Four lane road may change to two lanes
By Bill Barlow
A proposal under consideration in Margate could reduce the four lanes of Atlantic Avenue to two.
“Just trying to keep the people safe is what we’re doing,” said Mayor Michael Becker.
At this stage, the idea is just a proposal. Officials plan to outline the idea at two town hall virtual meetings, planned for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 14 and 6 p.m. Dec. 15. A link to the virtual presentation will be posted at www.margate-nj.com.
In addition to hearing from Margate engineer Ed Dennis and other officials, the meetings will give residents a chance to provide input on the idea, which traffic engineers refer to as a ‘road diet.’
The wide road has two traffic lanes in each direction, along with parking on either side and a bike lane. As proposed, the road would be restriped to create a median and turn lane as well as a buffer between the bike lane and the vehicle lane.
According to Becker, the city does not yet have the results of a study launched this year, or the input from residents on what could be a major change.
“I’m not against it. I want to hear what the results are,” he said. “Longport already did it.”
He and other members of the city’s three-member Board of Commissioners say they want to hear what the public thinks about the proposal. At a workshop meeting Nov. 19, John Amodeo, the city’s commissioner of public safety, said there would be notices on the city’s website, posted to social media and announced through other methods.
The workshops were originally set for Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, but were delayed to allow more time to inform residents.
“They would be virtual public presentations, possibly one during the day and one in the evening,” he said at the meeting, a recording of which is posted on the city website. “It would be a presentation on the concept of a ‘road diet,’ which in plain English is the reduction from four lanes down to two lanes on Atlantic Avenue.”
He said the pros and cons would be presented, as well as the expected safety benefits on a road that sees steady traffic throughout the year and multiple pedestrian crossings in the summer as people head to and from the beach.
“The idea is to make sure the public is informed, and that would be a two-way street to get feedback from the public,” Amodeo said.
Commissioner Maury Blumberg wanted extra steps to be taken to get the word out about the plans. He asked how the city would let residents and property owners know. Amodeo said it would be through the normal channels.
“I love normal channels,” Blumberg said. But he said the city’s public relations firm and local media would not be enough, suggesting the city spend extra on a mailer to residents.
“I know that a mail-in costs money, but I think it’s that important that every taxpayer and every resident should know what we’re thinking about doing here,” he said.
If the project moves forward and is unsuccessful, he said, the city government will hear that they held a meeting in December and the public did not know.
“We will be run out of town. And I don’t want to be run out of town. I love it here,” he said.
Other presentations about major projects have seen few residents participate, according to the discussion at the workshop meeting.
“I think the more information that we put out to the public, the better off we are,” said Becker at the meeting.
Committee members said Atlantic City plans a similar project, but there are no plans in Ventnor between the two cities. It’s been years since Ocean City undertook a similar project along West Avenue, which was formerly four lanes wide. The change was continued into the south end in 2015.
Some residents feared massive traffic delays along the busy road, but that has not seemed to have materialized. The change has eliminated jockeying between lanes as drivers try to turn left, because there is now a dedicated turn lane, and supporters of the proposal argued that the change improved safety for pedestrians.
In the summer, as cars in one lane stopped for pedestrians, some drivers would change lanes and continue, leading to many close calls. Traffic engineers and police said having one lane each way also reduced speeding.
Once approved, Becker said the project would not take long to complete.
“It would just be restriping. It should not be a major problem,” he said. According to Becker, the commissioners will factor the public input heavily in their decision on whether to proceed with the proposal.
Engineer Ed Dennis said if the commissioners decide to move ahead with the proposal, the new traffic pattern could be in place by Memorial Day or shortly after Labor Day. The estimated total cost would be about $400,000, he said. The state Department of Transportation has awarded Margate a grant of close to $275,000 toward the cost of the project.
A New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Information posted by the state DOT indicates road diets are an affordable way to reduce traffic speeds and improve safety, indicating the change can also improve economic development.
“Road diets are really becoming standard practice across the country,” said Barbara McCann in a posted video. She was the director of the office of safety, energy and environment at the US Department of Transportation who now works at the Federal Highway Administration. She cited studies that indicate the change reduces crashes, including some of the most dangerous kinds of crashes.
The video said the DOT supports the practice where applicable, while describing it as a local decision.
Ocean City traffic safety Sgt. Brian Hopely said in the video that he thought the road diet would be a great idea in his city. He expected a reduction in the number of accidents, more safety for pedestrians and a safer route for bicyclists.
Drew Fasy, an advocate for bike safety in the city, said he also expected more traffic delays, but said in the video that those delays did not materialize.
Tom Heist, the co-chairman organization Bike OCNJ along with Fasy, said in the video that the city underwent extensive discussion about the proposal before agreeing to move forward.
“Really what gave us the confidence was, it was just paint. We said ‘if it doesn’t work, we just scrape it off and start again.’”
