City officials say no to additional bump-outs
Intersections near Vive site remain only locations with extended curb line
Members of the Asbury Park City Council voted Wednesday against installation of bump-out curbing along several Kingsley Street intersections throughout the waterfront.
A bump-out is the extension of the curb at the corners of a four-way intersection, which narrow the road and effectively eliminate the shoulder. Bump-outs shorten the time a pedestrian is exposed to traffic, and are used as a “traffic calming” measure to further ensure pedestrian safety.
Master waterfront redeveloper iStar Financial sought a waiver of guidelines to the city’s waterfront redevelopment plan that would have allowed them to extend the curbs at intersections that run along Kingsley Street.
The vote was 3-1. Deputy Mayor Sue Henderson, Councilwoman Amy Quinn and Councilman John Moor voted no. Councilman John Loffredo voted yes. Mayor Myra Campbell abstained from the vote, citing her stance not to vote on last minute agenda item additions.
“I’m for the bumpouts, I think they are great,” Loffredo said.
Deputy Mayor Sue Henderson prefers the current wide open street design, she has said at previous council meetings.
City Manager John “Jack” Kelly said he had spoken to several city officials to gauge their opinion on the extensions.
City Engineer Joe Cunha, who also heads up the city’s public works department, told Kelly that from an engineering perspective the bump-outs make for safer streets, but from a public works perspective, they will make it more difficult to maintain streets and could disrupt plowing efforts in heavy snow conditions, Kelly said.
Fire officials are “nervous” about navigating large pieces of equipment along what would be tighter street corners, he said, but the city’s parking committee agreed there would be aesthetic benefits to the street corners, said Kelly, who made an attempt to bring iStar plannner Kennan Hughes up to speak about the extensions but was stopped short of his effort by the council members as the vote had already taken place.
Two intersections near the Vive site, at the corners of Asbury and First avenues and Kingsley Street, sports the extended curblines [shown above]. It took former members of city council three votes to successfully pass the measure to approve the extensions in October 2012.
[Screengrab at top taken from Google Maps.]
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