By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – A longtime Central Avenue resident asked if the city could make the avenue one way with a lane for cars and a lane for bikes to make it safer.
Speaking before Ocean City Council Thursday, July 16, and in a later phone call to the Sentinel, the 85-year-old said he worries not just for himself and his 19 grandchildren, but for everyone riding on that street.
Burns said he has been living at 4509 Central Ave. for 49 years and has witnessed numerous accidents, but the city may not know about some that involve tourists who are injured because they get treated by doctors at home rather than here.
“It’s a nightmare. There are more cars there than on West Avenue,” Burns said. “I know the mayor mentioned he was going to do a study on it. I never saw the study. I think something has to be done about Central Avenue.
“It’s a wonderful road to travel but there are accidents and I assure you I know what’s going on. I have 19 grandkids, and I’m not just talking about my family. Central Avenue is a busy, busy street. You have to do something about it,” Burns said, noting there were two accidents on the avenue the week before.
“Somebody has to put their neck out rather than relying on the highway department to do a study on it. Can you tell me about the study now, mayor?”
Burns, who noted he rides his bike every day, said accidents are most prevalent between 34th and 59th streets. For anyone who travels Central Avenue, they can expect to contend with bicycle riders, not to mention walkers and runners in the street, especially in the summer.
“It’s so popular with bikes,” Burns said. He noted there are one-way streets with bike lanes in Margate and Avalon and Philadelphia.
During his own report, Mayor Jay Gillian briefly said he did have someone study it.
“Once you go one way, you’re dumping a whole lot of people on Asbury Avenue and West Avenue,” Gillian said. “There was nothing we could dig into. The whole island is like that. That’s where we are with that.”
He said he would have Burns speak with his aide, Michael Allegretto.
34th Street playground bathroom not up to par
Before Burns finished his public comment, he said the bathroom at the 34th Street playground “should be condemned.
“That restroom is a pit. It’s absolutely a pit. Nothing has ever been done. The bathrooms are bad,” he said. “If you can do it at Sixth Street, why can’t you do it at 34th Street?” That comment referred to the reconstruction of the boardwalk at Sixth Street that included building new, expansive bathroom facilities. There had been a smaller bathroom near that location, which is between Gillian’s Wonderland Pier and the big parking lot between Fifth and Sixth streets near the boardwalk.
“You have to do something,” Burns said. “That park is a winner for kids. It’s used all the time, but that bathroom is really bad.”
