Good retail bike parking ain't rocket science

Last week we asked what it might say if McDonald's were to become more bike friendly.  All we were really asking for is better bike parking.  Is that too much to ask? Below is a photo of the bike parking at the Rite-Aid Pharmacy in North Brunswick, NJ which is only 1/4 mile from the McDonald's featured in last week's article.

Two inverted "U" racks, well spaced, right up front!  How hard was that?!?!

In a rare twist, this bike parking was only provided by request of myself and the zoning board during site review. North Brunswick does not have an ordinance requiring bicycle parking and got the parking due to several variances the project required. To my surprise they got the bike parking done perfectly!  Bravo!

Unfortunately good retail bike parking is such a rarity in New Jersey.  My god people this ain't freaking rocket science!  Follow the damned cookbook!  All it takes are two inverted "U" racks, properly positioned and well spaced right up by the front door.  On the rare occasions it is even provided, 9 times out of 10 it is done so wrong, as demonstrated in the selection of photos below, that it is barely even usable.  UGHH!!

Don't forget, all the bike lanes in the world won't do you much good if you don't have a minimally acceptable place to park your bike once you get to where you're going.

Great positioning but that sub-standard "wheelbender" rack
is as cheap as they come and not even secured to the ground.

A "wave" rack squeezed up against a wall.  It's amazing
that these cyclists were able to park their bikes at all.

An inverted "U" rack placed 4 inches from a wall.  Need we say more?

What would it say to America if McDonalds became "Bike Friendly"?

If you're "bike aware" (and likely you are because you're reading this blog) and have ever visited a fast food restaurant you've undoubtedly seen bikes haphazardly parked to anything secure all around the restaurant site.  A vast majority of these bikes are undoubtedly owned by members of restaurant staff who depend on their bikes to get to their jobs in the restaurant.

A bike parked on a street sign outside the McDonalds on Milltown Road in North Brunswick, NJ.

Knowing that a number of their employees rely on a bike to get to work everyday, one would think that these fast food restaurants would provided some official organized bicycle parking that preferably meets the basic APBP bike parking standards.  Unfortunately this is almost always not the case and the sight of bikes parked to whatever the owner can find is common sight not only in New Jersey but at most fast food and chain sit-down restaurants all across the country.

The above two photos and the one below were all taken at the same time at the
North Brunwick McDonalds. There are three bikes in this photo plus the one bike in the first
photo. Including the author's bicycle (I ate there too), there were five bikes parked at this
McDonalds location at one time, a very high actual demand.  The underutilized lawn
shown here would have made an ideal location for APBP compliant bicycle parking.

And given no official bike parking and left with few other options, owners will often lock their bikes to trees.  Chaining a bike to a tree will damage the bark and eventually kill the tree.  Trees are expensive to replace if they are replaced at all, so the landscaping at the restaurant sites is often left permanently damaged and never given a chance to mature.

This tree shows clear signs of structural damage which was likely caused by bike parking.

So this is why we ask, "What would it say to America if McDonalds became 'Bike Friendly'?"  We are not picking on McDonalds.  Far from it!  We focus on McDonalds because they are clearly the industry leader and we respect them for that.  If McDonalds makes the move to standardize bike parking for their employees and guests, WalkBikeJersey believes that it would send a message across the entire restaurant industry.  Their engineering consultants that do their local site plans would also be educated about proper bike parking design and hopefully the message would get out to the towns that do the site plan review and then possibly even to McDonalds' competition.  There is clearly the potential for a positive feedback loop here.
 

Employee bicycles locked to the signpost marking the handicapped parking space
at the McDonalds on Route 22 in Somerville NJ.  The signpost is much closer to the
door than the provided bike rack that fails APBP Guidelines.  As such the bicyclists
park on the signpost which could then block wheelchair users from accessing the door.

Also, McDonalds is known for remodeling their restaurants at regular intervals.  Both McDonalds featured in this story were entirely remodeled inside and out within the past 2 years and the North Brunswick location has been remodeled 3 times in the past 15 years.  Their frequent remodeling schedule would allow them quickly implement universal APBP compliant bike parking at large portion of their restaurants.

This APBP non-compliant "wave rack" located at the Somerville NJ McDonalds
was far from the door and not immediately visible.  It was also located too close to
the bushes seen here to be used properly or easily.

Some locations like the Somerville McDonalds have tried to do bike parking but didn't get the details quite right.  This is a good sign but just the beginning.  We hope McDonalds takes the lead here because not only would good bike parking be good for their employees but it would prevent damage to their landscape trees, limit liability when bikes are haphazardly park to signs and it would be good costumer service as well.  And if McDonalds is smart, and we know they are, they could turn this into a great public relations opportunity.

Now if we could only get them to turn the "drive-up window" into a "walk-up window."  We can dream, no?

Fall leaves New Jersey cyclists in a leafy situation

New Jersey is blessed with many wonderful treelined neighborhoods.  The massive trees that tower over some New Jersey suburbs add character and beauty, provide shade that keep neighborhoods cool during the summer, all while filtering harmful particulates and sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere.  Trees are wonderful community assets that too often go under-appreciated.

These leaf piles take up much of the parking lane narrowing the usable roadway for cyclists.

That said, it's at this time of the year where we blessed with big trees must pay the piper and rake up all those leaves.  So far so good.  However it is how the leaves are stored at the curb awaiting pickup that can cause a real problem for cyclists. Most communities just have residents pile their leaves at the curb in the street.  In neighborhoods with lots of large trees these piles can get deep and wide.  Not only do the piles block the portion of the road that many cyclists use, the leaves can also be blow around getting onto the rest of the road causing even more hazards for cyclists as our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia discussed earlier this week.

In Westfield, much of the ridable side of Rahway Ave is blocked by leaves forcing
cyclists to ride in the travel lane kept clear by passing cars.  Anyone need a chair?

Leaves blocking the shoulder of NJ 27 in Princeton. Photo - Mark Hommer

Now leaves don't need to be stored this way for pickup.  Other towns have their residents place leaves in biodegradable paper bags and then neatly place those bags at the curb awaiting pickup.  The benefits to this system are obvious.  The side of the roads frequented by cyclists stays clear and clean of leaves, eliminating all of the hazards caused by the other system. There is no reason for cyclists to be exposed to these hazards two-plus months every year when better systems exist.

Leaves neatly awaiting pickup in biodegradable paper bags.

WalkBikeJersey releases super-accurate, interactive New Jersey campground map for your summer bike tour

Looking to do some bike touring this summer around New Jersey?  Want a cheap place to stay?  Like to go camping?  Take a look at the VERY detailed interactive NJ Campground Map that we put together for the NJ Bike Map a few years ago.  Both publicly (National, State & County Parks) and privately operated campgrounds have been included here. Click on the campground icons for detailed info about that campground including contact info, number of sites and amenities.  Only campgrounds that one could use for cycling touring have been included.  Members and RV only campgrounds have not been included (ones that appeared to be defacto trailer parks have also been avoided).  Each icon is VERY accurately placed on the map, usually placed either on the campground office or in the center of campground.  Have fun exploring New Jersey on your bike this summer! 

View New Jersey Campgrounds in a larger map

Really cool is the NEW campground on Sandy Hook! Opened by the National Park Service two years ago, this is the only place you can camp on the Jersey Shore AND it's right off the really nice Sandy Hook Bike Path.

Also note, unlike most State and National Parks in the American West, New Jersey Park Campgrounds do not have special "Hiker / Biker" sites for the "passing through" bike tourist (Hint, hint, NJ Parks and Forests!) and rangers will turn you away at nightfall even after a long day on the bike (yes, this actually happened to me).  Advanced reservations for State Park sites require a two day minimum stay which is not useful for the passing cycle tourist and VERY expensive at $50 for two nights ($60 for non-residents)!  NJ State Parks used to hold open a number of campsites for day-of arrivals.  One used to be able to call that morning and make a reservation for a campsite the same night.  We are not sure if that is still the case so do your own research and call ahead. 

Overall, weekends will likely be booked out, weekdays less likely. Some campgrounds might be worth two nights stay like those near rivers, lakes and beaches where one can take a break from the road.

While I've made some updates, please note that this map dates back a few years. Last we checked, the very popular campground at Bulls Island on the Delaware River, north of Labertville has been permanently close (updated on map). Some other campgrounds may have also closed since this map was put together. Call ahead!

Bicyclist killed in rare fatal crash NOT involving a motor vehicle

The blog Cycling International based out of New York City, reported on Sunday that a Queens woman died on Friday after receiving injuries sustained in a crash while descending from Alpine on Henry Hudson Drive.  This roadway is in the New Jersey portion of the Palisades Interstate Park and is a very popular alternative to cycling on much busier 9w.  This would appear to be one of those rare and still tragic circumstances where a cyclist was killed and a motor vehicle WAS NOT involved.  Over the past 6 years that WalkBikeJersey has been publishing we can only recall one other crash in New Jersey where a cyclist died from injuries sustained in a single vehicle crash (internet search returned nothing).  That other crash is remembered as having also involved a high-speed descent in a park.  No matter the cause, the death of a cyclist is always very sad and somber, and the hearts of the entire New Jersey cycling community go out to the family of the fallen.

Follow the link for the complete story in Cycling International.

 

View Henry Hudson Drive - Alpine Hill Descent in a larger map

This post was originally produced by our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and ran in the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle News on June 4th.  It is used with their permission.


According to NJ.com and Phillyburbs.com 24 Year Old Andrew Caprizzi of Paramus, NJ was killed Sunday Morning on Route 563 in Woodland Township south of Chatsworth. Andrew was attempting to make a U-Turn when he was struck by a woman driving a vehicle northbound. The driver was treated for her injuries at Deborah Hospital.

Andrew was warming up for the NJ Individual Time Trial Championship, which is held annually on Route 563, a rural two lane road with bike lanes, very few intersections and a speed limit of 50 mph in the heart of the Pine Barrens. Like many amateur time trial events, this race is conducted on open roads.



View PA/NJ Bicycle Crashes 2011-2013 in a larger map

According to his obituary Andrew worked as an Assistant Track Team Coach for Holy Angels School in Demarest, NJ and at the Running Store in Ridgewood, NJ. We are saddened by another tragic death by automobile in our region and our condolences go out to Andrew's family and friends.

Why "wheelbender racks" suck

We are 13 years into the 21st Century, so it is hard to believe that a bicycle rack that has been outdated and essentially useless since the 1970's is still such a popular choice.  Unfortunately, when people who know very little to nothing about the end-user needs of cyclists are charged with providing for cyclists, thing like "wheelbender racks" are what cyclists get.  The rack shown below is all too common in New Jersey.  It is very inexpensive and that is clearly what drives the decision to buy them. That that particular rack can be disassembled with regular tools, is even more disconcerting.

Frank Warnock, a leading bicycle advocate in neighboring Delaware, took a look at the problem with wheelbender style bicycle racks in the below post from his independent blog DELAWARE BIKES.  Take a look at his video and his analysis.  Spot on!





I just got off the phone with LAB on Friday asking what - if anything - is being done to obsolete Grid, Toaster, Schoolyard, Wheelbender, etc. bike parking systems. The answer is nothing really. The League has, in the past, encouraged manufacturers to refrain from selling this worse than useless design, but suppliers are driven by profits, not what's in the best interest of bicycling.

What's needed is an industry-wide handshake ... an agreement to phase this thing out. It's an advocate's worst nightmare when, finally, bike parking is achieved in a key retail or public location, only to find they went with something that might as well negate the effort. Unfortunately, to really get it right, we have the added responsibility to educate the buyer about what works and what doesn't.

Above and below: Bikes in Newark parked anywhere but in the rack!

All it takes is for your bike to fall over, or someone to knock it over. Since the wheel is trapped between the vertical rods, and is the only thing holding the bike upright, it can be easily damaged or bent beyond repair. It is also difficult to lock a bike properly, through the frame, not just the wheel.

Please attend the Ben Franklin Bridge ramp public meeting

What:
          Stakeholders Invited to Provide Input on Camden Access Ramp 

When:
          Tuesday, May 14, 2013 
          6:00pm until 8:00pm 

Where:
          One Port Center, 2 Riverside Dr, 11th Floor,
          Camden, NJ 

The Delaware River Port Authority is inviting bicyclists, walkers, advocates for people for with disabilities and other stakeholders to a public meeting to discuss design options for the access ramp proposed for the south side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge's New Jersey landing.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 14 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. in the 11th Floor Board Room at One Port Center. A brief presentation will begin at 6:30 pm.

"The project will replace a stairway on the south side of the bridge in Camden with a ramp that meets all accessibility requirements outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Dan Cosgrove, the project engineer. "We expect a completed ramp to encourage more commuter and recreational bridge customers to bike or walk between Philadelphia and Camden."

Participants will be able to examine several conceptual design options. DRPA engineers and design consultants will be on hand to explain the design concepts, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and answer questions or address concerns.

Stakeholder feedback will be conveyed to the DRPA Board of Commissioners, which will make the final decision about which design to accept. Public inquiries or comments about the project can be emailed to the DRPA at bikeramp@drpa.org.

If you plan on attending please let John Boyle of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia know by registering via this FaceBook event page.

The Burlington County Bike Plan - Map Your Comments

Have you ever come across something in your travels and say to yourself - "They really need to fix this". If you bicycle on a regular basis you almost certainly have.  But who are "They"???

The Burlington County’s Bicycle Master Plan team wants your participation. Following public meetings held in January, Cross County Connection TMA has released an online comment map and survey for you to sound off on where you want bikeways in the county. They want to hear where you want to go, your concerns and suggestions. Both the map and survey can be found on the project homepage:

driveless.com/BurlingtonCountyBikePlan

Is there a road in Burlington County that can be made better for bikes? Just Map It!

Hawaii Bicycling League produces a perfect bicycle PSA for New Jersey

If you ride even a little bit on New Jersey's roads, it doesn't take long to realize that New Jersey drivers need a major education regarding the rights bicyclists' have to use the roadway.  They also need a good lesson or two on the safe and proper way to pass bicyclist riding in the road.  After seeing a motorcycle safety PSA play repeatedly all last summer on News 12 New Jersey, it dawned on me that a PSA focused on bicycling safety would be the perfect means to reach and educate the general public.

Fortunately, the Hawaii Bicycling League has already produced a close to perfect 30 second PSA that teaches exactly what New Jersey drivers also need to learn.  Take a look above.  All we would have to do is take out the "Aloha" greeting with the much more typically New Jersey "How ya' doin'?" and have cyclist ride past some iconic New Jersey landmarks and I think we would have a winner!

Maybe we could even get Prudential Insurance, headquartered in Newark, to underwrite the production.  SERIOUSLY!

Mahalo to Chad Taniguchi, Executive Director Hawaii Bicycling League for personally sharing the link to their most excellent PSA.

WBJ Exclusive: Driver charged with Chelsea Traynor's death ran red light

"I can tell you without a doubt that the truck ran the red light. It was a big 4x4 type pickup doing maybe 50mph."  That is what an eyewitness told WalkBikeJersey last week after we ran the story about Roger Hode being charged in the crash that took Chelsea Traynor's life.  Also according to the eye witness "she had the green light and that the truck ran the red light."

When WalkBikeJersey visited the site in December 2010, we looked at the signal timing specifically at how long it took to cross the intersection once the pedestrian signal button was pushed.  With this information it would seem likely that Chelsea took the time to wait until she had the proper signal and the right of way.  This new information makes her death all the more tragic.

Driver who killed Rutgers student charged in 2010 traffic death

The Star-Ledger is reporting that Rodger Hode of South River has been charged with aggravated manslaughter and death by auto in the December 2010 killing of Chelsea Traynor on Route 18 in New Brunswick.  On the morning of December 9, 2010 Traynor was crossing Rt 18 on her bicycle at the southern most intersection of George St when Hode's Ford pickup truck hit and killed her. 


View Bicyclist fatality Rt 18 and George St. 12/9/10 in a larger map

The then 21-year-old Californian Chelsea Traynor, of Concord, California was a sophomore, in the class of 2013, majoring in nutritional science at the university’s School of Environmental and Biological Sciences in New Brunswick, formerly known as Cook College.  She had previously studied at Humboldt State University in California and had recently transferred to Rutgers.

Site of the Traynor crash in December, 2010.

Traynor's death was the second reported bicyclist/pedestrian fatality on the newly renovated New Brunswick section of Rt 18.   The previous fatal crash was in October of 2009 when 15yo George Coleman was struck and killed just north of the George St intersection at Commercial Avenue.  WalkBikeJersey is thankfully unaware of any other pedestrian or bicyclist fatalities along this stretch of highway since Traynor's death.  WalkBikeJersey reverently visited the crash site in only a few days after the tragic events and investigated and photographed the facilities as they were at that time.

Our hearts at WalkBikeJersey reach out to the Traynor family and hope that justice carried out in her case.

Burlington County Bike Plan Project Goes Online

If you live, work or bike in Burlington County then let your voice be heard. The County in cooperation with the Cross County TMA is developing a bicycle master plan that will identify a proposed county bikeway network (on and off road) and will include implementation strategies for planning and funding. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2014 and a website has been created for the plan.

http://driveless.com/BurlingtonCountyBikeplan

Bicyclists boarding the RiverLINE at Beverly Edgewater Park Station

The first two public meetings are scheduled to be held later this month where you can talk to the project team about bicycle corridors, barriers to bicycling and gaps in the existing and proposed county bikeway network:

Thursday, January 24th 4PM-7PM, 
Burlington County Department of Resource Conservation, 
624 Pemberton Browns Mills Road, Pemberton, NJ

Wednesday, January 30th, 4PM-7PM, 
Roebling Museum, 100 Second Avenue Roebling, NJ 
(Adjacent to the Roebling RiverLINE Station)

As a side note, any bridge or engineering fan should check out the Roebling Museum. Although the museum is technically closed until the Spring, you will be able to walk by some of the exhibits to get to the meeting room.

For more informaton on the Burlington County Bicycle Master Plan contact:
Graydon Newman, AICP
newman|AT|driveless.com
856-596-8228

Cyclist ticketed for riding in Chatham shoulder in serious left-hook crash

On December 19th the Chatam Patch reported a bicyclist suffering serious injuries in a crash involving a left turning motor vehicle while the cyclist was riding in the shoulder.  It is bad enough that the cyclist, Jose Batista of Cranford, was seriously injured in the crash but according to the Patch report, the Chatam Police intend on issuing a summons to Mr. Batista for "failure to exercise due care when passing a standing or slow-moving vehicle proceeding in the same direction."

In this case it would appear that Mr. Batista was riding his bicycle heading east in the shoulder while passing backed up motor traffic in the travel lanes to his left.  At the entrance to the CVS Pharmacy a driver heading east left a gap open so that Patrick McVeigh of Chatham, the driver of the vehicle involved in the crash who was heading west, could turn left and enter the CVS parking lot.  As the vehicle driven by Mr. McVeigh crossed the path of Mr. Batista, Mr. Batista then crashed into the rear of Mr. McVeigh's vehicle.


The first curb cut on the right is likely site of the Batista crash. View Larger Map

This case brings up a number of problems with shoulder cycling in New Jersey that continue to put cyclists at risk of injury, as well as prosecution from the law.  As reported by WalkBikeJersey earlier this year, The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on a lawsuit that involved a cyclist tragically killed while traveling in the shoulder.  That case had the court rule on the legality of shoulder cycling and the court declared:

Bicyclists do not have special privileges on a roadway’s shoulder. Indeed, a bicycle rider is directed to ride on the furthest right hand side of the roadway, not on the roadway’s shoulder. The Motor Vehicle Code does not designate the roadway’s shoulder as a bicycle lane. 

If one were to only consider the court's interpretation of Title 39 it would seem that Mr. Batista was in clear violation of the law.  However a commenter on the Chatham Patch story notes that, just a half mile to the west of the assumed crash site Main Street, also known as NJ 124, has a marked bike lane in the town of Madison. 2008 Google Streetsview imagery would seem to confirm this.  The commenter also notes that at the municipal boarder of Madison and Chatham Borough, which is the intersection of Division Ave/Brookdale Road and Main St, there are no MUTCD compliant "Bike Lane Ends" signs.  This too is confirmed on Google Streetsview.


This "Bike Lane" symbol is located in the town of Madison and is less than 2500 feet from the likely crash site.
View Larger Map

Unfortunately for Mr. Batista, he likely assumed that either he was allowed by law to ride his bike in the roadway shoulder and/or that the shoulder was still a designated bicycle lane in the Borough of Chatham as it is in Madison. Also, the ambiguity of the signage and the roadway markings (the marked bike lanes in Madison are stripped more like shoulders and do not follow bike lane standards) and the lack of proper bike lane signage did not help clarify things for him.

The reality remains that shoulder cycling has been declared illegal and will remain so until this issue is addressed in the New Jersey Legislature.  Still, where shoulders have been designated as bike lanes, all effort must be made to mark them properly in accordance with accepted national standards.  It is simply not fair and even dangerous for cyclists to do it any other way.  Riding a bicycle on New Jersey's roadways is difficult enough.

Tri-State Transportation Campaign releases its Northern New Jersey’s Most Dangerous Roads for Biking report

Despite New Jersey's already great cycling and our states potential to be truly exceptional amongst its peers, the unfortunate reality is that the number of bicycle / motor vehicle crashes remains all too high.   The Tri-State Transportation Campaign took a simple and objective look at these crash numbers in northern New Jersey in a new report released this past Tuesday.  From the TSTC's blog:

TSTC’s new analysis, Northern New Jersey’s Most Dangerous Roads for Biking, highlights the 19,551 bicycle (bicycle and motor vehicle) crashes in 13 Northern New Jersey counties (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren) that occurred from 2001 through 2011. Of these, 81 were confirmed fatal. The analysis supplements the 2011 TSTC report, Southern New Jersey’s Most Dangerous Roads for Biking.

The brilliance of this report is that it does nothing but simply map out the crash locations in each of the northern 13 New Jersey counties and lets the patterns speak for themselves.
   

Bergen County Bicycle Crashes 2001 - 2011.  TSTC.

From the TSTC's analysis it would seem that the crash rate correlates very closely with the population density of each county.

Also, as TSTC noted, a large percentage of these bicycle / motor vehicle crashes are on arterial roadways whether that might be in Essex or Hunterdon County and all others in between. This is something that most experienced cyclists know instinctively and try to avoid those roadways whenever possible, even in the most sparsely populated parts of the state.

This report is solid evidence that two things should be happening to make bicycle transportation in New Jersey much more safe:

1 – When at all possible, efforts must be made to make these arterial roadways safe for cycling whether that be shoulders, bike lanes, road-diets, cycletracks, etc. As for road diets, a good number four-lane roadways simply do not have the traffic volume to warrant the need for four lanes.  These could very easily be put on a road diet and bike lanes installed.  Elsewhere, other solutions will need to be explored.

2 – Wherever practicable, bicycle routes should be created that guide cyclists off of the arterial roadways and onto safer rural tertiary and urban residential roadways. New Jersey, unlike most other states, has great interconnected residential and rural tertiary roadway networks. Experienced cyclists know this and use this network to safely navigate all around the state. A well thought out and marked, MUTCD compliant bicycle route network could aid less experienced cyclists and those new or just traveling through New Jersey, to find safer routes off the major arterials, that still provide reasonably direct routes to their final destinations.

Again, thank you Tri-State for crunching and geo-coding the statistics.

PS - Could you use red push pins to highlight the fatalities next time?

Jersey City announces plan for 54.7 mile bicycle network

This news is getting a little old now but is significant enough on the statewide level that WalkBikeJersey needs to cover it.

Early last week the Jersey Journal reported about Jersey City's plan to add 35.2 miles of bike lanes and 19.5 miles of sharrows throughout the city in a attempt to start a comprehensive, 54.7 mile bicycle transportation network.

Jersey City is in a unique position to create a fairly luxurious bicycle network as most of the main avenues are exceedingly wide and underutilized, at least in the eastern portion of the city.  It has been my own personal experience that much of Jersey City's streets are easy to navigate, even during rush-hour, as motor traffic demand is just not there.

This is, in part, due to planning efforts in the city that placed much less emphasis on accommodating the car and instead focusing efforts on planning around pedestrians and public transportation, namely the Hudson-Bergen Lightrail and PATH.  Also, Jersey City doesn't even require parking and puts a maximum on the number of spaces!  So effective has this planning been, that it was the focus of a major Streetfilms series and can be viewed below. 

This is the first large New Jersey town to embrace a comprehensive bicycle plan and will undoubtedly act as a model and leader for many other Jersey towns to follow.

Go JC!

Tacks found in shoulder of Rt 9W in New Jersey

Image courtesy and (c) Cyclists International

Cyclists International blog reported on December 4th of tacks being sprinkled on the shoulder over a 2 mile stretch of Rt 9W in New Jersey.  For those that do not know, this portion of 9W is the most popular bicycle route in the nation with as many as 1,500 cyclists and more using the route.

For more details regarding this incident check out the full story on Cyclists International.

Bike / Ped investments critical as Hoboken PATH Station remains closed

News 12 New Jersey is reporting today that demand for bicycle parking at the Newport PATH Station has skyrocketed as the Hoboken PATH Station remains closed due to flood damage from Hurricane Sandy.  This is not surprising to us here at WalkBikeJersey.  With the opening of the Newport section of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway in 2009 the cities of Hoboken and Jersey City are connected for bicyclists and pedestrians like never before.  The Newport walkway has proven to be very popular with locals and exceptionally useful to commuters during normal circumstances.  In the Summer of 2011 the East Coast Greenway Alliance conducted trail counts and found that over 1,100 trips occurred on this section of the walkway between 4 and 7pm on one particular weekday.     

Locals walk and ride from Hoboken to Jersey City on the Newport section of the walkway, Summer 2011. (c) AJ Besold

With the Hoboken PATH Station remaining closed due to extensive damage, the walkway is now proving to be critical transportation asset.  By bike and using the walkway, the trip between the two stations is stress-free and takes about 5 minutes.  By road, cyclists would have to travel on treacherous Observer Highway, Marin Blvd and Washington Blvd (all roads even this LCI would rather not ride on) and its nearly twice as far (Note - WBJ realizes that those living in western Hoboken would find it more direct to use Marin Blvd to get to the Newport PATH Station).


View Hoboken PATH to Newport PATH in a larger map

This sudden emergency demand for bike parking at the Newport PATH didn't just materialize out of the blue after Hurricane Sandy.  Under the leadership of Mayor Dawn Zimmer, the City of Hoboken has been working hard to make the city and the Hoboken Transit Terminal much more accommodating for those looking to use a bike.  Back in October, Hoboken was named a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.  With the Hoboken PATH Station remaining closed, the Newport PATH Station has become an obvious alternative for those looking to access the PATH system by bike.  Without the Newport walkway the PATH system would have remained much more difficult to access for many Hoboken residents.

Do the DVRPC "Bike to Transit Stations" survey

The very nice yet exceptional sheltered bicycle
parking at the Hoboken NJ TRANSIT Station.

If you live in, or travel with your bike in the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) service area, please take a moment to fill out the Bike to Transit Stations survey.  In New Jersey DVRPC services Mercer, Burlington, Gloucester, and Camden counties and this survey is investigating bicycle parking conditions at all rail transit stations in these counties.  These include all RiverLINE and PATCO stations, SEPTA's West Trenton Station, and NJ TRANSIT's Princeton, Princeton Junction, Hamilton, Trenton, Cherry Hill, Lindenwald and Atco Stations.  This is a map based survey.  Simply scroll over to the station or stations that you use, click on the button and give your feedback about the bicycle amenities (or lack there of) at that particular station.

The survey is open until December 1st and when I looked at it today many New Jersey stations had not been surveyed even once.  So if you get board watching football between courses at Thanksgiving dinner, do the survey instead and fill in those blanks!

More about this survey can be found in this write-up by Silva and our friends at the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance.

The case for supporting bicycle tourism

At the end of the nation's most popular recreational bike ride, much of it in New Jersey, a business thrives.  Every weekend hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of exotic speed machines can be found parked outside he Runcible Spoon Cafe' in Nyack NY.  People who can afford to spend this amount of money on vehicle without a motor have money to spare and spend where they frequent. 
The New York Times explores this phenomenon in this article in the August 9th edition.

Dozens of high end road bikes along with a fun loving cyclist "occupy" a single parking space in front of the Runcible Spoon is Nyack NY back in 2008.  Photo - Jenn Benepe