EATONTOWN — With several major roadways intersecting the borough, getting around to local shops or other spots on foot or bicycle can be a challenge.
At the Borough Council’s Oct. 28 meeting, Councilman Richard J. Robinson discussed the possibility of placing pedestrian bridges at certain locations for residents who would prefer to walk or bike to hard-to-access areas such as the Monmouth Mall on heavily trafficked Route 35.
“One of the things that have come up in my time on council is promoting safe streets and better community access,” Robinson said. “While we are blessed with major highways coming through, they also tend to cut off sections of our borough from others.”
Robinson said pedestrian bridges could be placed across Route 35 and Route 36 and near some housing developments.
“We have some great businesses along both sides of the highway and just don’t have access to cross it easily for pedestrians and bicyclists,” he said.
“It’s not like this is a radical new idea. If you’ve gone up and down Route 18, you’ll see many examples of pedestrian bridges, so I think it is definitely something we might be able to pursue.”
Robinson’s vision is to pursue a preliminary investigation with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to see what possibilities the borough would have in terms of placing the bridges.
“What I would like to do is just some very rudimentary investigation … to see if any funds are available to study whether a foot bridge somewhere on Route 35 south of the [Monmouth] Mall [is possible],” he said. “I would also propose one on Route 36 in the vicinity of the Best Buy area.
“These are two of the widest stretches of highway where we really don’t have any real good access. There are no lights … but at least at Grant Avenue and Wyckoff Road you can cross Route 36 in a reasonably safe manner.”
While Robinson said he doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on a study, “I think there are a lot of grants out there that we might be able to pursue to get that kind of construction done.
“I think it would promote commerce, exercise and would draw the community together a little bit,” he said.