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Planners outline Hackensack bicycle safety plan, outreach and pilot lanes
Summary
NV5 and New Jersey Department of Transportation consultants described a bicycle safety plan for Hackensack that will combine crash-data analysis, community outreach (including pop-ups and focus groups), a needs assessment and temporary pilot bike lanes; the project began in February and aims to finish in December.
Consultant planners for the City of Hackensack described a comprehensive bicycle safety plan that will combine crash-data analysis, community outreach and temporary pilot lanes to identify near-term and longer-term bicycle improvements.
Rajna Shett, deputy director of planning at NV5, told attendees the project — funded through the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Local Technical Assistance Program — began in February and is scheduled for completion in December. Shett said the study will examine current conditions and demand, identify gaps in bicycle infrastructure and propose targeted improvements to improve safety across the city.
"The focus of this study is to improve the bicycle safety in the City of Hackensack," Shett said, describing the project’s major tasks: outreach, crash analysis and a needs assessment. She said the project team has formed a steering committee that includes city representatives and will post materials and data on a project page on the City of Hackensack website.
James Clelli, NV5 senior planner and leader of the public outreach effort, described a series of upcoming public events and stakeholder meetings. Clelli said the team will hold tabling at Iconic Coffee on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at the Johnson Library next Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. He said the team also plans focus groups with the PTA, meetings with county planners and engineers, and an outreach session with a multifamily and condo board on Sept. 25.
The consultants said they will provide an online survey and an interactive map that allows residents to place pins marking places they consider unsafe for biking or places they would like to bike to. Shett urged residents and organizations to use the social-media share kit the team has prepared to amplify outreach.
The technical analysis will include crash-data review to identify hotspots, a city profile covering land use and demographics, and a bicycle level-of-stress and demand-mapping exercise to prioritize corridors. Shett said the team will conduct field visits — walking and riding key streets — to observe conditions before drafting a recommended bicycle network.
Shett also described a pilot bike lane demonstration program that would use temporary measures to test whether bike lanes work on selected streets before making permanent changes. The team said demonstration projects would allow the city to evaluate parking, traffic and safety impacts before final design decisions.
The consultants said all outreach results, draft analyses and materials will be posted to the project page on the City of Hackensack’s website. The presentation concluded after a brief timing reminder from the meeting host.
The project team identified NV5 as the consultant firm, the New Jersey Department of Transportation as the funding and partner agency and MBO Engineering as a subconsultant.
