sharrows or shared bike boulevards would be used for cycling demarcations.

While the Main Street Road Diet project, currently underway, already follows the master plan initiatives, Memorial Drive and Ocean Avenue would see the largest shift in design.

Reverse angle parking, turning the roadway into a north running one-way street, and a two-way bike lane along the easterly route are among the details in the Ocean Avenue implementation. The goal would be to make cycling more convenient, particularly along the beachfront.

The high priority areas included school neighborhoods and addressing speeding concerns along Third and Fourth avenues. Mayor John Moor, who sits on the Planning Board, said he would consider changing the speed limit to 20 mph. And, Manzella said they have applied for a Safe Routes to School grant to help fund traffic calming measures along the two roadways.

In the end, Planning Board members asked for the suggested speed limited, using green initiatives, no right on red, ensuring bus widths can accommodate changes, lighting improvement in dark zones, and an education component is added to the master plan.

[Photos, in part, courtesy of Transportation Director Michael Manzella]

——————————————————————————

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNewsnewspaper.

---