Margate held two public meetings in December to discuss a planned road diet for Atlantic Avenue. Ventnor plans to do the same.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – If it’s good for Margate, it might be good for Ventnor too. The Board of Commissioners Thursday, Jan. 28 agreed with their counterparts in Margate that the NJ pedestrian crossing law has created public safety concerns for those crossing four-lanes of traffic not only for pedestrians, but for motorists as well.
The commissioners said they would like to replicate Margate’s public information campaign and hear from residents and a traffic engineer about instituting a road diet to calm traffic and enhance safety.
Margate held two Zoom meetings in December to educate the public about its plans to re-stripe Atlantic Avenue to include one lane of traffic in each direction, with a center turn lane and widened bicycle lanes. Longport instituted a road diet several years ago.
The concept, which has caught on in cities all across New Jersey and the country, was recommended in the federally-funded 2016 Ventnor-Margate Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan conducted by Urban Engineers, Inc. of Philadelphia. The study investigated all areas of Ventnor and Margate, identified problem areas, and suggested how to make travel safer for all users, including pedestrians and bicyclists.
Margate commissioners discussed implementing the plan at their last meeting in January and are slated to vote on going out to bid for the project at their meeting on Thursday, Feb. 4. If they approve, the work could be done in time for the summer season.
Atlantic City is planning to implement a road diet on Atlantic Avenue between Maine and Albany avenues.
Mayor Beth Holtzman said the road diet would benefit residents and visitors of Ventnor.
“It’s a safety issue,” she said. “With the pedestrian having the right of way to walk at crosswalks, which is dangerous at times, I think this road diet would enhance safety for our pedestrians.”
Ventnor’s safety issue is compounded by pedestrians crossing Atlantic Avenue to reach the boardwalk.
“I think it’s something we need to make our community safer,” she said.
Commissioner of Public Works Lance Landgraf said there are “merits” to be considered both for and against doing the road diet.
“I don’t want to get into a huge discussion tonight because Margate has not acted yet,” he said.
City engineers in both communities are discussing the pros and cons of doing a road diet.
“We would like to bring in the traffic engineering firm Remington & Vernick, the engineer who worked on the Margate work, and have them do the same kind of public meeting,” he said. “We don’t have all the answers right now and if we start a discussion, we won’t have all the answers.”
Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Kriebel said there were 20 accidents on Atlantic Avenue in 2018, 39 in 2019 and 25 in 2020, with a total of 22 injuries, several of which involved pedestrians and bicyclists.
The city also purchased several flashing speed limit signs and placed them in different locations around town to gauge compliance with speed limits.
“Atlantic Avenue is where we don’t have much compliance with speed limits,” Kriebel said. “There’s a lot of things pointing at this, especially when you read literature on how many ways the road diet eliminates the possibility of crashes.”
Landgraf said the city would plan to have public meetings with the single purpose of discussing the road diet.
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Margate hears from residents about planned ‘road diet’ on Atlantic Avenue
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