Schematics showed the placement of traffic-calming bump-outs and other proposed features along the roadway. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
More than four years after landing a $1 million federal grant for the work, Red Bank’s government unveiled concept plans for a streetscape makeover of Shrewsbury Avenue Monday night.
The project, expected to be completed in 2026, calls for the installation of traffic-calming bump-outs and flashing signals to make crossing the notoriously challenging stretch of roadway safer for pedestrians.
A car stopped in traffic on Shrewsbury Avenue blocked the crosswalk at Locust Avenue in 2019. Below, neighbors examining the plans Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
At a two-hour walk-through display held at the Senior Center on Shrewsbury Avenue, attendees reviewed concept plans created by Greenman-Pedersen Inc. (GPI), a Bridgewater-based engineering firm hired by the borough.
Residents could ask questions and submit comments, an invitation that remains open via the borough website. Details are available in English and Spanish here.
The mile-long project covers nearly the full stretch of the Monmouth County road within Red Bank, from just south of the North Jersey Coast Line Crossing at West Street to Newman Springs Road.
It calls for new sidewalk bump-outs (or “bulb-outs”) at most intersections to make crosswalks shorter for pedestrians while slowing traffic that often exceeds the 30-mph limit.
Plans also call for three pedestrian-activate flashing beacons; curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; new trees, lighting, signage, trash containers and benches; and rain gardens at two locations.
Interim borough Manager Darren McConnell told redbankgreen that the locations of the flashing beacons “is up for discussion.”
“In general, pedestrian crossing along Shrewsbury Avenue is difficult,” Jason Besz, project manager with GPI, told redbankgreen. In part, he said, that’s because of “the length of the crossing; it’s quite a distance from one curbline to the other.”
The bump-outs will narrow that gap to about 24 feet in most places, according to the plans.
“Also, it’s difficult for pedestrians because of the speed that vehicles traverse Shrewsbury Avenue,” Besz said. “We believe that the bulb-outs will shorten pedestrian crossing distances, and will create an esthetic that will lead to a degree of traffic calming. [Drivers] will feel a little more constrained coming down the roadway, and therefore, slow down.”
The plans also are expected to eliminate about 17 parking spots along the roadway, but are necessary both to reduce crosswalk widths and address problems of vehicles parking too close to corners, “creating problems with sight distances” for motorists turning on to Shrewsbury from side streets, said Besz.
Besz said the concept plan is part of the “preliminary design stage,” an outgrowth of the rough concepts submitted with the borough’s application for the Transportation Alternatives Program grant from the Federal Highway Administration. Final engineering design is expected to take up much of 2024, he said.
Construction, targeted to start in early 2025, also is expected to take most of a year, beginning with one side of the roadway. Once that side is completed, the opposite side will be addressed. Both lanes will remain open, “through use of flaggers, if necessary,” and “access will be provided to properties at all times,” according to one of the displays.
McConnell said cost estimates for the project have not yet been developed, but the borough is “trying to stay within the $1 million” provided under the grant. The federal agency also has budgeted $476,000 for engineering costs, including the concept work shown Monday night, he said.
All plans must be reviewed and approved by Monmouth County, which controls the road, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation, which is administrator of the grant, said Besz.
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