New Ideas To Make New Jersey's STROADS Safer For All

Every year the Tri State Transportation Campaign publishes the Region's most dangerous roads for walking report and Route 130 in Burlington County consistently makes the list. Between 2009 and 2013 57 pedestrians were reportedly hit by motorists on the corridor between Bordentown and Pennsauken but 14 of them (25%) were killed.

Many urbanists and pedestrian safety advocates identify Route 130 as an exemplary case of what urban planners now call a STROAD.  Charles Marohn of Strong Towns defines it better than I could in this article.

"A STROAD is a street/road hybrid and, besides being a very dangerous environment (yes, it is ridiculously dangerous to mix high speed highway geometric design with pedestrians, bikers and turning traffic), they are enormously expensive to build and, ultimately, financially unproductive"

The New Jersey version of a STROAD is particularly hazardous. They feature jug handles that function like mini on-ramps, menacing anyone walking or biking along a STROAD. Those eponymous Jersey Barriers do a wonderful job preventing head on collisions but they replaced medians for pedestrians to wait and have proven to be deadly for wildlife. The Tri State Transportation Campaign found that STROADS were responsible for 70% of the pedestrian deaths in New Jersey.

As for Route 130 The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission is currently conducting a corridor wide study that builds upon the Commission's 2012 report of the bewildering 130/206 merge in Bordentown Township. The 130/206 report offers some interventions that for the first time shows in an official government document a tangible effort to tame the STROADS of New Jersey.

If we are serious about Vision Zero, complete streets and quality of life in New Jersey then we need reimagine STROADS as attractive Multi Way Boulevards. Route 130 in Delran is an area where serious pedestrian and motor vehicle crashes have occurred. Converting the 6 lane STROAD to a Boulevard would make it safer walk and bike along and across the highway, while reducing conflicts. There is already enough right of way here to accommodate everyone safely without creating gridlock.

Multi-Way Blvd with service road for commercial access and bike lanes.

Route 130 Today

A look at Newark's and New Jersey's first parking protected cycletrack before its gone

Well, it might have been too good while it lasted. If you read The Star-Ledger or have been following our FaceBook Page you are likely aware of the parking protected bike lanes on Mt. Prospect Ave in Newark's North Ward, the first that we are aware of in New Jersey.  Columnist Barry Carter has been writing a series (1, 2, 3) about the claimed hardships the streetscape redesign, particularly the parking protected bike lanes have caused the local residents and merchants.  This Tuesday he claimed victory over the bike lanes after Mayor Baraka issued an executive order allowing drivers to park at the curb until the roadway could be entirely redesigned without the bike lanes as they are now.

A sample of the bike lane and streetscaping.

So hearing that the day's were numbered for this innovative facility, I made a small detour during my day at work on Tuesday and visited Mt. Prospect Ave by car and then walked around on foot around the entire Streetscape Area.  For those of you who don't know this project is located in Newark's North Ward which is a vibrant Spanish speaking neighborhood just south of the town of Belleville (see map below).  The bike lanes extend right to the Belleville boarder.





Some of the concerns voiced in Carter's columns may have some validity.  Merchants complained that with the road narrowed there is no place for them to receive deliveries without blocking the roadway.  Similar projects in New York City rededicated some parking spaces for deliveries.  I didn't observe any specific loading zones here but there were also no deliveries going on.  Also, residents complain with the road narrowed, garbage pickup now backs up traffic.  However this only happens for a few minutes several times a week at most.  With the traffic volumes I observed this didn't seem likely to be a big problem, no more than illegal double-parked cars (more on that later).

Cars allowed to park in the bike lanes due to the Mayor's executive order.

The other concern was that the city doesn't have a plan to deal with snow removal from the bike lane.  The photo below of this now legally parked van shows the width of the lane.  However I also think this is non-issue.  In Montreal they don't plow most of their parking protected bike lanes and use them for snow storage.  There is no reason why that couldn't be the plan here in Newark too.

This van shows the width of the bike lane.

However the crux of the argument to remove the bike lanes was that they had eliminated valuable parking that was preventing customers from visiting the stores on the avenue.  Also, since the addition of parking protected bike lanes had narrowed the width of the the avenue, customers now would not longer be able to double park to quickly visit store.  However in the hour I was there on Tuesday December 16th between 2pm and 3pm, parking was not at all a problem.  Again, I arrived by car and was able to find a parking space on just about every block, if not on Mt. Prospect Ave itself, on the immediately adjacent side streets.

Plenty of parking on this side street when I was here.

Now I will confess that I was only here for one hour on a Tuesday afternoon.  I do not live or work there.  Things could be vastly different after 5pm and/or on weekends.  Still parking was plentiful on Mt. Prospect when I was there and on the immediately adjacent side streets.  To the west a block away most of the curb space was free for car parking.  I would be hard pressed to believe that one couldn't find a parking space within any one block on this portion of Mt. Prospect at any time or day.  The only real bone of contention here seems to be people's ability to double-park directly in front of the establishment of their choosing which has always been illegal.

Plenty of parking on both sides of Mt. Prospect here too.

Many more photos and the conclusion after the break.

Closing the Victory Bridge to Bicyclists and Pedestrians Does Not Solve the Problem

On September 20th the body of 16 year old Giancarlo Taveras was recovered from the Raritan River after he jumped off the Route 35 Victory Bridge. The death of the teenager drew an outpouring of grief from the Perth Amboy community. As a result the annual suicide awareness walk over the bridge included more than 500 participants on September 28th. Then on September 29th a 19 year old miraculously survived his suicide attempt with a broken leg. That chain of events along, with pressure from the Mayor of Perth Amboy finally spurred NJDOT to do something about the issue. Their solution - set up barricades and close the bridge to bicyclists and pedestrians. Along with a vague promise to put up a fence for the walkway at some point in the future.

The bridge closure severs the only pedestrian and bicycle access between Perth Amboy and Sayreville. A 2 mile bike ride over the bridge is now a 23 mile detour via New Brunswick and a pedestrian's only option is to use the infrequent bus service that crosses the bridge.

We've seen this before.

One month after the September 11th attacks KYW TV Philadelphia news reporter Paul Moriarty (Yes the same Paul Moriarty that tried to ban quick release hubs) filed a report on the potential of terrorists to damage the Ben Franklin Bridge simply by accessing the walkway. Immediately after the report the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) closed the walkway to bicyclists and pedestrians. It was only after a concerted effort by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia that the authority reluctantly reopened the walkway two months later. The DRPA repeated this action in 2005 after the London Subway bombings with a 30 day closing.

It should be pointed out that simply closing this walkway and bike lanes will not diminish the opportunity for people to take their own life on this structure. The bike lane is really little more than a very wide shoulder allowing someone to park without disrupting traffic. There is no such accommodation on the adjacent Driscoll Bridge which carries the Garden State Parkway.  The press has only mentioned in passing that the the body of Anthony Sharpe Jr. who jumped to his death off the Driscoll Bridge was found on the same day that Tavaras was discovered.

Walk Bike Jersey agrees with MyCentralJersey.com's editorial that NJ DOT should make the construction of a fence an immediate priority.  For NJDOT the closure is a good choice from their perspective, as it it relieves the immediacy of fixing the problem. Imagine if the Turnpike Authority closed the Garden State Parkway while it considered options to fix the low barrier on the Driscoll Bridge.

Complete streets is more than simply implementing the routine accommodation policy that NJDOT has adopted. It is about the equitable treatment of all road users as a core value of the Department. Otherwise we can continue to expect knee jerk solutions which will result in more collective punishment for people who depend on sidewalks, trails and bike lanes on bridges to get to where they are going.



View Larger Map

10 Miles of Bike Lanes and Continuous Sidewalks for Route 35

Route 35 Bike Lane Striping Plan North Section

NJDOT announced the complete streets plans for Route 35 which includes 10 miles of bike lanes, six of which are buffered (note the left frame) and 12 miles of continuous sidewalk with ADA compliant curb cuts, crosswalks and countdown signals. This may turn out be one of the largest complete streets reconstruction projects in the Country. To learn more go to this article on the Tri State Transportation Campaign's MTR Blog.

NJDOT to Unveil Route 35 Bike Lane Plans in Seaside Heights Tomorrow April 1

It's no April Fools Joke. Tomorrow NJDOT is holding a press event that will update the public on the current status of the Route 35 project. In addition NJDOT will reveal the final striping and complete streets plan for the rebuilt Route 35 between Bay Head and Island Beach.

As you may remember the original striping plans presented to the public in June of 2013 did not include bike lanes along this very popular bicycle route. This prompted action by a coalition of complete streets advocates and local residents to convince NJDOT to modify their plans.

While we don't currently know what the final design we have been hearing from people familiar with the plans that at least some of the concerns of the coalition have been addressed. It is unlikely that bike lanes have been put in everywhere. The Borough of Lavallette opposed to the concept of back in angle parking, bike lanes are not recommended as compatible with traditional angle parking. In other places (such as Bay Head) the road is simply too narrow for bike lanes and the options are either sharrows or a parallel signed route on adjacent streets.

We hope that if you are in the area that you attend this press conference to show your support for complete streets.

Route 35 Reconstruction Press Conference
April 1, 2014
11AM
Seaside Heights Community Center 
1000 Bay Boulevard (corner of Hancock Street), Seaside Heights, NJ

The media advisory is provided after the jump.

On the Eve of Bike Share Hoboken Seeks to Build Out its Bike Network

According to NJ.com Hoboken is about to vote on expanding its bike network to near build out status.

"The City Council on Wednesday will consider a $13,000 planning contract for new lanes on six Hoboken streets: Willow Avenue, Park Avenue, Garden Street, Hudson Street, First Street and Newark Street,according to council documents. The council plans to vote on whether to award the contract to Boswell McClave Engineering, which would prepare lane striping plans for the streets..."

If the measure passes and the lane markings are completed then 10 of the 14 north-south streets in the City will have some type of on-road bicycle facility (bike lanes or sharrows) with the only major gaps remaining being the interruptions of the Hudson River Greenway along Frank Sinatra Drive (and arguably Steven's Tech).

With only about 2 months before the debut of (the tentatively named) HudCoBikeShare, Hoboken is set to be well ahead of its other bike share partners (Jersey City and Weehawken) in getting the needed infrastructure on the ground. If data collection is as good and open as other bike sharing operations (including CitiBike) we should get a good picture on how this contrast affects the usage patterns of the program.

Nextbike kiosk in Germany. Nextbike is the supplier for HudCoBikeShare

Haddonfield Update - A Partial Victory For Grove Street Bike Lanes

The following again comes to us from our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and is posted here with their permission.  Again, WalkBikeJersey fully supports the opinions expressed in this article.

 Officials in Haddonfield Borough and Camden County have forged a compromise agreement on the installation of bike lanes on Grove St. Bike lanes will be included between Hopkins and South Edge Park Drive (shown in blue on the map). The rest of the project will follow the original plan, which includes standard shoulders north and south of the bike lanes. The roadway will narrow at the north end and it will not include shoulders and there are no plans to include sharrows on this short segment. Instead the project team is looking at the possibility of widening the sidewalk for bicycle use to improve the connection to the Cooper River Trail in Pennypacker Park.

We applaud the cooperation between the Borough, the County and the residents who helped shape the final design of this project. Overall this will be a major improvement for bicyclists and pedestrians who want to to travel between the Historic Downtown and Camden County's largest park network.

Still we are mindful of the disconnect between the conventional (and outdated) transportation thinking by transportation officials and roadway engineers in New Jersey that "shoulders are bikeways" vs. the NJ State Supreme Court's "shoulders are not bike lanes" decision in the Polzo vs County of Essex case. It's a dilemma that the state has to resolve and it will require a rewrite of the State's vehicle code and NJDOT's bikeway accommodation guidelines.

Click here for updates on the Grove Street project.

Bike Lanes vs Beautification - A False Choice In Haddonfield

The following comes to us from our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and is posted here with their permission.  However, WalkBikeJersey fully supports the opinions expressed in this article..

A grassroots effort to install bike lanes on a critical connection between downtown Haddonfield and a major trail on the Circuit has been rejected by Haddonfield Borough officials and the Camden County Department of Public Works in favor of parking lanes and a center median.

Grove St - A good proposal for bike lanes

The street in question is Grove from Pardee Lane to Edge Park Drive. This section connects the Cooper River Trail into Haddonfield Borough. This section of Grove does not currently have bike facilities, but its generous width and the typically-empty 10-foot shoulders make it a popular bicycling route. Grove street has been designated as a bike route connecting the Hopkins Pond trail to the Cooper River.

"Where should the poor girl park for all tomorrow's parties?" Apparently on Grove Street.

Grove Street's wide profile tends to induce speeding to and from Route 70, so Haddonfield has proposed a makeover to calm traffic and reduce turning conflicts. Bike lanes were recommended by the Environmental Commission, other organization members and local cyclists, and the proposal was submitted to the Borough and County Engineer for review.

However, last month the County Engineering Department wrote a letter to Haddonfield Mayor Kasko stating that bike lanes were not compatible with parking and a center median, and Camden County's policy "preferred traffic calming and beautification over bike lanes." This letter seems to have formed the basis for Haddonfield Borough to drop the idea of bike lanes and instead plan for a center median with mountable curb sections so residents can turn left out of their driveways.

Grove Street - Haddonfield Borough's Preferred Alternative

This question of traffic calming over bike lanes is a false choice. Bike lanes are a known instrument in traffic calming. Furthermore, a similar arterial in nearby Cherry Hill, Kings Highway (NJ State Route 41), has an identical width and successfully-installed bike lanes. The proposal also forgoes sidewalk improvements and does not include new crosswalks or intersection "bump-outs" as the Environmental Commission requested in their proposal.

Haddonfield does not have a Complete Streets Policy to appeal to, but Camden County just passed one in December. The Borough is debating the possibility of a Complete Streets policy, but a policy development committee has not yet been formed. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission has completed a Camden County Bicycle Trails Master Plan, but its adoption might not happen until this summer. State-wide, New Jersey communities are adopting the concept of Complete Streets, which implements best practices for making our streets safe and pleasant for all users.

If the proposed design is implemented, bicyclists will be left with a narrower shoulder periodically interrupted by parked cars. And as we have reported before, the NJ State Supreme Court has ruled that bicyclists do not have legal protections in the shoulder. So this street design is effectively not accommodating bicycles. Meanwhile, pedestrians are saved from trudging through mud in a couple places, but are not protected by best-practice infrastructure.

This project represents a lost opportunity for Haddonfield Borough to unify one of its suburban neighborhoods with the historic walkable core by creating a truly complete street. Haddonfield shouldn't have to settle for mediocrity.

Action Alert - Attend Rutherford Borough Council Meeting Tomorrow to Support Bike Lanes on Orient Way

The Rutherford Bike Ring Project needs your support!

 On November 13, the Rutherford Borough Council in New Jersey unanimously approved a new road striping plan for the first phase of the Rutherford Bike Ring. In an ironic twist for the bike plan, this first phase of the striping did not include bike lanes or any other Complete Streets design components. Read the full story on the Tri-State Transportation Campaign Blog.

The next Rutherford Borough Council meeting is Tuesday, November 26, 2013 (tomorrow) at 7 pm. (Agenda). If you live, work or bike in Rutherford then please plan to attend and say a few words during the public comment period.

If you can't make it then please send a note or call the borough administrator and tell them to reverse their decision on the bike ring and implement the project according to NJDOT's recommendations.

Call in to the borough office administrator: 201-460-3004
Or send an email to the borough:


The borough of Rutherford adopted a complete streets policy in 2011 and finalized plans to create a bicycle circulation plan known as the bike ring this summer. The key street in the bike ring; 60 foot wide Orient Way was undergoing plans to right size the street for all users. The plan required a public participation process that included several public meetings. But at the last minute Borough Council did an end run on the 2 year planning effort and approved  a new road striping plan for Orient Way that strips out the bike lanes, center turn lane and the high visibility cross walks. The street has now been repaved and re-striping is imminent.

Orient Way Line Striping Proposal

Rutherford Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan