DRAFT JULY 2016

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Figure 47: Main Street Plan at Hillside Ave

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Reduce Posted Speed

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In-Street Signage

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

Figure 48: Unsignalized Crossing of Old Route 24

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SEWARD’S HILL FOX CHASE TENNIS CLUB

Hiking Trails

Connect to 50 North Road Trails, BRMS and Fields

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Multi-Use Path

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Median Protected Crossing

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Chapter 4 - Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

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W16-9P

Sign

Patriots Path Signage

Stripe Crosswalk as Wide as Path W11-15

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W16-7P

Chester needs to incorporate Patriots’ Path signs along the entire route. Patriots’ Path signing is already installed in more established sections of the trail, like the Black River County Park Trails. The newer sections of the path, coming through the center of the Borough on Main Street, need the same level of treatment throughout.

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Trail crossings need the same consideration of other unsignalized crossings, but they also require additional signage. Trail crossings require marked crosswalks, which should be at least as wide as the trail facility. Trail crossing signs should be placed both at the crossing, and in advance of the crossing. Directional signage should be installed where appropriate.

W11-15P

Figure 49: Trail Crossings W11-15P

Trail Crossing and Signage

EMS Response Trail Signage

Directional Signage D11-1

Path

With its numerous trails, Chester’s emergency response personnel can have difficulty locating injured trail users. To improve emergency response, Chester can develop signs with Emergency locater numbers. The examples shown at right have numbers that correspond to street addresses, and trail names that correspond with street names. By working with the 911 emergency response providers, these points can be put into the database to improve response times.

Library D1-2C

Lack of crossing treatments - Patriots’ Path at Furnace Road

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

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Figure 50: Patriots’ Path Signage LE

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trail blaze key Trail Begins

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FOR IDENTIFICATION OF MAP SYMBOLS, SEE PATRIOTS’ PATH EAST SECTION MAP

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Well established along older sections of the trail

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Figure 51: Emergency Signage

Mapping at Kiosks Chapter 4 - Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

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Emergency Post Number

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Source: Examples from the Wissahickon Valley in Fairmount Park

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paTrIoTs’ paTh Through Town

Figure 52: Patriots’ Path (White)

One of the top priorities for improving biking and walking in Chester is to accommodate the Patriots’ Path through the center of town. Morris County recently redirected the Patriots’ Path to head south from the West Morris Greenway, through the Black River Recreation Fields, Highland Ridge Park, and Main Street, prior to reaching Chubb Park. This plan recommends a high quality trail system to facilitate this important connection. Chester should look to construct a multi-use path from the Black River Fields to Main Street to accommodate walkers and bikers on the Patriots’ Path. Efforts should be made to create one primary trail that is signed as the Patriots’ Path to cement the identity of this important trail system. The path should connect the fields, pool, and middle school to Highland Ridge Park using the two key crossings that already exist. The visibility of these crossings should be enhanced using high-visibility crosswalks and Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) – See Figure 54: Connections through Highland-Ridge Park (page 60). Although there are several trails in Highland Ridge Park, one should be marked as the Patriots’ Path, and it should make the most direct connection past Seward’s Hill to Old Route 24, with connections to the Dickerson School and Main Street. Main Street through town After reaching Main Street, bikers will be able to use bike lanes, and walkers will be able to use the sidewalk system through town to reach Route 206. At the 206 signal, this plan recommends a potential road diet to narrow the roadway, provide head-to-head left turns, and extend the bike lanes further west.

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West Main Street at Route 206 At the Larison Property, the Borough should work with the owner to include a high-quality Multi-use Path as part of any redevelopment. This path should be signed and marked as the Patriots’ Path. This connection could provide a comfortable biking and walking experience for people of all ages and experience levels. Most importantly, this path would provide a much-needed direct connection between Chubb Park and the heart of the Borough, with relatively few roadway and driveway crossings – See Figure 55: Main Street at Route 206 (page 61). This new pathway along West Main Street will connect to the existing Trailhead just east of Chubb Park. This trailhead should have better signing as the Patriots’ Path, a kiosk with mapping to direct trail users, and restroom facilities. The current Patriots’ Path runs just east of Chubb Park and is in good shape for both walking and biking. The new pathway would extend past the library to reach Chubb Park – See Figure 57: West Main Street at Library (page 63).

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

Between Chubb Park and Alstede’s Farm The people of Chester are interested in extending a path system further west, to reach Alstede’s Farm and Cooper’s Gristmill. Extending the path west of Chubb Park requires consideration of property impacts, including agricultural impacts. At the conclusion of this planning effort, the plan acknowledges the desire to connect west through Alstede’s Farm, but the impacts have not been fully calculated, and a preferred alternative has not been agreed upon. West Main Street (CR 513) has a right-of-way of approximately 50’ wide. A multi-use sidepath, with the required buffer, would exceed the available right-of-way width (Figure 53). During the course of planning, three alternatives to connect to Alstede’s Farms were discussed. Alternative 1 continued west through the publicly owned Chubb Park as far as Chesterfield Drive. Past Chubb Park, in front of the Chesterfield Drive subdivision, the land is farmland assessed and maintained by the home-owners association. Alternative 2 would continue west past the library on the south side of the roadway. At Alstede’s Farm, active agriculture comes up to the right-of-way line. Figure 53: Section – Between Chubb Park and Alstede’s Farm

Alternative 3 was a blend of the first two, using publicly-owned land in Chubb Park, and then crossing CR 513 to Alstede’s Farm west of the active agriculture, using land currently used for parking. All three alternatives aim to connect bikers and walkers to Alstede’s Farm (Figure 58). Beyond Alstede’s Farm, a multi-use path would be south of the roadway to reach the County Park at Cooper’s Gristmill. Connections to the Patriots’ Path Blue Spur could be made at the mill (Figure 62). Chubb Park to Columbia Trail To reach the Columbia Trail, path users would be encouraged to use the Patriots’ Path to the east of Chubb Park. The current Multi-use path stops in an open field just short of the DPW facility. This plan recommends extending the trail to Furnace Road. In the near-term, cyclists could use shared lanes on Furnace Road and Tanners Brook Road, to reach Four Bridges Road and the Columbia trail. This plan recommends shared lane markings on these routes. In the long-term, this plan recommends extending the rail-trail through the Coleman’s Cut to reach the Columbia Trail (Figure 58).

Alt. 2 - South side Alstede’s Farm

Alt. 1 - North side Chubb Park/Chesterfield Dr

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Figure 54: Connections through Highland-Ridge Park

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Create one primary Patriots Path

SEWARD’S HILL Multi-Use Path

1 Mile Loop

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

Figure 55: Main Street at Route 206

LARISON PROPERTY

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Multi-Use Path behind tree line

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Figure 56: West Main Street at Larison Property

Close Driveway 2

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To Larison Loop Trail Connect to Recreation

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Left Turn Lane Close Driveway

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

Figure 57: West Main Street at Library

To Furnace Road Patriots’ Path

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Trailhead Close Driveway

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ALT. 2 Multi-Use Path Potential Agricultural Impacts

Chapter 4 - Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

Existing Sidewalk Median Protected Crossing Close Driveway

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Figure 58: Connections to Chubb Park and points west n Tan

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Coleman’s Cut to Columbia Trail (long-term)

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Source: Morris County Parcel Data

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Walking Path

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

Figure 59: Alternatives at Chubb Park and Alstede’s Farm

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Connect to Walking Path

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To Library

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Figure 60: Alternative 3 at Chubb Park and Alstede’s Farm

To Walking Path fiel ster Che

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ALT. 3 Multi-Use Path in Chubb Park

Widen Roadway

To Library

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Main Street Connection to Alstede’s

To Mill

Median Protected Crossing Right-in, Right-out only

Avoid Agriculture Impacts

ALSTEDE’S

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Figure 61: Multi-use path at Alstede’s Farm

Chesterfield Dr To Chubb Park Median Protected Crossing

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Median Protected Crossing

Main Street

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To Cooper Gristmill

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Figure 62: Multi-use Path at Cooper’s Mill

Patriots’ Path

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Patriots’ Path Shared Lane Markings

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To Alstede’s

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

Chapter 4 - Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

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ChapTer 5 - ImplemenTIng The plan This chapter describes how the recommendations for establishing a network of bicycle and pedestrian facilities in Chester can be achieved. The range of actions necessary to implement this plan varies based on the recommended facility type and character of the existing road or corridor. Improvements may be as simple as adding pavement markings or signage, or may require more complex actions such as expanding the pavement width or constructing new sidewalks and multi-use paths. Most of the recommendations will require additional planning and engineering design effort, and some may take many years to implement. The concepts and recommendations presented in this plan were developed in accordance with current design guidance, but are not fully engineered. Implementation of many of the recommendations will require engineering studies to refine design elements related to traffic warrants, right-of-way, drainage design, utilities, and other considerations. This study did not investigate whether existing curb ramps are compliant with current standards.

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The Borough and Township can implement programs and policies in the near-term, and can continue planning for future bicycle and pedestrian improvements. Many of the concepts and recommendations presented in this plan will require further planning and engineering in order to be implemented. This plan has identified a number of conceptual improvements that Chester can use to establish priorities and pursue implementation. Programs and Policies • Adopt the plan, or elements of the plan, through the local master planning process as a Bicycle and Pedestrian Circulation Element • Use this plan as a basis for future Safe Routes to School, Bikeways, and Municipal Aid applications

Recommendations from this study will also need to be advanced in accordance with the regulations that govern Chester’s environmentallysensitive areas, which include wetlands, woodlands, and preserved open space. The avoidance of regulated wetlands will be a consideration during the implementation of recommended off-road trail projects. Projects adding new paved areas will also need to meet NJDEP Stormwater Management (SWM) Rules for groundwater recharge and runoff quantity. The use of pervious paving – whether asphalt, concrete, or gravel – would help to mitigate potential environmental impacts related to stormwater runoff.

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Chester can pursue implementation of the plan’s recommendations through its planning and engineering policies, including the Township’s recently adopted Complete Streets Policy.

• The Borough should adopt a Complete Streets Policy and both the Borough and Township should adopt a Bike Parking Ordinance Planning and Development • Partner with Morris County to investigate sidewalk and bicycle network recommendations along County roads • Request signal studies with NJDOT to adjust signals or add signals along Route 206

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Chester Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

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