River Road Project
Monmouth County will be paving River Road in the late fall and the Governing Body is considering the pros and cons of introducing bike lanes along this route. The project design includes standard bike lanes in some areas of the River Road corridor and it also introduces “sharrows” for a portion of the project. The sharrow design proposal is not designed as a way of directing local cyclists onto a busy portion of River Road, it simply accounts for the fact that cyclists are already using River Road on a regular basis and this project seeks to improve safety for those travelers.
The design acknowledges that, given a choice, most local residents would most likely prefer to use alternate routes within Fair Haven, which is the true value of the network approach that is further enhanced by local knowledge. Additionally, local bicycle riders may be making more leisurely trips within the town, with sufficient time to use local alternate routes. The current recommendations are an incremental step towards improving driver awareness and they reinforce the need to protect the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, who by necessity or choice find themselves on the County roadway. The Mayor and Council, with the support of Chief McGovern, have also recently submitted an official request to Monmouth County’s Department of Engineering to reduce the speed limit on River Road to 25 MPH.
- The following link will take you to the conceptual engineering design for adding bike lanes to the River Road corridor.
Conceptual Engineering Design for Bike Lanes
- The following link will take you to the relevant pages for additional bike lanes in targeted areas of town from the Borough’s official Active Transportation Plan
Additional Bike Lanes in Targeted Areas
- The following link will take you to an article that explains the sharrow concept
Residents who have input on the additions of bike lanes and sharrows on River Road are encouraged to speak to members of the Governing Body and/or offer your comments during the “Good of the Borough” section of either the September 14th or September 28th Council meeting.
Thank you
Theresa Casagrande
Borough Administrator