Life on the Streets: Red Bank

Maybe it’s just looking back with rose-tinted glasses, but I seem to recall that even until quite recently touristy images for Red Bank used to include a couple of beers, a shot of Riverview Park and few token bicycles, with young women in flowery frocks meandering around town to soak up the cycling and pedestrian delights of our cool little town…

Of course, regular walkers and cyclists around this cool little town know that our streets are lethal for those of us who travel on foot or by bike. It’s also concerning to see the rising tide of road associated casualties across the state, including Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) cases among Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) – essentially anyone not in a car – while the survival rates for car occupants continue to improve.

So it came as a bit of a surprise that the town’s borough manager failed to mention any aspect of road safety in his rather glossy looking Annual Report – 2024, although that’s not surprising given the mayor and council’s indifference to the provision of safe cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, even given their propensity towards virtue-signaling and sharing selfies at any camera going.

Regular walkers and bicyclists around town know that our streets are actually pretty dangerous for people like us. Nor is it a surprise to know that casualties or KSIs, Killed or Seriously Injured, amongst VRUs Vulnerable Road Users (that basically is anyone not in a car), on roads all around the state, are rocketing while car occupants’ rates of survival improve.

It’s an unfortunate fact, that when I next take a stroll, or ride my bicycle the short distance into town this morning, I will be four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by a person driving a car than on a similar journey in the UK or Europe.

And time tells us that the town is not inclined to take any steps to make the communities streets safer other than making media friendly gestures and ticking the boxes so they can apply for the few bike/ped grants available.

I will be looking at elements of where our town has gone wrong and what we can do right in a series of short articles – Life on the Streets: Red Bank.