Last summer, Fair Haven Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli unveiled a proposal to create a robust network of bike lanes in Monmouth County. He was even able to win support for the plan from the Two Rivers Council of Mayors, which includes Eatontown, Fair Haven, Highlands, Little Silver, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Shrewsbury Boro, and Shrewsbury Township.
Mayor Lucarelli and the other Twin Rivers Mayors want to see dedicated bike lanes on roadways identified in the proposal, but Monmouth County– the first New Jersey county to adopt a Complete Streets Policy — has pushed back due to concerns over liability, design standards, “on-street parking, trash pick-up and leaves and brush pick up.” Monmouth County has also stated that it would be up to municipalities to pay for the cost of adding bike lanes, a condition not included in the Complete Streets policy.
“[Mayor Lucarelli] says he’s getting mixed messages from county government and is frustrated by the lack of progress in the nearly year’s time since he’s first floated this proposal.
“I’m totally at wit’s end,” he said dealing with county officials—especially the county engineering department, which Lucarelli said appears resistant to the idea of installing the lanes.
Monmouth County’s Complete Streets policy doesn’t, of course, require all roads to have dedicated bicycle facilities. It does, however, list among its objectives the “Establishment of a procedure to evaluate resurfacing projects for Complete Streets inclusion according to length of project, local support, environmental constraints, right-of-way limitations, funding resources, and bicycle and/or pedestrian compatibility.”
Two Monmouth County roads — Rumson Road and Ridge Road — are ripe for “Complete Streets inclusion,” and also happen to be on this season’s resurfacing schedule. Bike lanes along these wide, flat roads were a key component in Mayor Lucarelli’s vision for a regional bike network, as they would ultimately connect with State Route 36 in Sea Bright, upon which the New Jersey Department of Transportation will add bike lanes next year.
Tri-State and New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition recently took a bike tour of Rumson and Ridge Roads. Cars travel fast here, as there’s little enforcement and few road markings beyond yellow center lines. Safety conditions could be dramatically improved if Monmouth County would stand by its commitment to Complete Streets, instead of standing in the way.
It would be nice if they’d do something with Navesink River Road as well. Many drivers that use it seem to think they are in a 1960’s Formula 1 race, without the requisite skills, on a narrow road that has no shoulder, which has sharp, blind turns and quick rising hills. Cyclists put their lives at risk along the entire length.
Perhaps Tri-State missed the memo where it was stated that NJ property taxes are the highest in the country. People are losing their homes because they cannot afford the taxes which have become confiscatory. The cities should be looking for ways to decrease property taxes, not increase them. Bike lanes are a nice-to-have, not a necessity.
If the bikers want bike lanes that badly, let them pay for them, just as motorists pay for roads and transit riders pay for trains, subways, ferries. No more free rides for the bike enthusiasts. If the bikers want a place to ride, there are miles of paved paths in the numerous parks in Monmouth county.
An Overtaxed Monmouth County Property Owner
To the post above, I’m just going to leave this here as it is just one recent article that can help you begin to understand why your comment about “drivers paying for roads, etc. and cyclists paying for nothing” is simply wrong.
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/05/debunking-the-myth-that-only-drivers-pay-for-roads/393134/
Plenty of NJ taxpayers pay for your roads and your driving pleasure through the gas tax and other federal subsidies when they may not even own a car and drive. I say no more free rides for driving enthusiasts! You should also become more educated on alternative transportation. Cyclists don’t just want a “place to ride”, they want healthy, alternative transportation options for around town distances. Complete streets facilitate that in part by slowing down traffic for safety and providing spaces for walking and cycling, reducing car dependence. Or is a state where you sit in traffic every day on crumbling roads no one wants to pay to improve really the future you look forward to?