The back story… When the Borough of Barnegat Light moved to ban parking on Central Avenue during June, July, and August, there was a lot of concern throughout the town that there would not be enough parking for people wishing to get close to the beach. They envisioned people parking on all the east/west streets blocking driveways and limiting parking access for visiting guests.
We, the BLTA, felt that providing bike racks on the busiest beach streets might encourage some people to leave their cars at home and ride their bike to the beach. Working with Councilwoman Dottie Reynolds, we helped suggest the busiest streets for the racks, as we only had 20 racks and could not cover all the streets.
This project was a success, and the parking ban did not result in chaos. We do think that the bike racks in some small part contributed to the success of the parking ban; additionally, this parking ban greatly improved both bike and pedestrian safety over the busy summer months.
