Hello, everyone, hope you are all enjoying the boardwalk and ocean during this beautiful fall winter weather!
Work has started on making Ocean Boulevard safer. The meeting I had with freeholder Tom Arnone has resulted in the starting of new repairs and construction plans to improve traffic and safety issues along Ocean Boulevard. At the second meeting with the city this and other issues were discussed and the city will be scheduling a second meeting for more follow up in February 2023.
Another goal of the SOA/LBCC committee has been to improve the safety for people and for bikes on Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Avenue by the boardwalk. There has been good progress on Ocean Boulevard and the cities bike committee, who has gotten the bike study grant approved. Meetings with the state and county officials to implement the new bike ways grant for the entire city and ocean front are being scheduled. This grant will put bike way paths throughout the entire city and oceanfront and improve bike and pedestrian safety. The bike grant committee is seeking community input for the implementation of the new bikeways grant. Our website, saveoceanave.com has a link for community input.
As a result of the Vine court petition that many of you signed, our meetings with the police department and city to improve police presence along the ocean front and especially in the green acre linear parks where no traffic is allowed are continuing. This is true especially true during the fall and summer months. We have asked for more signage and “children at play signs” to help slow down the speeding electric bikes.
Also you should be aware the boardwalk bathrooms are now closed except for the bath room at Lard Street. Porta johns will be put up at Cottage Avenue for the winter.
The SOA/LBCC committee is committed to the above goals and
the improvement of safely crossing and riding bikes on Ocean Boulevard and
Ocean Avenue along the boardwalk. The next meeting with the city to discuss
these issues and the Vine Court Petition will be scheduled for February 2023.
Remember your voice counts!!!!!!!!
Dennis
Sherman
Chairman Save Ocean Ave
Committee
Hello,
everyone, hope you are all enjoying the boardwalk and ocean during this
beautiful fall weather,,,,,,,,,
As
a result of the Vine court petition that many of you signed, our
meetings with the police department and city to improve police presence
along
the ocean front and especially in the green acre linear parks where no
traffic is
allowed are continuing.
The following are the notes from the Long Branch city council president who is following up on our concerns.
1. The county is applying for a TAP grant almost certain that they are going to get it for Ocean Blvd. improvements addressing pedestrian crossing and biking safety.
2.
Brighton Ave/Ocean Blvd. work to
begin October/November, this year. This project has been awarded and
approved.
5. We
are scheduling a meet and greet meeting
for October at the arts center, for the entire community for
input. We are
waiting for a date.
The City
is happy to announce that Long Branch has been awarded a grant by NJDOT
to
receive Local Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Technical Assistance with
the
goal of developing a Complete Streets Implementation Plan.
The plan will
identify key areas to improve safety and develop mobility and
accessibility
solutions in the form of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
recommendations.
At the heart of these improvements will be a strong emphasis on
improved
safety, accessibility, and equity for all residents. To make this Plan
successful, we need your involvement! With your input, along
with other
members of the community, and a team of representatives from state
agencies and
transportation planning professionals, Long Branch is ready to create a
holistic and thoughtful plan. There will be a series of public outreach
and
engagement opportunities. Stay tuned for more details!
Hello everyone, hope you are all doing well,,,,,,,,,,,,, summer is coming,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
It
is getting warmer and the oyster catchers
have returned to the south end of the Cottage Avenue Beach.
NJDEP wild
life has roped off the area hoping to give the new eggs a chance to
hatch. You
can see the new site from the boardwalk at Avery and Ocean
Avenues. It
will take everyone’s’ help to prevent loose dogs, people, fence
jumpers, and beach
goers, etc., from disturbing the new eggs so they can hatch properly.
One oyster
catcher is sitting on her egg and waiting for the egg to hatch.
I
am happy to report that our main
goals have been listened to and include:
A new safe bikeway from north to south along the boardwalk
and throughout the
city which is being planned. Regular committee meetings are taking
place. The
preservation of the boardwalks’ north and south green acre traffic free
parks
is preserved and pleasing art, culture and history of Long Branch will
be visible
for all to see along the boardwalk and beach access points. Quarter
mile
markers have been etched into the boardwalk from Pier Village’s Moss
Mile south
and at every quarter of a mile to Brighton Avenue to encourage
healthful
walking and jogging. Soon, save ocean avenue art boards of Winslow
Homer and
4’by8’ history boards and paintings of Long Branch will be put back up
at the
beach access points. At the bathrooms at West End Avenue and Cottage
Avenue picnic
benches and flower boxes will be put back up. Disability services at
the
beaches continued to help all those that need them. If you haven’t
noticed the
boardwalk bathrooms at West End and Cottage Avenue are now opened and
being
used.
The
city is in process of sending
out to qualified condominium’s
the early reimbursement checks for
lighting and snow removal over payments. If you got a check last year
you
should expect to get a check this year. The public works department 732 571 5665 can answer any of your
condominium’s
questions concerning these checks and
get changes in
condo board presidents’ names and addresses.
We
continue to work on our other
SOA/LBCC objectives. One of our most important and continuing goals is
to
improve the safe crossing of Ocean Boulevard and to get safely across
with
beach chairs and families to and
from the beach. Summer crowds
and heavy traffic especially on congested summer weekends make crossing
Ocean
Boulevard difficult and dangerous. Another goal is to keep improving
the road safety
for people using the two green acre parks and especially Ocean Avenue
from
South Bath Avenue to Pier Village where cars and traffic are mixed with
bike
riders and beach goers that use Ocean Avenue along the boardwalk. This
area
gets heavily congested during the summer with many cars, bikes, and
people.
SAVE
OCEAN AVENUE COMMIITTEE
Dec 1,
2021
Hello
everyone ,hope you are all
doing well ,,,,,,,,,,,,,winter is almost here ,,,,,,,
I
am happy to tell you the city of
Long Branch under the direction of Stan Dziuba Public Works/Emergency
Management and the new Director of Public Safety Domingos Salidas have
listened
to our requests and have made additional changes in traffic safety and
enhancing the board walk with art, culture and history. The SOA
committee has
been working on these goals for a long time and also for the completion
of a
new bikeway from north to south Long Branch which is underway. There
are now
more traffic safety signs along Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. There
has
been more enforcement of traffic violations on the beach front, for
dogs and
bikes on the boardwalk, illegal parking and people jumping the
boardwalk
railings. There are again children at play placards in the roadway on
Ocean
Avenue in the south green acres linear no traffic park for people to
use more
safely. The shade park, picnic tables and flower garden boxes are being
put
back up at the West End road way by the bathroom for all to use and
enjoy. The
Save Ocean Avenue 4 by 8 ft. art, history, and culture boards of Long
Branch
are being put back up on the beach at the beach access points along the
boardwalk to enhance the ocean walk along the boardwalk. The seven
presidents 4
by 8 ft. art board portraits are next to the boardwalk by the roadway
as you
enter the south green acres linear park at Brighton Avenue, at the
beginning of
the boardwalk ocean walk to enjoy the start of the ocean walk.
Stay
safe ,,,,,,,,,,
Dennis Sherman
Chairman Save Ocean Ave
Committee
Some New Birds Visted Long Branch This Fall:
Above is a group of Sanderlings - an Arctic nesting species that sometimes winters in NJ and below (with the crazy hairdos) are Royal Terns.
Hello
everyone, Hope you’re all doing well ,,,,,,
The
beginning of May is right around the corner. I am happy
to tell you that after much back and forth with the city of Long Branch
to try
and get more safety signs on the roadways earlier, that the city is
planning to
put out the pedestrian safety sandwich boards crossing signs on Ocean
Boulevard
and Ocean Avenue at the crosswalks as of May 1,2021. Thanks
to those of
you who have written and asked the city and SOA/LBCC, for safety to be
improved
as quickly as possible. Ocean Boulevard can be made safer with these
signs all
year round and not just the summer season, like Sea Bright. Especially
with
visitors increasing to Long Branch daily because of the covid crisis.
Many of
our city residents and visitors and families cross the Boulevard, or
ride bikes
all year round to walk the boardwalk and it dangerous crossing two
lanes of
traffic going at very fast in both lanes.
A second
goal of the
SOA and LBCC committee, responding to all your questions and requests,
is to
help get a safe new bike way that runs from Lake Takanasssee to
Monmouth Beach
connecting the already traffic free north and south linear green acre
parks along
the ocean front on Ocean Avenue, where cars and traffic, currently are
not
allowed. It is safe to use the two green acre parks without fear of
being hit
by a car. We have spent much time and effort with the city of Long
Branch and
the engineering department of Monmouth County to try and get more
safety for
Ocean Boulevard and a new safe bikeway. There is no soft shoulder for
bikes
from Pavilion Avenue in front of Pier Village north. Many letters and
discussions have happened from me and SOA/LBCC to try and make this
happen.
Last year the idea of a new bike way was finally put into the city’s
master
plan and a meeting held with the city to try and get bike grants and
funding.
No funding for bike grants was put in. The County also put in a
multimillion-dollar
grant to fix all of Ocean Boulevard and the traffic intersection at
Brighton
Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. A separate bike audit of the city for a new
bikeway
was completed by the city’s Green Committee and Environmental Committee
and the
results given to the mayor with specific recommendations. All this
happen last
year.
A whole year
has passed. To date I have
been told by the county engineer that the study grant was not accepted
to make
new improvement's to Ocean Boulevard. I am not aware after much
discussion of
any new further action being taken on moving ahead with implementing a
new
bikeway, or any new plans to improve pedestrian and traffic safety on
Ocean
Boulevard and Ocean Avenue south of Brighton Avenue.
We are in a
new time at the city
of Long Branch, with many visitors coming to Long Branch year-round,
and with
new condominium buildings opening up along the ocean front by the
railway
station and next to Seven Presidents Park, and there will be even more
congestion. This will result in more people, more cars, more traffic
all along
the oceanfront and north and south of Pier Village ,not only in the
summer, but
year-round. What new plans are there to improve the safety of Ocean
Boulevard
and Ocean Avenue and when will the the new bike way be
started. Last
summer the crowds forced beaches to be closed and Ocean Boulevard was
clogged
up with traffic especially at Brighton Avenue. What is going to change
this
year and how quickly will it happen? What are the cities
priorities to
quickly deal with these problems?
The city has
zoom council meetings every
other week and the mayor and city council are very accessible and open
to phone
calls and e mails, and ideas and complaints. Write or call the
mayor
jpallone@longbranch.org
Your voice
counts and unless the city makes the safety of Ocean Avenue and Ocean
Boulevard
and a new safe bikeway a higher priority, nothing more will happen.
I urge all
of you who care, to call
into the city council meeting tonight Wednesday at 7:30 PM and help ask
these
questions. The numbers to call for council meeting are
1-929-205-6099,1-312-626-6799,1-253-215-8782, then enter meeting
ID
814-3875-1701 followed by the pound # sign. The
city council meets
are every other week at 7:30 PM. Call them. write, speak to
the mayor and
council and ask questions if you care about these issues and
more
safety. Traffic is increasing with every new day of warmer weather
Your voice
counts only if you use
it. We ask you to help communicate these issues to the city
if you
care.
Dennis
Sherman
Chairman Save Ocean Ave
Committee
THE SAVE OCEAN AVENUE LOGO of LONG BRANCH