Monday, May 16, 2011

Bike news (good and bad) to start Bike to Work Week

Sorry the blog has been quite for a while.  There is always so much to do in May for me personally since I'm as much an avid gardener as I am a cyclist and there are so many plants to get into the ground in these weeks.  I'm also working two jobs, with one being with a well respected bike/ped advocacy group that keeps me going to bike events just about every weekend day during this Bike Month (rough job but someones got to do it).

Anyway, there are two interesting bike/ped related stories floating around the internet today; one good and one bad ... very bad.

First the "Good" - The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition used Bike Month and Bike to Work Week as an opportune time to introduce itself to greater New Jersey with this Op-Ed piece in The Times of Trenton.  It got good placement in the paper today and will hopefully get some more press in a few of the other New Jersey papers this week.

The "Bad" is REALLY bad - The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition is also reporting that the NJDOT is requesting to drop funding from a project that would have provided sidewalks and bike lanes on a section of Rt 7 in Kearny.  This project would be the start of providing a critical bicycle and pedestrian link between Newark and Jersey City.  These facilities would also be a part of the East Coast Greenway.  Currently there are no practical or safe options for pedestrians or bicyclists wishing to travel between New Jersey's two largest cities. 

If this is all true, such an action by NJDOT again calls into question if NJDOT is truly committed to the spirit of its nation leading Complete Streets policy.

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