Politics & Government

New Report Could Derail Wetlands Bike Trail

A draft of a state Department of Transportation study of safe bicycle routes in Ocean City has been released.

An $87,000 study of a potential bicycle trail on an old wetlands railroad bed makes "no specific conclusions" about environmental impact but includes enough information to make two things clear: the process would be long and extremely expensive.

A draft of the state Department of Transportation's Rail Trail and Bicycle Boulevard report is circulating about town in advance of its official release later this summer.

The study is part of the city's ongoing effort to create a safe bicycle route from one end of Ocean City to the other. A large part of  the study is devoted to a proposed rail trail over wetlands between 36th and 49th streets. The trail could provide a "missing link" connecting existing bike routes on Haven Avenue—a section where bikes are forced onto a busy section of West Avenue.

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The rail trail has been a divisive issue in Ocean City that has pitted proponents of the connector path against an environmental group called Friends of the Wetlands.

While the new report repeatedly emphasizes that it is not a feasibility study and that it cannot rule on the viability of any project without a specific design, it does enumerate a list of potential environmental concerns and lists 13 threatened or endangered species that could be affected.

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Various sections of the report suggest a process that might include:

  • Development of a specific design (at a cost)
  • NJDEP CAFRA Permit, NJDEP Waterfront Permit, NJDEP Individual Wetland Permit and Compensatory Wetland Mitigation Approval, NJDEP 401 Water Quality Certification, NJDEP Stormwater Approval, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 10 Permit including NOAA National Marine Fisheries Essential Fish Habitat Assessment and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Review for Federal Threatened and Endangered Species Impacts, and Federal Coastal Zone Management Consistency Determination. (Each study would come at a cost -- the total easily reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.)
  • Construction of a raised boardwalk for the 1.5 mile section of bike path at an estimated cost of $2.25 million to $3 million (this is the option with the least environmental impact, according to the study).
  • Additional costs for required "wetlands mitigation" that could exceed the cost of the project itself.

The new report makes no guarantee that a proposed rail trail would successfully attain any of the permits required. The report lists 37 potential sources of federal, state, private and nonprofit funding, but it makes no guarantee that money would be available to Ocean City.

The complete study lists specific recommendations for improving bike routes throughout the city and includes alternative routes for the section that would be covered by the rail trail.

Most of the alternative routes use West Avenue and limit traffic there to three lanes (one in each direction with a center lane for left turns). That leaves room for a buffer zone and a two-way bike path in one scenario. In other scenarios, parallel-parked cars act as buffers between traffic and bike lanes.

The county road is currently four lanes with a 35 mph speed limit (even though 85 percent of the cars go at least 40 mph, according to the report).

FRIENDS OF THE WETLANDS

"I think the study showed that everything we said all along has been exactly right," said Irene Lorenzon, president of Friends of the Wetlands. "There are many, many laws against development there. This would cost millions of dollars, and the study offered two alternatives on the street that wouldn't have great cost."

Lorenzon said the nonprofit group includes 175 to 200 families, not all from the south end of Ocean City, who have raised more than $30,000, in part to hire researchers to study the environmental impact of the proposed rail trail.

She feels the study vindicates the group's position in light of constant criticism that they are interested solely in NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard).

"I'm hoping that the administration makes the common-sense choice," Lorenzon said. "It's too costly. Enough money has been wasted on this idea already. To a ridiculous extent. ... We're very happy that they have uncovered alternatives. That's the bottom line."

Sam Lavner, an adviser to Friends of the Wetlands, said an analysis of options is required in a review of any project with potential environmental impact. He said because the proposed rail trail has viable alternatives with no environmental impact, there's very little chance the rail trail would be approved.

CITY AND STEERING COMMITTEE

"The issue isn't money," said Drew Fasy, a member of the Steering Committee for the state study. "There are 40 or so funding sources that are applicable. The issue is time, in my opinion. The rail trail would take a lot longer. My position is I don't want to wait five years. I think we need something now."

Fasy, also a member of the city's Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, said he supports the West Avenue options—not only to extend safe bike routes but to protect pedestrians making a sometimes treacherous road crossing to get to the beach.

"It's a deadly accident waiting to happen," he said.

Fasy also said the south-end scenarios are only part of the report. The bigger picture, he said, is a "block-by-block improvement scenario with major changes at a relatively low cost."

In separate calls, Mayor Jay Gillian and Business Administrator Mike Dattilo said the administration would see the process through to its conclusion before making a recommendation on how to proceed on with improving bike routes.

A public information session will be held 4 to 7 p.m. June 17 at the Senior Center at the Ocean City Community Center, 1736 Simpson Ave. The state report will not be complete until after the public session.

But Gillian—as a self-described practical person—did express concern about potential red tape.

"When you talk about the wetlands—the cost and the time and the permits—it's unbelievable," he said.

He also said he's interested in looking at West Avenue improvements for pedestrians.

The city's Environmental Commission met on Tuesday night and briefly discussed the study after an update from Steering Committee and Environmental Commission member Steve Pittenger, but they took no formal position on the alternatives presented in the study.

The study was conducted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation Office of Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs with engineering consultant The RBA Group.

The Federal Highway Administration paid for the $86,979 study, according to state DOT spokesman Timothy Greeley.

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