FREEHOLD BOROUGH

BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN

PLAN
Freehold Borough Council
December 20, 2010
Introduction
 Purpose of Study: Develop
Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
for Freehold Borough
 Facilitatemovement of
pedestrians and bicyclists
throughout Borough
 Create borough-wide
bicycle network
 Connect bicyclists to regional
destinations
Crashes

July 2007 to
March 2010
Conceptual Recommendations
 Bike network
 Bike parking
 Freehold bike map
 Intersection improvements
 Crosswalks
 Sidewalks
 Safety education
 Policy
Bike Network
 Goal: Connect key land uses in Freehold Borough
using roadways and paths considered most
desirable for bicycling.
 Key land uses include Freehold Center, schools, retail
centers, major residential areas
 Also connect to recreational destinations just outside the
Borough
 Enhance the roadways for bicycle use with appropriate
signing, striping and markings
 On-Road Bicycle Facilities

Bike Lane Paved Shoulder Shared Lane with „Sharrow‟

• Designated for • Used to assist bicyclists

preferential use by with positioning
bicyclists • Can accompany with • Reduce “dooring”
• Must have bicycle symbol signs if desired • Reduce wrong-way
or “Bike Lane” words; • Has similar effect to bicycling
may use “Bike Lane” sign bike lanes, in terms of • Reduce riding on
bicyclist positioning sidewalks
On-Road Bicycle Facilities
 Roads with fewer conflicts between bicyclists and
passing or parked motorists may simply use „Share
the Road‟ sign
Proposed
Network
Vehicular Parking
 Re-stripe 9 ft wide parking stalls along Main Street
to 7 or 8 ft, to encourage cars to park closer to
curb
Henry Hudson Trail
 Extension of trail further into Freehold would be
desirable
 Increase use of trail, clean up debris
 Difference of grade at Center Street poses challenge
Rail-with-Trail
 Evaluate use of active Conrail line for „rail-with-trail‟
 Constraint: much of ROW is 66 ft, resulting in setback at about
20 ft
 Rail setback on existing trails varies from 7 ft to 100 ft, with
average of 33 ft

Conrail line north of Broad Street Morristown “Traction Line”

 Regional Connections
 Install “Bike Route” signs for major destinations

Examples of Bicycle Guide signs CR 522

 Place sign for bicyclists on CR 522 at “back entrance”

to Monmouth Battlefield Park
Regional Connections
Bike Parking
 Some racks are  Put racks in areas where
inconspicuous and poorly bicyclists want to park
used
Existing Bike Parking
Proposed Bike Racks Option A: Along
Main St and South St
Proposed Bike Racks Option B: Behind
Main St and South St
Bike Parking
 Replace the „Wave‟ bike  Consider inverted-U, or
rack decorative racks

Many cyclists use the „Wave‟ incorrectly

Source of Music Rack photo: Creative Metalworks, LLC

Freehold Bike Map
 Recommend roads based on
bicycling conditions
 Identify interesting sites in
Freehold to visit, such as:
 Sitesassociated with Bruce
Springsteen
 Covenhoven House
 Metz Bicycle Museum

 Safe bicycling tips

 Increase “bicycle tourism”
W. Main Street & Throckmorton Street

 Intersection experiences high delays for motorists, and conflicts

between vehicles and pedestrians/ bicyclists
 Traffic count conducted; based on volumes, intersection meets
warrant for signalization
Intersection Improvements
 History of left-turning vehicles striking pedestrians at:
 W. Main Street & Park Avenue
 E. Main Street & Spring Street/Center Street
 Install „Turning Vehicle Stop for Pedestrian‟ signs
 Address poor lighting conditions at E. Main St/ Spring
St/Center St
Crosswalks: East Main Street
Crosswalks: South Street and Marcy/McLean

 High pedestrian volumes at intersection of South Street and Marcy/McLean

Streets (neighborhood commercial center)
 Two pedestrian crashes July 2007-March 2010
 Recommendation: crosswalks and signs
Sidewalks
 Provide sidewalks on Park Avenue
 Evaluate Throckmorton Street

Park Avenue Throckmorton Street

Safety Education
 Key target population: Hispanic males
 Recommended means of
communication:
 Concise brochures, with graphic images
 Prepared primarily in Spanish

 Topics to communicate:
 Basic rules of the road
 Traffic signs, and their meaning

 Where bicyclists should ride

Complete Streets Policy
 Consider adoption of Complete Streets Policy in
Freehold
 Monmouth County Complete Streets Policy (July 2010):
“Provide safe access for all users by designing and
operating a comprehensive, integrated, connected
multi-modal network of transportation options”
 Provide safe and accessible accommodations for
pedestrian, bicycle and transit facilities
 Evaluate facilities such as accessible sidewalks, pedestrian
scale lighting, bike lanes and shoulders
Next Steps
 Finish Plan
 Review with Steering Committee