There’s progress in the ongoing efforts to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists in the borough, with stepped-up enforcement of traffic laws and collaboration among, local, county and state officials working to make the roads safer.
The borough’s roadways are a network of locally controlled and county roadway, with State Route 35 Heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic, numerous cyclists, busy shopping areas, and a shortage of parking in the commercial areas are just some of the factors that can increase the danger for walkers and bikers.
On September 21, The Two River Times, the organizer of the Crossroads initiative, convened a forum at Red Bank Catholic High School to highlight the issue of street safety. Local officials joined representatives from state and county government, along with concerned citizens to discuss ways to improve conditions on area roads. Since then efforts that began earlier this year have stepped up.
So far this year, there have been 11 pedestrians involved in 10 vehicle crashes, with nine pedestrians injured and one person killed just in Red Bank alone.
If this year’s trend continues, it’s a marked downturn from 2014, when 25 pedestrians were involved in 22 crashes, with 20 injuries. There were no pedestrian deaths in 2014 or the two years prior.
Crashes involving cyclists are also down so far this year, with two crashes to date, compared with six crashes in 2014.
Officials at all levels of government say there is noted improvement.
State Senator Jennifer Beck said she recently met with the State Department of Transportation and the Red Bank Borough Administrator in Borough Hall to discuss the upcoming paving project on State Route 35 (Maple Ave.). The concept development phase will be complete in early December, she said and after the plan will be released to the public and an engineering study will begin.
“At this point, they haven’t given us the specifics, but we should have details in the next few weeks,” she said.
A former borough councilwoman who now represents Red Bank in the state Senate, Beck said the Route 35 corridor, like many other roads in the borough, poses challenges for pedestrians. The road has several areas of high pedestrian traffic, including areas along Riverside Drive near the Atrium senior complex and the intersections with Maple Avenue with Chestnut Street and Reckless Place, where those walking to the NJ Transit train station and Red Bank Catholic High School frequently cross.
“Red Bank is a pedestrian town that people come to enjoy the restaurants and entertainment,” Beck said. “We have to make sure the cars and the pedestrians coexist in a safe way.”
Mayor Pasquale Menna said the state’s paving project would improve the current crossings with Monmouth and White streets, where brick pavers became loose where both streets intersect with Route 35. Monmouth and White Streets run parallel to one another.
Further north on Route 35 in the section known locally as Riverside Avenue, the borough recently formalized an agreement with the state for a crosswalk south of Allen Place. Menna said there has been an “unofficial” crosswalk to the grassy triangle in the center of the intersection of West Front Street. The agreement adopts a formal crosswalk, and the borough will press the state DOT for further enhancements in the area.
Menna said that improved lighting, flashing lights and road striping will protect pedestrians and provide ample warning for drivers who tend to speed around the corner from West Front to Riverside.
He called the agreement with the state “a positive step, but without these extra features the crosswalk will not be safe.”
At the county level, Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone said the collaborative efforts of local, county and state representatives helped the borough to secure placement in the second phase of the Street Smart NJ campaign. Managed by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), Street Smart is a collaborative effort between public, private and nonprofit organizations to encourage motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to obey pedestrian safety laws.
Arnone said he recommended that Red Bank be included in the project, and “really pitched for it” during the selection process. The borough was one of six municipalities statewide chosen for the project.
The borough, along with the other five sites, will undergo pedestrian safety evaluations prior to the campaign’s launch in March. The campaign
public awareness initiatives and law enforcement and is followed by another evaluation to determine the campaign’s success in changing behaviors of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
“Yesterday’s grant is huge for Red Bank,” Arnone said.
The freeholder said the county has implemented “a lot of good safety enhancements” on the county roads that run through the borough, including Newman Springs Road, Front Street, Shrewsbury Avenue, and Broad Street. He said they are working on modifications to the intersection of Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue that will help improve safety, as well as improvements near Hance Ave. and Newman Springs Road.
Red Bank Police Chief Darren McConnell reports a “significant increase” in traffic summonses in the last two months, largely a result of the addition of two part-time special officers dedicated to traffic safety. The chief did not have specific numbers but the Two River Times will report them next week when they are available.
The two part-time officers provide coverage of the borough’s main thoroughfares six days a week, moving around to different “hot spots” in town, like Broad Street, Shrewsbury Avenue and Front Street.
The addition of the officers is a “win-win” for the borough, he said. With a 40-officer department that handles a large call daily volume, there is seldom time for them to dedicate time to proactive traffic safety patrols. The new part-time officers were hired in mid-August and completed their training in September, each working three days a week and receive no health benefits. They’ve written “a good number of tickets” since they’ve been on the job.
Additionally, McConnell said, the department’s new electronic ticketing system reduces the amount of time officers typically take at traffic stops, allowing them to get back on the road more quickly.
McConnell says improving pedestrian safety involves changing attitude and behaviors of drivers, but it’s too early to say whether the uptick in enforcement has had an impact on those behaviors.
“I think it will be six months to a year before we see an improvement,” he said.
A combination of factors contributes to the conflict between drivers and pedestrians in the borough he said.
Red Bank’s main thoroughfares are full of distractions for drivers. “there are a lot of visual distractions, with drivers looking for parking spaces and stores,” he said. “It’s not the easiest town to navigate.”
Locust Avenue resident Ben Forest has been advocating for pedestrian safety since he and his wife, Amy Goldsmith, moved to Red Bank in 1996.
“It’s been a chronic problem in town since I moved here,” he said. Most of the main roads serve as “cut-throughs,” and his street is often used by speeding drivers wanting to avoid traffic tie-ups near the intersection of Shrewsbury Ave. and Newman Springs Road. Recent traffic calming efforts like the “mild speed bumps” on some West Side streets have helped, forcing drivers to slow down on side streets, he said.
“The neighborhood around Shrewsbury Ave. is a walking neighborhood,” Forest said, and “routinely, the crossing areas are not honored by drivers.”
Forest is frequently all over town, and said he’s had many near-misses with cars, as well as cyclists and even a skateboarder.
“Shrewsbury Ave. really needs enforcement. On any given day, one in three drivers don’t stop for pedestrians,” he said. He’s witnessed drivers fail to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Even in well-marked crossings, Forest steps out gingerly and proceeds with caution.
“I’m not going to gamble being in a wheelchair for the rest of my life because a driver is interested in looking at their iPhone,” he said. His own iPhone serves as a flashlight when he walks at night, and he recommends that all pedestrians carry flashlights if they’re navigating the borough streets after dark.
More Crossroads Coverage
- Thank You For Crossroads Forum
- Crossroads Forum Moves Problems Toward Solutions
- Pedestrian Safety Forum Monday
- Cyclist Hit In Sea Bright
- Yes Another Pedestrian Close Call in Red Bank
- Penalties Must Be Stiffer For Leaving Scene and Inattentive Driving
- Bike Paths Are Rolling Forward
- Progress In Pedestrian/Cyclist Safety
- Pedestrian Dies Following Accident
- 78-year-old Pedestrian Struck on Broad Street in Red Bank
- Red Bank Streets Feared by Residents, Motorists
- Broad Street Pedestrian Accident Prompts Intensive Investigation
- Bicycle Lanes at Standstill As Two River Mayors and County Fail to Agree
