Studio courses at the Bloustein School are a core component of the Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) curriculum. The courses are designed to give second-year MCRP students hands-on professional experience by partnering with a client to work on real-world planning projects. In the Fall 2025 semester, VTC staff Sean Meehan and Greg Woltman led a studio course for 13 MCRP students titled Complete Streets Planning: Enhancing Active Transportation in Linwood, NJ. The studio culminated with the release of The City of Linwood Bike Path Improvement Plan, which provides recommendations for improving safety, comfort, and connectivity along Linwood’s bike path.
Partnering with the City of Linwood, New Jersey, studio members examined existing conditions along Linwood’s 2.48-mile segment of the Pleasantville-Somers Point Bike Path and identified opportunities to improve user experience. The trail serves as a vital active transportation corridor, linking Linwood to three neighboring municipalities. All three public schools in Linwood are also located adjacent to the bike path, offering a safe walking and bicycling corridor for local students. Linwood officials raised concerns about congestion on the trail during school dismissal times and conflicts between trail users.
To better understand the local conditions, students and instructors conducted a site visit in coordination with local administrators and elected officials. Students conducted a walking audit of the corridor and collected counts of trail users during school dismissal—a noted period of congestion on the trail.
A Bloustein student collects observation data during school dismissal, counting the number of people walking, cycling, and using e-micromobility along the trail during local school dismissal.
A large group of elementary, middle, and high school students and parents use the Linwood Bike Path to get home. The City of Linwood positions multiple crossing guards along the corridor to support school the large number of students walking and rolling to and from school.
In response to observations and stated concerns from leaders and residents, students developed a four-point framework to assess existing conditions along the trail and identify opportunities to support current and future growth: trail capacity, the Safe System Approach, placemaking, and green streets. The studio met with regional stakeholders to gain insights from planning professionals in south Jersey, including members of the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO) and Cross County Connection TMA.
Central to the studio’s recommendations was widening the trail from its current width of 8.5 feet to 15 feet and to provide more space for bicyclists to safely pass people walking or riding more slowly. The recommendation to expand the trail was accompanied by others focused on incorporating placemaking amenities along the trail, such as wayfinding signage, public seating, and a story walk, along with additional green infrastructure improvements including bioretention swales to mitigate local flooding and native plantings to encourage biodiversity.
Students also developed nine location-specific recommendations for key intersections along the bike path. Recommendations at these locations included traffic calming countermeasures, intersection redesigns, and creative strategies for expanding the trail without requiring acquisition of nearby private property.
Across all recommendations, students also highlighted the benefits of demonstration projects and identified Cross County Connection TMA as a potential partner to help Linwood implement them.
The studio concluded with students presenting their recommendations to Linwood officials and regional stakeholders from SJTPO and Cross County Connection TMA. Participants provided feedback that was incorporated into the final plan.
In April 2026, the City of Linwood began efforts to expand the trail to the recommended 15 feet, currently focusing on a central segment closest to the three local schools. Additionally, the Linwood Public Library has begun efforts to implement the story walk recommendation along the trail.
Click here to learn more about the studio and to access the Final Presentation.