Montclair is named a Silver Level Walk Friendly Community (Yeah!)

Sorry this post is a little late as internet access can be hard to come by in the wilds of Idaho.

The FHWA's Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) located in Chapel Hill, NC has named Montclair a Walk Friendly Community and awarded it a Silver level designation.  Montclair joins New Jersey's only other Walk Friendly Community Hoboken, which was awarded an impressive Gold level two years ago.

According to the PBIC news release:

Montclair is designated as a Silver-level community due to its commitment to enforcing pedestrian laws and safety, outstanding participation in Safe Routes to School programs, and impressive traffic calming projects. The township’s density and transit-oriented design provides a great foundation for promoting walkability!

For more on why Montclair was given this award  take a look at this PBIC webpage explaining the award.  Also take a look at the page explaining Hoboken's Gold award.

Congratulations Montclair on this well deserved award!  Fortunately for New Jersey, Montclair is not so unusual as our state is blessed with many dozens of older "Main Street" communities.  There is really no reason why many more could not win this award if they would only apply.  Let's make New Jersey the Walk Friendly Community leader with more WFC's than any other state in the nation!

Op-Ed: No joy in "Mudville" over Montclair and Princeton gaining BFC status.

Can towns without bike lanes really be bicycle friendly? 

The below opinion reflects that only of the author and is not that of others that contribute to WalkBikeJersey. 

By Andrew J. Besold

In years past I've been absolutely ecstatic when some of the first New Jersey towns gained Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) status.  Previous awardies, West Windsor, Hoboken and Ocean City had all made very tangible bicycle safety improvements to their communities often being the first to to bring well design conventional bike lanes, sharrows and bicycle boulevards to New Jersey.

However when I read that the League of American Bicyclists awarded Bronze Level BFC the other week to both New Jersey candidates, Montclair and Princeton (Borough and/or Township??), I nearly coughed up my morning tea.  While these towns are intrinsically easy to bike around, due primarily to their Pre-War modified grid layout and denser suburban form that they were lucky to inherit, last I checked neither town had a bike lane and in both, proper bicycle parking (that actually meets APBP Bicycle Parking Guidelines, a BFC prerequisite) was in limited supply.  I take no joy in saying this but the awarding of BFC status to both of these towns, rings very hollow to me.

Yes, both towns have active bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups that have made significant inroads within there local governments.  Bike&Walk Montclair in particular is a standout local advocacy group in New Jersey.  And Montclair made state and national news with its first in New Jersey, Complete Streets Policy.  However Montclair Town Hall has been blocked repeatedly in the past by an obstinate county government that will not allow the town to install bike lanes or traffic calming measures on the main roadways that traverse and bisect their community that are under county control.  While this is no fault of Montclair, and accolades need to lauded upon them for trying, the end result has been that properly engineered bike lanes were never installed in Montclair where they are needed most and would provide the maximum benefit.

Princeton Borough is also notable in that it was the first community in New Jersey to install well designed European / West Coast style traffic calming measures and with its use of conventional Sharrows (Ocean City had previously used its own Sharrow design on its Haven Avenue bicycle boulevard).  The traffic calming, while VERY innovative by New Jersey standards, is mostly in one residential neighborhood at the edge of town. However, the sharrows were not at all well thought out and in some places, like Nassau Street (NJ 27), they were improperly installed by being painted in parking stalls (it is not known whether this problem was corrected even though an official from NJDOT said the improper position of the Sharrows would be corrected).  The harsh reality regarding Princeton's sharrows is that where installed, most cyclists still ride on the sidewalk!  At total fail in my opinion that is doing little to encourage proper cycling in Princeton.



Is innovative traffic calming alone enough for a BFC designation? 


By comparison, the City of Philadelphia which has very well design bicycle lanes over most of the city, as much as 200 miles worth by 2007, finally received Bronze BFC Status in 2008 after years of  receiving only "Honorable Mentions."  Like both Montclair and Princeton, Philadelphia too has a grid street network that can aid those wishing to bike around the City.  However it seemed back then that the League of American Bicyclists really wanted to make sure that Philadelphia earned that Bronze BFC Status.  Only in 2012 did Philadelphia move up to Silver Status even though Philly has the highest bicycle commuter mode share out of any large American city.

So the question remains.  Should the League of American Bicyclists have award these communities BFA status even at the modest Bronze level when on the face of these towns, very little infrastructure has been built to aid and encourage cycling?  Would a stranger on a bicycle feel like they are in a community where bicycling is really encouraged?  Do Princeton and Montclair match up to BFCs that earned their Bronze status years ago or even ones that have such status out in the West, where usable, well engineered on-street bicycle amenities, like bike lanes, are commonplace?  Unfortunately, the answer is a big "NO" to all three of these questions.  And unfortunately the awarding of BFC status to these two communities by the League of American Bicyclists does nothing to promote cycling in New Jersey or in the Nation as a whole.

No Bike Infrastructure =  No BFC Status.  Period!  And The League if American Bicyclists should know better.

8th Annual Tour de Montclair, Sunday May 16th 2010

Bike&Walk Montclair and the Montclair YMCA are thrilled to announce a joint celebration — the 8^thannual Tour de Montclair and the Y’s Healthy Kid Day. This community event will be held at Brookdale Park on Sunday, May 16, (rain or shine).

The Tour de Montclair is Bike&Walk Montclair’s signature event held each May during National Bike Month and in conjunction with May in Montclair.

It was attended by over 1000 cyclists last year. This year, cyclists of all abilities are invited to ride one of three routes: a car-free loop within the park, a short on-road route (about 8 miles) and a more challenging “long route” throughout Montclair (about 12 miles) There will be something for everyone!

The theme of this year’s tour, — “I Bike Montclair!”– celebrates the joy of cycling and to encourage people to bike more often. Arrive at 9 AM to check-in & warm-up. Ride starts at 10 AM. After the ride, enjoy the festival and fun! Participants will receive a commemorative Bike&Walk Montclair t-shirt (while supplies last).

Montclair YMCA Healthy Kids Day will also be held on May 16 in Brookdale Park, beginning at 11:00 AM. Participants are encouraged to “Put Play in Your Day” by joining the games and activities led by YMCA staff and volunteers.

Register - Online registration for the Tour de Montclair is convenient, easy, and will reserve a collectible souvenir “I Bike Montclair!” 2010 Tour t-shirt! Online registration is $12 per person or $30 per family (up to 5 members). On-site registration for the Tour de Montclair will open at 9:00 AM and is $15 per person or $35 per family (up to 5 members).

Become a Sponsor - This is a great opportunity to advertise your business thousands of participants and throughout the year. How many prior Tour de Montclair t-shirts do you see each week in Montclair?

Volunteer - This event is fully volunteer-run and we need you to help make the annual family-friendly bike ride and festival a success! The TdM Committee is looking for leaders to help with Site Management, Volunteer Management and Registration. Please contact TourdeMontclair@bikewalkmontclair.org for more information.

Route Maps: Car-free Loop, Short Route, Long Route

Enjoy the Ride: Get Smart. All participants (adults and children) are advised to watch this 7 minute video prior to the event.

For more information see, Bike&Walk Montclair's Tour de Montclair webpage.

Tour De Montclair - May 16th

BIKE&WALK MONTCLAIR and Montclair YMCA ANNOUNCE the 8^th ANNUAL TOUR DE MONTCLAIR

TO BE HELD MAY 16, 2010

Bike&Walk Montclair and the Montclair YMCA are thrilled to announce a joint celebration -- the 8^th annual Tour de Montclair and the Y’s Healthy Kid Day. This community cycling and recreation event will be held at Brookdale Park on Sunday, May 16, (rain or shine).

The Tour de Montclair drew over 1000 cyclists last year. This year, cyclists of all abilities are invited to ride one of three routes: a short car-free loop within the park, a medium on-road route (about 6 miles) and a more challenging "long route" throughout Montclair (about 14 miles) There will be something for everyone!

The theme of this year's tour, -- "I Bike&Walk Montclair!"-- celebrates the organization's new name and the group's goal -- to encourage people to walk and bike more often. On-site registration for the Tour de Montclair will open at 9:00 AM, The ride will start at 10 AM. Online registration is $12 per person or $30 per family (up to 5 members); On-site registration is $15 per person or $35 per family (up to 5 members) To register online, go to bikewalkmontclair.org.

Montclair YMCA Healthy Kids Day will also be held on May 16 in Brookdale Park, from 11:00-2:00 pm. Participants are encouraged to "Put Play in Your Day" by joining the games and activities led by YMCA staff and volunteers.

More information on the 2010 Tour de Montclair and the Montclair YMCA's Healthy Kids Day, including details on membership benefits and pre-registration promotions, can be found at Bike&Walk Montclair's new website: http://www.bikewalkmontclair.org.

Bike&Walk Montclair was founded in 2002 (as Bike Montclair) with the idea that Montclair could one day become a safe haven for walking and bicycling. Today, a dedicated and growing group of volunteers continues its mission: to create a bicycle-friendly and walkable Montclair through advocacy, education, and encouragement. Through these means, their aim is to improve our health, clean our air, make our streets safer and improve our overall quality of life.

Bike&Walk Montclair eagerly seeks new members from Montclair and surrounding communities.

UPDATE - Montclair passes 'Complete Streets' policy

Montclair has passed a Complete Streets policy, as reported in this October 13th article from the Montclair Times. The Montclair council was able to quickly move past some differences and approve a slightly revised version of the originally proposed policy. (Click here for the language of Montclair's resolution.)

We at WalkBikeJersey congratulate Montclair for being the first municipality or county in New Jersey, that we are aware of, to make such progress regarding Complete Streets. However, New Jersey still has a long way to go with regards to this and other bicycle and pedestrian safety initiatives.

As reported earlier, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, NJ Future, along with our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and at AARP New Jersey are pushing for a state level Complete Streets policy. We support them in their efforts as this is a critical policy that must move forward if the needs bicyclists and pedestrians are to advance here in New Jersey.