Red Bank Debuts Pedestrian Plaza Downtown

RED BANK, NJ – Downtown Red Bank will appear much different than usual starting Thursday. The Red Bank Borough Council recently passed a resolution to temporarily designate certain blocks as "pedestrian malls" and allow businesses to expand service to curbs, sidewalks and allotted street space.

Several downtown streets will be closed to vehicular traffic in order to provide local shopping and dining establishments with “maximum opportunities for social distancing”, per the resolution. Beginning June 18, Broad Street will be closed to traffic from 2 p.m. every Thursday to 11:00 p.m. every Saturday, with retail and restaurant activity open from 4 p.m. Thursday to 10 p.m. Saturday. Monmouth Street will be closed to traffic from 11 p.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Sunday, with retail and restaurants open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

The Red Bank RiverCenter, a nonprofit promoting local businesses in the downtown area, has purchased additional street lighting to add ambiance to the plaza. Uplighting will be installed into the trees lining the pedestrian center, alongside epsom lights, which will be strung across Broad Street.

“The lights will illuminate the area and create a different vibe in town,” said Laura Kirkpatrick, the executive director at Red Bank RiverCenter. “Something very Red Bank, very unique.”

Establishments will now be able to extend their premises into the street from the curb for the width of the storefront. Businesses are also welcome to use the increased outdoor space for educational programming, recreational groups, wellness classes and children’s camps, as long as activities are in compliance with social distancing guidelines.

The resolution also grants approved businesses the ability to temporarily expand their service area to outdoor spaces including backyards, parking lots, and patios. In addition, businesses can temporarily use adjacent indoor space that may be vacant or “otherwise prohibited from such use for non-life hazard and non-safety reasons”, per the resolution.

Red Bank business owners can apply for approval (with application fees waived) by submitting a Temporary Outdoor Business Extension Permit to the Borough Clerk’s Office.

“Our Broad Street is really wonderful,” Kirkpatrick told Patch. “This is just another way to bring Red Bank back, and to get people back in town and get excited about getting outside … and still do all the things we need to do to keep people safe.”

To view the full resolution, click here.