Oceanport Adopts an
E-Bike Ordinance
As e-bikes rise in popularity, local officials’ concerns mount. After noticing the unsafe habits of e-bike users, Oceanport Mayor Thomas Tvrdik led an effort to regulate the bikes. The Borough Council followed in Fair Haven and Sea Bright’s footsteps and adopted a new ordinance regulating e-bikes at their November meeting. The ordinance “prohibits LSEVs from being ridden on sidewalks or pedestrian paths within the borough and generally bans LSEVs on borough property, including recreational areas and parks, with exceptions in specific cases.” Riders must also follow standard traffic laws, and be equipped with lights, reflectors, and audible signals (such as a bell). Riders age 17 or younger are required to wear a helmet. Riders who violate the new rules will face fines and run the risk of having their e-bikes impounded.
In Monmouth County’s Barriers to Mobility study, the development and education on electric bicycle and scooter regulations was posited as a strategy for safer travel throughout the county. To learn more about e-bike safety or to read the Barriers to Mobility study, click here.
NJ TRANSIT’s TRANSITional Art Project
 The New Jersey State Council on the Arts has partnered with NJ TRANSIT to connect commuters with New Jersey artists. The partnership between the agencies, known as the TRANSITional Art Project, selects artists to install visual art exhibitions at NJ TRANSIT rail stations all over the Garden State. The stated goals, found on the project’s hub site, are to “connect NJ TRANSIT customers and the surrounding community by bringing new, exciting and inspiring experiences to the spaces customers pass through every day, as well as, providing New Jersey artists both exhibition opportunities and a supportive environment in which to create public art.” Local artists are given a stipend, and then are able to create and install their projects. The latest installment is titled ‘SuperBloom’ and was created by artist Fiona Clark and is available for viewing at the Summit Rail Station until December 2026. Danielle Bursk, the Director of Community Partnerships & Artist Services for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts says that the project is meant to “enhance the experience of both residents and visitors passing through the Summit Rail Station." Aptly installed in the station’s waiting room, commuters waiting for their train will be able to enjoy the art as they stand by.
To learn more about the program or to admire the artwork of years past, visit NJ TRANSIT’s Transit Arts Hub.
EPA Grant to Help Electrify Seastreak Ferry
 Seastreak, LLC is the recipient of a $54.9 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Ports Project. The grant will be utilized to purchase electric ferries and install charging infrastructure. As a result, Seastreak will be able to run zero-emission high speed electric ferries to and from its Monmouth County ports. U.S. Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6) called the project a “major win” for the Highlands in a press statement. “Bringing these federal dollars back to New Jersey means cleaner air, less traffic on our busiest routes, and a long-term boost for communities like Highlands,” Pallone said. “This project is about more than cutting dangerous pollution; it’s about strengthening our local economy and supporting sustainable transit solutions that benefit residents and businesses alike. Projects like this put New Jersey on the cutting edge of homegrown, clean energy.”
Seastreak is based in Atlantic Highlands and provides year-round ferries to and from Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, Sandy Hook Beach, New York City, and seasonally to Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and New Bedford.
New York City’s new congestion toll pricing, which was set to begin Jan. 5, 2025, is still in limbo. Late Dec. 31, 2024, Randy Mastro, the attorney representing Gov. Phil Murphy, "asked U.S. Senior Judge Leo Gordon to clarify a decision he rendered earlier this week... Gordon’s order did not explicitly state whether the controversial toll could take effect as scheduled. But Mastro argued that Gordon’s ruling effectively rescinded key federal approvals that should prevent New York from enacting the program, at least for now."
Much contention has arisen as a result of proposed congestion pricing, with many N.J. State officials, including Gov. Phil Murphy, fighting against it. As a result, in June 2024 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced an indefinite pause to the toll hike. In the months that followed, officials continued to discuss the new pricing strategy, and in early November 2024, Gov. Hochul announced that congestion pricing would move forward. A 40% reduction in the toll hike was also announced; cars entering during peak hours would be expected to pay $9 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street rather than the $14 toll initially proposed. Gov. Murphy says he is committed to fight against this plan, stating on Instagram, “We stand resolutely against a tolling scheme that will unfairly burden our commuters.” Judge Gordon is set to hold a hearing on the matter on Jan. 3, 2024.
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