Safe Streets to Transit grant to fund crosswalks, wheelchair ramps and push-button crossings
SOMERS POINT — Walking and biking along Shore Road in Somers Point will be much safer come spring, when improvements are expected from Goll Avenue in the south to Ocean Heights Avenue in the north.
City Council awarded a $951,306 contract Dec. 6 to Fred M. Schiavone Construction of Malaga for the Shore Road Pedestrian Improvements project. The city had to hold a special meeting because the deadline to use the grant is set to expire Dec. 11 and council wasn’t set to meet until Dec. 12.
Work will include new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps at intersections, new crosswalks and installation of a rectangular rapid flashing beacon at key crossings.
The city received an $861,000 Safe Streets to Transit grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation in August 2023 to fund the work.
The Safe Streets to Transit program utilizes Transportation Trust Fund dollars to improve safety and accessibility for mass transit riders in the vicinity of transit facilities. These funds serve to advance transportation initiatives without burdening local property taxpayers.
City Council President Janice Johnston said the work is intended to make the area safer for pedestrians, “especially around the [Somers Mansion] area where the farmers market is held.”
“We want to make that area safer,” Johnston said. “A lot of our restaurants are down there, too.”
Engineer Greg Schneider said the project includes new ADA-accessible handicap ramps at all intersections, as well as new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons at locations with a great number of pedestrian crossings.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “a marked crosswalk or pedestrian warning sign can improve safety for pedestrians crossing the road, but at times may not be sufficient for drivers to visibly locate crossing locations and yield to pedestrians.
“To enhance pedestrian conspicuity and increase driver awareness at uncontrolled, marked crosswalks, transportation agencies can install a pedestrian actuated Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) to accompany a pedestrian warning sign.”
RRFBs consist of two rectangular-shaped yellow indications, each with a LED-array-based light source. RRFBs flash with an alternating high frequency when activated to enhance conspicuity of pedestrians at the crossing to drivers.
All intersections will get new crosswalks.
In addition, Schneider said, a decorative fence and planters will be installed in front of Josie Kelly’s Public House and Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar to prevent jay-walking.
A pedestrian island will be added at Bethel Road and bus shelters and crosswalk signals at New York Avenue.
While Shore Road is a county-owned road, both the city and county worked on the project.
“There are a lot of other improvements along the way that we worked together with the county on. Some they are going to do and some are going to come out of this grant,” Johnston said.
Johnston said the plan is to start in the spring so the work is completed before the summer season kicks off.
There’s also good news for those tired of navigating the intersection of Shore Road and Ocean Heights Avenue, where heavy traffic and a down slope contribute to long waits and hazardous conditions. An Atlantic County project under way will include installation of a traffic light.
City Council,
school board
collaborating
In other business, Councilman Sean McGuigan said members of the city budget committee and representatives of the Board of Education met Dec. 5 to discuss their upcoming spending plans.
“The crux of the meeting is we are going to continue to build upon the relationship and increase communication,” he said.
Johnston noted it was “very educational for me, a lot of good information.”
Councilman Howard Dill called it “eye-opening” and “an informative, healthy meeting.”
– STORY and PHOTO by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
At top, workers with the Atlantic County Department of Public Works install new batteries in a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon on Dec. 9 outside Josie Kelly’s Public House on Shore Road in Somers Point.
