By Allison Perrine
RED BANK – Get ready to experience Red Bank in a very new way.
Now that Gov. Phil Murphy has given the green light for outdoor dining to resume June 15, the borough will prepare Broad and Monmouth streets as pedestrian plazas, closing the roadways to vehicular traffic certain days of the week.
“We can’t wait. We want Red Bank to be ready the second we get the call,” said councilwoman Kate Triggiano.
News of the plan came at a council meeting May 27, days before Murphy’s announcement to move forward with outdoor dining. An ad hoc Downtown Red Bank Reopens Committee was formed at the end of May with a goal of finding a space for restaurants and businesses to operate appropriately though the pandemic to relieve some of the economic stresses that have burdened the downtown area.
“Pedestrian plazas would allow for open air dining, more space for our retailers and our restaurants to operate under restrictions and a new way to experience our downtown,” said Triggiano, an ad hoc team member. “We want to be prepared as a downtown and a town to move as quickly as possible when our businesses are able to reopen.”
As part of the plan, Broad Street from Front Street to Wallace Street, will be open for pedestrians only from Thursday evenings through Saturday evenings. Monmouth Street, from Broad Street to Maple Avenue, will be open for pedestrians only on Sundays.
And this is the first phase of reopening for Red Bank, Triggiano said. Other solutions and areas of the town will be addressed going forward to help its businesses.
Mayor Pasquale Menna, ad hoc committee members, public works personnel, office of emergency management, fire, and others will be involved in the process. Because the council did not know when exactly the governor would reopen certain businesses, he said the whole idea behind the plan “was to get at least the parameters moving forward on an anticipated opening.”
The street closures were unanimously approved by the council at the May 27 meeting.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Victor Kuo, the owner of Temple Gourmet Chinese, asked why committee members decided to close Broad Street from Front Street to Wallace Street and not extend the closure further. Temple is located on Broad Street near Linden Place, outside of the street closure area.
According to the mayor, the length of the closure was the consensus of all the stakeholders involved with public safety consideration.
“Nothing is going to be carved in stone,” said Menna. “The idea is to roll it out and let’s see how it plays out. And then if we have to tweak it, we will.”
Stage Two Openings
Murphy announced June 1 that restaurants could reopen for outdoor dining as of June 15, along with nonessential in-person retail shopping. The steps come as the state enters into Stage Two of reopening the economy.
One week later, effective June 22, salons and barber shops will be able to reopen. Gyms and health clubs have not yet been given the green light, but they will be handled in the period to follow, Murphy said. However, he urged that residents still adhere to social distancing guidelines.
“Entering Stage Two does not mean, just as it didn’t when we went into stage one, that we flick a light switch. This will continue to be a phased in restart based upon a careful analysis of inherent risks and the ability to safeguard public health,” said Murphy June 1 in a press conference. “The easier it is to have strong protocols in place or to ensure reduced densities of customers, the sooner that business can reopen.”
The article originally appeared in the June 4 – 10, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
