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The special meeting the Asbury Park City Council scheduled for Sept. 25 with representatives of the New Jersey Department of Transportation [NJDOT] to discuss the state’s proposed redesign of Main Street with members of the public has been postponed.

“The [NJ]DOT is not prepared to make a public presentation,” said Donald Sammet, city planning and redevelopment director.

The state will not be prepared to meet with the public and answer questions for at least another year, he said.

Instead, the state will be looking for the city council to vote on a resolution at their next meeting which would authorize the NJDOT to continue with the study of the proposed reconfiguration, he said.

“It’s part of their policy calls,” said Sammet, in reference as to why the state would need further permission from the city to continue with the study.

Commonly referred to as the “road diet,” the state-proposed redesign would reconfigure Rt. 71, or Main Street, from the current four lane roadway into two through traffic lanes with a turning lane in the center. Two bike lanes will be added between the through lanes and parking lanes on both sides.

The affected roadway includes the entire length of Main Street in Asbury as well as Deal Lake Drive from Main Street to Grand Avenue.

At the special meeting, members of the NJDOT were to make a presentation on the proposed redesign, after which the floor would be opened to the public to ask questions and address concerns, Sammet previously told the Sun.

Expectations of a large turnout from the public were the prime factor in the city council’s decision to schedule the special meeting.

Given the number of items that are typically on the city council’s meeting agenda it was determined it would be best to set the matter aside for a special meeting, City Attorney Frederick Raffetto previously told the Sun.

Whether or not city officials elect to allow the state to reconfigure the traffic pattern, the state is still going to move forward with repaving the roadway, Sammet said.

Benefits of the road reconfiguration include a reduction of pedestrian accidents, improved safety for bicyclists, reduction of rear-end and side-swipe crashes and a higher compliance to the speed limit, which decreases the severity of crashes when they do occur, according to the NJDOT website.

Possible issues of the redesign council members have brought up at previous council meetings include how the redesign would affect loading zones for businesses that take deliveries during the day, school bus stops and traffic patterns at the intersection of Lake Avenue, Springwood Avenue and Main Street.

The NJDOT has planned to implement the road diet from Neptune all the way into Allenhurst.

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