Maplewood schedules July 15 decision after consultant unveils revised Parker Avenue bike-lane plan

Maplewood township officials on June 24 presented a revised plan to add bicycle facilities and pedestrian safety upgrades along Parker Avenue and said the committee will decide whether to proceed at a hybrid meeting scheduled for July 15.

“Whatever we hear tonight, we’ll take down, and then we’ll meet again on July 9… and then on July 15, as the mayor said, we’ll be making a decision to proceed or not to proceed,” said Vic DeLuca, chair of the township committee’s engineering and public works committee. The administration said the capital budget includes roughly $270,000–$275,000 for the work and, if approved, bids would be publicized in summer for construction in the fall.

The consultant presentation described a corridor design running from Maplewood Avenue to Irvington Avenue that uses 11-foot travel lanes where space allows, 5-foot minimum bike lanes, bike boxes at signalized intersections and rapid rectangular flashing beacons (RRFBs) at key school crossings. Township officials emphasized that most of the project’s cost is for striping, signage and some curb-ramp work for new crosswalks.

The June 24 session also served as the primary public comment period before the vote: more than a dozen residents spoke in favor of the project citing safety and school routes, while others on Parker Avenue and nearby side streets urged delay or alternative routes, citing truck and bus traffic, narrow blocks, parking impacts and the absence of physical barriers to separate bikes from vehicles.

The township’s engineering and public works committee will review public feedback again at 8 a.m. on July 9; the full township committee will consider the item on July 15 at a hybrid meeting at town hall and via Zoom.