It'll be August before the Township Committee moves forward with a proposal to create a bicycle network along Glen Avenue.

The committee heard a report from a consultant hired to plan the network Tuesday night, but some committee members had questions about safety that need to be answered before a decision on moving forward is to be made.

The plan would create the network between Brookside Avenue and Ridgewood Road with a spur linking to downtown via Lackawanna Avenue. There is potential for a link to Maplewood, which recently hired Urbana Consulting to create the link.

The first phase of the bicycle network would stripe the shoulder of the road, although there is no specific bicycle lane planned. A specific lane would be created near the library at Lackawanna Avenue because it's a busy intersection.

Mark Gordon, of Urbana Consulting, said there are grates along the road that are not "bicycle friendly" and should be replaced. Additionally, police report people speed on Glen Avenue, so he would recommend installing two speed humps to calm traffic.

There are also plans for information kiosks with maps and the rules of the road planned for Slayton Field, Taylor Park and the entrance to the trail at Brookside Drive.

The basics for the first phase—which includes striping and "share the road" signs—would cost $11,700. Refreshing other striping on the road and upgrading the grates would cost an additional $9,000. An engineering survey for the area in front of the library is estimated at $1,500.

Gordon said the cost for speed humps varies from $1,000 per hump if a group of eight is purchased together to $12,000 for just the two.

The cost to purchase the kiosks and install them was not included. Each kiosk would cost $850 without the installation costs.

Tom McDermott, a committee member, said he likes the idea and believes it will alleviate traffic, but he had concerns about the width of the road. The road is perceived to be narrow now, he said, and a portion of it would be dedicated to the striped shoulder.

"I'm just concerned it would be too narrow," he said.

Gordon said the road is 29.5 feet wide, and each travel lane for a car needs to be 10 feet wide. It would mean 9.5 feet would remain to be used for the striped shoulder.

Daniel Baer, a committee member, said he did quite a bit of research about the width of travel lanes for cars, and he found that they can be 10 feet when the speed limit on the road is low there or there are development constraints along the road.

McDermott said he wanted to know what police officials felt about the width of the travel lanes and the safety of them before he supported the project.

Mayor Sandra Haimoff said the matter would be placed on the August meeting's agenda so McDermott could have his questions answered. There would still be time then for the project to start in late August.

There is the potential for future bicycle networks along Parsonage Hill Road to Chatham and a network connecting to the Short Hills Train Station, Gordon said.