Metuchen residents press council over Hillside Avenue bike lane; borough outlines $500,000 grant and May demonstration

Dozens of Metuchen residents urged the Borough Council on April 6 to reconsider a proposed two-sided bike lane on Hillside Avenue, saying it would remove on-street parking, create safety and enforcement challenges, and was announced with insufficient direct notice.

“Residents can now no longer park in front of their own house,” said Kevin Dice, who lives at 93 Hillside, arguing the project would prioritize occasional bicyclists over local residents and their needs. Multiple neighbors echoed that they have observed very few bicyclists on Hillside and asked the borough to provide a feasibility study and clearer outreach about the plan. “Where is the study that shows that this problem exists?” asked Steve Kaplan, a longtime Hillside resident.

Council president Gilligan and Mayor Jonathan Bush responded by describing the project’s planning history and funding. Gilligan said the borough adopted a Complete Streets policy in 2013 and a bicycle and pedestrian plan in 2016; later grant funding was secured from state programs. “The borough received $500,000 in funding from the New Jersey Department of Transportation local transportation and bikeway program for this project,” Gilligan said, adding that the money is grant-based and not drawn from the borough’s property-tax budget.

To give residents a chance to see and react to the design in real life, Gilligan announced a temporary, 10-day demonstration planned for May that will use removable paint and cones borrowed from the state’s demonstration project library. “We want to see how this is gonna look and work in practice,” he said, noting that the demonstration (scheduled for May 11–21) is intended to collect resident feedback and test safety before any final decision.

Residents raised several specific concerns: loss of parking during events and daily life; effects on local businesses and the Friends & Family Childcare Center near Hillside; potential spillover parking on side streets; faster vehicle speeds on a now-wider road; and whether the road has sufficient connections to an existing bicycle network. Several speakers also asked about project cost and funding sources; Gilligan said the design work involved outreach last year and that the project was developed with assistance from Keep Middlesex Moving, a regional transportation management association.

Mayor Bush said the chief of police was in the council chamber taking notes on enforcement concerns, and council members acknowledged a gap in targeted notice to residents. Councilmember Branch and others urged residents to send written comments to the borough clerk so the council can compile and respond to concerns.

What happens next: the borough expects to run the May demonstration, gather input and continue design adjustments. No formal vote on the final Hillside configuration took place at the April 6 meeting.