PETERSBURG – Upper Township Engineer Paul Dietrich announced, at the Upper Township Committee meeting Dec. 9, that the municipality received a state Department of Transportation (NJDOT) grant of $162,000 to improve pedestrian safety along the seasonally busy Shore Road area, at Neptune Avenue, in Strathmere.
“We are going to examine how to make crossing the road from parking areas over to the beach safer since each year we are seeing more and more dangerous situations arising because of increased traffic in this area,” said Dietrich.
During public comment, Linda Bateman, Strathmere resident and president of its improvement association, asked if concrete walkways could be avoided, with more permeable surfaces used in its place to ameliorate water runoff.
“We just received this grant, and, of course, will be looking at every option to enhance all aspects of the project,” replied Dietrich.
The grant program is an NJDOT 2020 Municipal Aid Grant, which, per state information, is a competitive program. In 2019, NJDOT received 661 applications requesting more than $368 million. The Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), supported by the state gas tax, is the source of the funding for the program.
