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WEST AVENUE IN OCEAN CITY, NJ, USA, HISTORICALlY HAS CONSISTED OF FOUR TRAVEL LANES, TWO PARKING LANES AND A STRIPED MEDIAN. IN ACCORDANCE WITH A NEW CIRCULATION PLAN, A SIX-BLOCK SECTION OF WEST AVENUE WAS PLACED ON A TRIAL "ROAD DIET" AND RE-STRIPED TO INCLUDE TWO THROUGH LANES, A MEDIAN LANE FOR LEFT TURNS, PEDESTRIAN REFUGES, TWO BIKE LANES AND TWO PARKING LANES. OCEAN CITY HAS DECIDED TO EXTEND THE ROAD DIET OVER A GREATER LENGTH OF WEST AVENUE.
INTRODUCTION
West Avenue is the most important north-south roadway in Ocean City, NJ, USA. This four-lane roadway is 60 blocks long; 34 blocks are owned by the city and 26 blocks are owned by Cape May County. A three-lane "road diet" treatment for the county-owned section was recommended in a 2001 pedestrian safety study in Cape May County to better accommodate both pedestrians and bicyclists.
Because West Avenue had just been resurfaced and new markings had been installed, it was deemed impracticable to convert the roadway to a three-lane cross-section at that time. However, a new circulation plan commissioned by Ocean City in 2003 provided the opportunity to consider a road diet treatment on the cityowned section. A trial section eventually was implemented in 2005.
An extensive before-and-after data analysis was not conducted because the road diet was recommended as part of the city's circulation element, which, in New Jersey, is comprehensive by definition. The Ocean City circulation element focused on conceptual strategies to improve conditions for all travel modes in various parts of the city, and resources were not available to conduct a major data collection effort at any one site.
Although the conclusions on the effect of the road diet treatment in Ocean City are limited, the intent of this feature is to focus on the process followed in implementing the treatment, which proved satisfactory to municipal officials and residents alike.
BACKGROUND
Ocean City in Cape May County is one of New Jerseys most popular resort communities, due to its extensive beaches and a boardwalk with a wide variety of amusements. The yearround population is 15,512, and the annual influx of vacationers increases the summer population tenfold to more than 150,000. The city is laid out as a grid upon one of the...