Courtesy Madrax
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
The locations for more than 200 bicycle racks to be installed in Ventnor and Margate are being finalized before Atlantic County goes out to bid for the project.
According to Margate engineer Ed Walberg of Remington, Vernick and Walberg, the county will allocate 131 bike racks to Margate and 77 to Ventnor. Both cities are finalizing the locations for the bike racks, which Walberg said will accommodate one or two bicycles each. The cities are being allocated racks based on need.
A meeting will soon be held with the cities and county to finalize locations and designs, Walberg
It's not your traditional aluminum 10-bike racks. They are essentially decorative loops that can be cast with a personalized insignia, he told the Board of Commissioners Thursday, Jan. 17.
Solo bike racks with loop or bollard designs are becoming an alternative to multi-unit racks because they can more easily be placed in front of stores and entrances to residential or commercial buildings.
The city partnered with Ventnor on a $275,000 South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization grant to fund the installation of bicycle racks at beach-block street-ends and other locations in Margate, and at recreation and commercial areas in Ventnor.
Walberg said government bureaucracy which moves at glacier speed has delayed the project's completion.
According to Atlantic County spokeswoman Linda Gilmore, the project is in the final review stage and should move forward by mid-February.
Gilmore said the bicycle rack project, which is designed to is a federal project being managed by NJ Department of Transportation and implemented through Atlantic County with input from the towns.
The grant was funded through a $1.9 million allocation to the SJTPO from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration for fiscal year 2017.
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