New signs part of walkability initiative

New pedestrian signs and bike racks have begun to sprout up around Monmouth, as a part of the city's initiative to make the community safe for those walking and cycling.

Funding for the signs and racks was made available to Monmouth through the We Choose Health grant from the Active Transportation Alliance.

The grant has many objectives — to encourage cycling and walking as a means of healthy transportation and promote and enforce driving laws that make the road a safely shared space, said Jan Helms, executive administrative assistant for the city of Monmouth.

We Choose Health is a multi-community grant that Monmouth qualified for through the Mercer County Coalition, which includes Henderson, Mercer and Warren counties.

Two signs already exist on North Sixth Street, between East Harlem and East Jackson Avenues.

"(Sixth Street) is such a thoroughfare — especially with Farmland employees riding their bikes to work," said Monmouth Director of Community Development Paul Schuytema. "Sometimes you feel like it is an accident waiting to happen."

According to a study of accident occurrences in Warren County, Sixth Street is the location with the third highest frequency of pedestrian accidents.

Schuytema said he and other city officials looked into adding bike lanes around town, specifically on North Sixth Street, but it would be too expensive and the road would have to be widened.

Pedestrian crosswalks and signs will be added and enforced in school zones throughout town.

"Especially around schools, there's a safety concern," said Andrea Martin, zoning administrative assistant. "We want to encourage safe driving habits.

Pedestrians have the right-of-way in a crosswalk, but the law is often misunderstood.

Another goal of the initiative is to better educate the community of driving laws.

For example, some drivers may be confused and stop at each pedestrian crosswalk even if there are no pedestrians.

While Schuytema said he believes a different wording of language on the signs, such as "yield for pedestrians," instead of "stop for pedestrians," may resolve this issue, the signs are regulated and mandated by the state.

The city's push to make the streets safer for pedestrians is partly in response to the fatal car-pedestrian accident that occurred at Knox College last fall.

Signs will be put in place at the intersection of Broadway and South Eighth Street, in front of Monmouth College's Wallace Hall.

Another area of town where pedestrian crosswalks will be reinforced is around the Public Square.

This will not only help keep citizens safe, but will also force visitors to slow down as they drive through the heart of downtown Monmouth, Schuytema said.

Bike racks will be strategically placed around the square as well, and unlike the racks that will be located near schools and other parts of town, the racks around the square were designed and custom-made by Jason Allen, of Metal Crafters.

The racks feature a maple leaf and bicycle.

All the signs and racks will be installed by Sept. 29.