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What Route 35 Could Look Like if NJDOT Followed its Own Complete Streets Policy

 

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and Governor Christie have maintained, since it was first announced, that the 12.5 mile Route 35 rebuild project in Ocean County would follow NJDOT’s awardwinning Complete Streets policy. Unfortunately, when asked how cyclists would be accommodated into the project, NJDOT has been elusive. While NJDOT recently launched a website dedicated to the project that provides maps and plans and proposed improvements, advocates remain concerned about the lack of Complete Streets designs in the project.

That’s because, according to the site, there are no plans to include dedicated bike lanes anywhere long the 12.5 mile corridor, and some areas currently without sidewalks will remain that way.

Using the new web application Streetmix, Tri-State decided to have a little fun and re-imagine a few of NJDOT’s Route 35 cross-sections into a truly “complete” street.

 

A cross-section of NJDOT's plan for Route 35 Southbound in Toms River, Lavallette and Brick. Note the cyclist riding on the shoulder and the lack of sidewalks. | Image: NJDOT
A cross-section of NJDOT’s plan for Route 35 Southbound in Toms River, Lavallette and Brick. Note the lack of sidewalks and dedicated bicycle facilities. | Image: NJDOT
Route 35 Southbound in Toms River, Lavallette and Brick, reimagined with sidewalks and a buffered bike lane.
Tri-State’s Complete Street design: Route 35 Southbound in Toms River, Lavallette and Brick, reimagined with sidewalks and a buffered bike lane. Vehicle travel lanes were also narrowed slightly.
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NJDOT’s proposal for Route 35 in Mantoloking and Bay Head proposes 10-foot travel lanes and “shoulders,” which are eight feet wide at their narrowest points. | Image: NJDOT
Route 35 in Montoloking and Bay Head, reimagined with buffered bike lanes.
Tri-State’s Complete Street design: Route 35 in Mantoloking and Bay Head, with buffered bike lanes.

Now it’s your turn. We invite you to try other ways to redesign Route 35 incorporating Complete Streets on these and other cross-sections put forth by NJDOT. Let us know what you come up with, and remember to only use the existing right-of-way (don’t make streets any wider than they are currently). Share your designs via Twitter @Tri_State or on Tri-State’s Facebook page .

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Andrew Graceffa
Andrew Graceffa
10 years ago

I’ve thought about this b/c I’m in Bay Head almost every weekend. Here is why the 9.0-12.5 section design that you present may not work: on-street parking. The road through bay head is usually parked 60-75% on weekends. Very prominent sharrows would probably be the best option as there isn’t room to accommodate a lane with on street parking as the travel lane is relatively tight as it is.

Andrew J Besold LCI#2682

I love your proposals Janna but you got the bike lane on the wrong side in the second diagram. Yes I know its currently VERY fashionable to put the bike lane on the left side of one-way streets but the proponents for that design have yet to provide a shred of empirical evidence that such a layout is actually safer. My years of cycling experience including riding in left side bike lanes have left me convinced that they create more confusion and make drivers feel more comfortable passing cyclists at much less than three feet than lanes that are on the conventional ride side.

Sorry for the nit pick but I just don’t want you to give NJDOT too many ideas! :)

Andrew J Besold LCI#2682

Correction: “conventional RIGHT side!”

Cyndi Steiner, LCI #2768

Can’t let this one go, Andy ;-)

For our reading audience: left side bike lanes on one way streets provide at least two advantages: 1)as the driver is sitting in the left side of the car, they can more easily judge distance between their vehicle and a cyclist traveling on the left side, and 2) cyclists are safer in left side bike lanes because there are fewer parked vehicle passenger doors being opened into their path than if the bike lanes were on the right side, where driver side doors are being opened into their path.

Your turn, big guy ;-)

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[…] TSTC Re-Imagines New Jersey’s Route 35 Makeover With a Complete Streets Approach […]

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[…] What Route 35 Could Look Like if NJDOT Followed its Own Complete Streets Policy Mobilizing the Region (NY) – August 9, 2013 The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and Governor Christie have maintained, since it was first announced, that the 12.5 mile Route 35 rebuild project in Ocean County would follow NJDOT’s award-winning Complete Streets policy. […]

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[…] time, advocates have used the website to illustrate possibilities for Dexter Avenue in Seattle and Route 35 on the Jersey Shore. Streetmix has profiled how people from Vancouver to Cleveland use the website. Residents of Sioux […]

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[…] time, advocates have used the website to illustrate possibilities for Dexter Avenue in Seattle and Route 35 on the Jersey Shore. Streetmix has profiled how people from Vancouver to Cleveland use the website. Residents of Sioux […]

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[…] rebuild of Route 35 is long overdue, and in fact, has been on NJDOT’s radar for about 10 years. If designed properly, this project has the potential to greatly increase the Jersey Shore’s ability to resist damage […]

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[…] time, advocates have used a website to illustrate possibilities for Dexter Avenue in Seattle and Route 35 on a Jersey Shore. Streetmix has profiled how people from Vancouver to Cleveland use a website. Residents of Sioux […]

Chris Sturm
Chris Sturm
10 years ago

I’ll leave it to the experts to figure out exactly where and how to create the bike lane… But, as someone who has biked on Route 35, I can say YES, a complete street design would make bikers feel much safer!

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[…] D.C. Another took New Jersey’s Department of Transportation to task, using the app to illustrate how roads would look if the department followed its own “complete streets” […]

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[…] è stato utilizzato per mostrare le possibilità per Dexter Avenue in Seattle e per la Route 35 on the Jersey Shore. Streetmix ha anche permesso di capire come le persone da Vancouver a Cleveland usano il sito. […]

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[…] why isn’t the agency taking a similar approach, particularly with regard to bikes lanes, on Route 35? As a popular summer destination, this area of the Jersey Shore sees more than its fair share of […]

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[…] Several communities across the region have adopted Complete Streets policies in the last year, but implementation of Complete Streets measures, like traffic calming, new sidewalks and bike lanes has been spotty. […]

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[…] Route 35 had bike lanes and continuous sidewalks – New Jersey has an opportunity to make Route 35 a truly Complete Street, but without bike lanes and continuous sidewalks, this major Shore road […]

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[…] kickin’ — TSTC celebrated 20 years of advocacy this year, and with plenty more work to be done, we’re looking forward to the next 20 […]

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[…] – The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has insisted that the 12.5-mile Route 35 rebuild project in Ocean County would follow the department’s award-winning Complete Streets policy. But […]

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[…] What Route 35 Could Look Like if NJDOT Followed its Own Complete Streets Policy  NJDOT’s plan for rebuilding Route 35 on the Jersey Shore was missing some key elements like sidewalks and bike lanes, so Tri-State offered some new designs. […]

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[…] (recycling bins, bike lanes, street trees, etc); and Streetmix, a web-app that allows you to design cross-sections of a street, just to name a […]

Sam
Sam
10 years ago

In Seaside Park Bayview Ave runs parallel to Rt35 and is great for bicycles, and safer also. Was that in the plans?

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[…] adoption of Complete Streets policies, the implementation of pedestrian and bicyclist improvements has been a challenge in some […]

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[…] time, advocates have used the website to illustrate possibilities for Dexter Avenue in Seattle and Route 35 on the Jersey Shore. Streetmix has profiled how people from Vancouver to Cleveland use the website. Residents of Sioux […]

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[…] Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia on the updated Route 35 Reconstruction Plan, unveiled on […]

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[…] Bike & Walk Coalition and Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, launched an all-out campaign to ensure that the 12.5-mile,eight-municipality rebuild of Route 35 in Ocean County served as […]

Ana Isabel de Sá
Ana Isabel de Sá
8 years ago

my name is Ana isabel, I’m an architect and a researcher at grupo Indisciplinar, from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

I’m writing my masters dissertation on open source urbanism and digital tools for civic participation and collaborative design and space production. One of the tools I approach on my work is StreetMix.

I can see you used the platform for the simulations displayed here, and also that you made a call for the readers to send their own proposals. It would be great to learn more about the experience with the software, to know if you have data concerning the replies you got with readers’ proposals and to know whether you had further experiences with the tool in different contexts. Any information you could have concerning this proccess would be very useful for my research.

Thank you very much,

Best regards,

Ana

isabelanastasia@gmail.com

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[…] 35 from Bay Head to Island Beach State Park – After a year of intense advocacy, NJDOT announced in April of last year revised plans for the $265 million, 12.5-mile Route […]

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[…] to get a first-hand look at the new bicycle accommodations on Route 35. Back in 2013, Tri-State was critical of the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s plan to rebuild Route 35 without any bicycle […]

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