The importance of Romance in the built walking environment

Couples take a romantic stroll in the park of my
mom's hometown of Bad Kissingen, Germany.

The date was going exceptionally well.  The summer evening was warm but comfortable.  She and I were lucky enough to score a table outside at a restaurant in Freehold's historic downtown.  As we dined al fresco our conversation became more animated and more flirty.  There was definitely a chemistry between us but every five minutes our conversation was interrupted with a  deafening BBBBBRRRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPPP
PPPPPPPP!!!!!!!   of a Harley Davidson or other extremely LOUD motor vehicle who's owner felt the need to showoff.  It became so annoying that the cruising noise became just as memorable as the date.  We both had to just stop our conversation in mid sentence for tens of seconds at a time.  And as we both had parents from Europe (she from Greece and I from Germany) and both of us have visited the Old World numerous times, we both noted that our romantic evening together would never be so rudely interrupted in any restaurant over there.

After dinner we went for a stroll together.  Unfortunately with in a block or two, the scenic downtown gave way to an ugly if not downright scary surface parking lot where her car was parked.  It was clear that our stroll would go no further.  Still, we flirted some more until we both locked eyes, pulled each other close and passionately kissed each other goodnight, right underneath the sodium vapor lights and next to the stinky garbage dumpster.  UGHH!  Not exactly the most romantic place for two lovers to share their first kiss.  Kind of no surprise then that our relationship didn't go anywhere (admittedly it was my fault).

Couples stroll and window shop in the car-
free Medieval center of Bad Kissingen.

By contrast I am always amazed by how romantic my mom's hometown of Bad Kissingen, Germany is every time that I return.  There, even the most hopeless romantic can't screw up!  Granted it was rebuilt by the King of Bavaria in the 19th Century, the Romantic Period, to be the Royal Bavarian Spa Resort but nowhere that I've been to in New Jersey and very few in the entire U.S. can come close to its romantic appeal.  Today, Bad Kissingen survives as a spa and resort town but its 19th Century Romantic glory is not lost in today's hectic world.  Even though I've been coming here every other year since early childhood, I have no problem walking for hours in this beautiful town, day after day.  It is clear that the "lure of the stroll" is not lost on the thousands that visit here each year and those that call Bad Kissingen home.  As a spa and "kurstadt" (cure town in English), walking is often part of the treatment so keeping the town romantically walkable has long been part of the design of the town (a ring-road takes loud through-traffic around town, gates prevent through-traffic from crossing town and most of the old town is totally closed to cars).

Unfortunately, back home in New Jersey, I find it so difficult to find anyplace that has the capability to provide hours of romantic strolling as my mom's hometown.  Yes, places like Princeton, Lambertville, Ocean Grove and Montclair offer romantic opportunities but usually after 15 minutes to a half-hour of strolling the opportunities just seem to peter out.  And rarely does one find that perfect place to give that special new love a VERY memorable first kiss.  You got to make it memorable, right?

Lovers sit before the spectacular rose garden in the center of Bad Kissingen.  This is
just one of a hundred places in Bad Kissingen that would make for a memorable first kiss.

The lesson here?  There is more to a great walking environment than just sidewalks and crosswalks.  Places need to be beautiful if not downright romantic to truly succeed.  Whimsey needs to be celebrated and not lambasted as a costly extravagance.  On this Valentines Day lets not forget that love is often the product of beauty, as much as beauty is the product of love.

The view of Manhattan from Hoboken's Pier C Park is great place to seal
that great first date with a kiss.  He/she is sure to not forget it.

And yes, there is still hope for New Jersey.  Hoboken's Pier C Park, lambasted for cost overruns and delays is a truly world class park.  Even on a cold winters night like that when the photo above was taken, it is still a great place to give that special someone a great memorable kiss.

Go for a walk tonight and find a good spot for a romantic kiss.  Feel free to share your romantic spots to walk and smootch.  I've got to run myself.  Don't want to be late for my date.

Will a slight uptick in the economy mean a return to sprawl in New Jersey?

It's BAAACCKK!!!!

Yes suburban sprawl is alive and well once again in New Jersey and it seems destine to destroy our favorite rural cycling roads.  Prior to the Great Recession, the housing bubble was eating into vast swaths of what makes New Jersey the Garden State.  During that time I personally saw many wonderfully charming, quite rural roadways straightened, blown out and widened to modern "safety standards" to accommodate large new car-dependent developments and traffic demands 30 years into the future.  With a slight uptick in the economy my rides have once again been filled with the sight of new housing starts like that seen below.  While the rediscovery of urban centers and urban living have been absorbing much of the housing boom here in New Jersey, old habits still seem to die hard here in our state.  Also the massive amounts of wealth being generated in New York City and the region make the dream of a house out in "the country" (well it was the country till all of you moved here) all too attainable and attractive for those who can still easily afford this style of living.

New "estate homes" being built in an empty field off of wonderfully bikeable and entertaining Burnt Mills Road in
Somerset County.  Much more of this and the traffic volume on Burnt Mills will render the road un-bikable.
BTW - Note the budget bin fiberglass street lamp.  Luxury indeed!

We've talked about the connection between sprawl and the degradation of New Jersey's wonderful rural road cycling before (if you don't understand it, read that old blog article).  Luckily there is something we can all do to slow and hopefully stop New Jersey sprawl once and for all. On this Election Day you can vote YES for Ballot Question #2 which would permanently dedicate a small portion of the state corporate business tax to fund openspace preservation, park maintenance, new trails (!) and new park facilities.  Support is strong for this question in the local New Jersey media.  For details about the question itself see this in the Daily Record.  And here is The New Jersey Conservation Foundation rundown on what voting YES on Ballot Question #2 would mean.

So voting yes on Ballot Question #2 would preserve open space which means preservation of scenic areas we love to cycle, along with the old quirky roads that have so much charm and make cycling in New Jersey so much fun.  It would also provide monies to build and improve trails, parks and park facilities.

A win on Ballot Question #2 is a win for cycling and the overall health of the Garden State.

Here's a Tip...Don't Let Super Bowl Host Committees Make Transportation Decisions

Nothing reflects 1970's urban planning by politicians better than the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Built on top of a damaged but ecologically sensitive wetland, surrounded by water on three sides and virtually locked in by freeways and railroads.

Paterson Plank Road (Route 120) provides the only non-freeway access to the complex, its a classic New Jersey hybrid divided state highway but it is served by multiple bus routes and is within walk/bike distance from several hotels. Furthermore the human scaled residential neighborhoods in East Rutherford and Carlstadt are less than two miles away. A recently completed resurfacing project included new sidewalks from both boroughs, making a non-motorized trip to the complex plausible (if far from ideal). With the upcoming Super Bowl on February 2nd local homeowners are advertising apartments for rent that allow you to walk to the Super Bowl.

New sidewalks and landscaping on Paterson Plank Rd - Google Maps

So how does the NFL feel about walking to the game? Super Bowl Host Committee CEO Al Kelly is quoted in the Star Ledger as saying "There is not a single solitary person, unless they’re a Navy SEAL, who is going to walk to that game and get through that marshland to the stadium and get past State Police," Nice, no wonder the Mayor of East Rutherford is livid about that statement.

So how to get to the game from those towns or anywhere else? Well about 45,000 people are expected to to use express park and ride bus service from 9 different hotels (1000+ buses) adding $51 to the $500 to $2000 game ticket. Another 12,000 are expected to cram onto NJ TRANSIT trains transferring at Secaucus Junction. Given the lower cost and the familiarity that many have with NJ TRANSIT I expect fewer customers on the buses and more on the trains. Either way expect a lot of company and long waits at the bus and rail pick up points after the game.

The economic impact for the Super Bowl will be felt across much of the region but the fact that it will be easier to get to the Super Bowl from New York City than it will be from East Rutherford is a lost opportunity for the state. Considering that billions of transportation dollars have been spent to connect this concrete island with the rest of the world, you would expect that one of the lessons learned is that you need to take planning out of the hands of developers, politicians and host committees and give it back to urban planners. There may be a refresher course on Ground Hog Day.

Take the National Walking Survey

This comes to WalkBikeJersey from the folks at America Walks.  Please take the time to take their survey.

Please take the National Walking Survey today!

Help America Walks learn more about who walks, and why we walk.  

This survey will take only 5 minutes to complete and results are anonymous.

The National Walking Survey results will help walking advocates understand what motivates avid walkers, and what keeps others from walking more. Once the data is analyzed, America Walks will tell you what we've learned to help promote walking in America. 

America Walks encourages the broadest possible participation in the  

National Walking Survey.  Please feel free to post, tweet, and forward this message. 

For more information, contact us at info@americawalks.org.

Thank you, in advance, for your participation.

Carter Headrick

America Walks Board President

 

Click here to take the survey NOW!

Op-Ed: WWBPA shows how local advocacy is done

I know I recently talked about how well the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) does local advocacy but I was again VERY impressed by an example of their work.

The WWBPA is advocating that a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Old Bear Brook and Bear Brook Roads be made more bicycle friendly so it is can better suit the needs of all skill levels of cyclists. On their website they have even created a specific webpage highlighting their advocacy efforts on this particular road project in their town. What is most impressive about their advocacy efforts is their correspondence to their mayor and town council which they again have posted on that special webpage. The letters are very professional and show a high degree of political savvy. They even included a diagram of a ideal bicycle "friendlier" roundabout, which I'm dying to know the source of (Yes I know; dangling participle).

View Larger Map - Site of the proposed roundabout.

When many of us left Denville at the end of the NJ Bicycle Summit back in February, we were told to go out and make a difference in our local communities by every one of the national advocate leaders that came and spoke with us that day. Well, if you want to see a superb New Jersey example of how a local advocacy group stumps for bicycle and pedestrian innovation in their own towns, I can't think of a better group to emulate than WWBPA.

I just hope the Bike&Walk Montclair folks don't take too much offense to my saying that (I hear they have a "bike lane fairy").

Sec. LaHood makes major Bike/Ped friendly policy announcement

This is Big!

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, already well liked in the bicycling community and now famous for his table top speech at last weeks National Bicycle Summit, made a major announcement today on his blog. The USDOT will put the needs bicyclists and pedestrians on equal footing with other modes of transportation. "This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized," LaHood announced. To make this happend Sec. LaHood proposes key recommendations for state DOTs and local communities:

• Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
• Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
• Go beyond minimum design standards.
• Collect data on walking and biking trips.
• Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
• Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
• Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.

This picture © J. Maus of BikePortland. View the BikePortland Flickr stream here.

For more details about the policy see the official USDOT Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation.

Also don't forget to see Ray LaHood's statement on his "Fast Lane" Blog.

New issue of NJ Safe Routes Scoop available

The latest issue of the NJ Walks and Bikes newsletter is now available online at:
http://policy.rutgers.edu/VTC/bikeped/Safe_Routes_Scoop/Vol3_Issue2/


Like the NJ Walks and Bikes newsletter the Safe Routes Scoop is produced by the NJDOT through the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University.

While packed full of good information, those interested in wakling and bicycle policies may want to pay particular attention to the following articles:

Encouraging Walking and Bicycling through School Policies
Complete Streets in Montclair
New Jersey Department of Transportation Adopts a Complete Streets Policy
Resource Spotlight: Operation Lifesaver

For those of you who may be wondering what NJDOT is doing to make bicycling and walking safer, this is an excellent source to find out more. Also don't forget the back issues of the NJ Walks & Bikes Newsletter and the Safe Routes Scoop!

Deadline tommorrow for comments on Scudder Falls Bridge

As report by John and our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:

Comments to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission on this issue are due tomorrow, February 4th. Send the Commission an email letter stating your support for a bicycle/pedestrian pathway being included in the final design of the Bridge.

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an indepth story and editorial today about the I-95 Scudder Falls Bridge and how a bicycle/pedestrian walkway that is being considered by the Bridge Commission may not get included because it is "prohibitively expensive." The Commission is rationalizing that 9 motor vehicle lanes (up from the current 4), 2 lanes for buses and 2 12-wide shoulders are necessary and a given that they will be built, but a bicycle/pedestrian path "is a cost issue" and may not be get included in the final design.

Obviously,we at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia don't agree and are pleased that the Inquirer Editorial Board is with us! The cost of a bicycle/pedestrian pathway is well below the threshold of what the feds consider "unreasonable", and there are other important positive benefits to having providing bicycle/pedestrian access that outweigh costs. Accommodating all users in transportation projects is federal and state policy, and one that this Commission should adhere to. The Commission should be designing a bridge with a 50-75 year life span for a future of more bicycling and walking and not pretend that it doesn't have a role to play in making the region more sustainable. As the Inquirer said today, "it would be an absurd planning decision to build a new bridge that made no room for cyclists and hikers to cross between two historic canal trails."

BCGP Final Comments (pdf)

View Philadelphia Regional Trails in a larger map

New issue of NJ Walks & Bikes newsletter available

The latest issue of the NJ Walks and Bikes newsletter is now available online at:
http://policy.rutgers.edu/VTC/bikeped/Walks_and_Bikes/Vol3_Issue2/



Produced by the NJDOT through the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, this latest issue is especially good. The more notable and interesting topics in this issue are:

New Jersey DOT adopts a Complete Streets Policy
Statewide Bicycling Survey completed (with plenty of useful info!)
Cross County Connection creates Google Map showing bike routes and public transportation
Plus more!

For those of you who may be wondering what NJDOT is doing to make bicycling and walking safer, this is an excellent source to find out more. Also don't forget the back issues of the NJ Walks & Bikes Newsletter and the Safe Routes Scoop!

Opinion: Allentown NJ - Hotbed of dangerous traffic, bullying, sexual harassment and criminal activities?!?!

Believable it or not, we are talking about courtesy busing to school.

Last week there was a good article in a locally distributed weekly paper called the Examiner, which covers the bucolic rural towns in far western Monmouth County. The article discussed what Upper Freehold Township is trying to do to eliminate unnecessary courtesy busing in and around the village of Allentown. In the past ten years or so a number of sprawling developments have popped up around the idyllic farm town but within very close proximity to the local schools that are with easy walking distance of Main St. Accordingly the town is looking to install sidewalks and paths to better connect these developments and the town so that local children can walk and ride bikes to school.

While these sidewalks and paths should have been built when the developments went in, it is highly commendable that the local township with the board of ed is now trying to do the right thing. By spending money upfront on sidewalk infrastructure they can avoid continuously dumping it into endless payments for unnecessary busing particularly when the kids live so close to their schools.

In 2010, Upper Freehold predicts it will spend close to $100,000 on courtesy busing. That amount could build quite a bit of sidewalk.

View Larger Map
Allentown, NJ. Rockwellian, small-town America or hotbed of crime, dangerous traffic and sexual lewdness?

However, if you read further down towards the last two paragraphs of the article you will see that some parents have already objected to the possibility of eliminating of courtesy busing. In their objection they cite that their children will be forced "to walk through dangerous intersections in downtown Allentown" and "that sidewalks would be dangerous because they are potential places for bullying, sexual harassment and criminal activities."

When I read that statement my jaw hit the floor. I'm very familiar with Allentown. It is one of the most peaceful and quaint small towns in all of New Jersey. One couldn't hope to live in a more perfect rural setting. The historic Main St is still the hub of local commerce and there isn't a strip mall within miles. Sidewalks are plentiful within the old town and local police make sure that NO ONE exceeds the posted 25mph downtown. I couldn't imagine a more perfect and safe place in New Jersey to raise a child and let them roam around and live an active childhood like that I enjoyed when I was a kid.

View Larger Map
Shaded, historic Main St, Allentown, NJ.

I know that the parents out there will say that since I'm not a parent I can't begin to understand and that things are "different" since when I was a kid (yeah, back in the 1970's every parent exposed their kids to second hand smoke, people drove drunk without penalty and lead was in the gasoline, so life has got to be more dangerous today - hint, sarcasm). However, I beg to differ. I believe that the fear that parents have for their childrens' safety is far beyond rational and has become all-out, unhealthy paranoia and it takes a childless person to point that out.

WWBPA does public comments right

Just a few days ago this week the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance released their public comments regarding the redesign of the Main St. section of County Rt 571, Princeton Hightstown Rd. I suggest that any and all New Jersey advocacy groups take a look at their comments since they are very well done and could be used as a model for other groups to emulate. Also, notice who they copied on their correspondence. Their comments can be found here.

Also, for some background information, here is a presentation given on December 15th 2009 that reviews some of the planned "improvements" for the roadway.

View Larger Map
The section of County Rt 571 in West Windsor Township in question.

Trash Talk: Press of AC editor blames peds / State for increase in deaths

On Sunday, The Press of Atlantic City ran an article about the continued high number of pedestrian deaths this year. Pedestrian fatalities are likely to overtake last years numbers which were again higher than the number of pedestrian fatalities in 2007. Sad as it is, as of November 28th there were 24 more pedestrian fatalities then the same date in 2008 (actual number of pedestrian fatalities for year up to 11/28 not given).

However, according to The Press's editor, Jim Perskie, fault lies with the pedestrian victims and State Department of Highway Traffic Safety for initiating the wildly successful Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Program in South Jersey this year. See, according to Perskie's twisted logic, now that the police are reestablishing a pedestrian's right-of-way while in a crosswalk, this is somehow emboldening pedestrians to walk directly out into traffic so they get hit by cars who can not stop in time. Ridiculous!

First of all, being a devout reader of the NJ Bicycle and Pedestrian News Digest, I have not anecdotally noticed an outstanding increased trend in pedestrian fatal crashes by people walking out into traffic at crosswalks. Yes, there have been stories of pedestrians being killed while crossing legally in crosswalks but no noticeable spike.

Second, (sorry to break it to you Jimmy) but yielding (or stopping) for pedestrians is the law in every state in the U.S. and in most other civilized nations and is not some wacky idea that bureaucrats though up in Trenton. It's been the law here in New Jersey for 50 years.

Now stop for a second Jimmy. This might come as a surprise, but did you ever think that it might be the bad, reckless, if not homicidal behavior of New Jersey drivers that is to blame? Jim all you would have had to do is shut it for a moment to wait for the story to come over the wire the same day you wrote your piece, to read about the Air Force fighter pilot killed in Cherry Hill while working in his front yard by a driver who was speeding excessively.

While yes, there are jerks that dare drivers to hit them as they jaywalk into traffic, I'd suggest Jim, that before you make wild accusations from your position of influence, try to have more than your clear biases to back you up. We at WalkBikeJesey will keep an eye on you, particularly since this is not the first time you had something less than flattering to say about bicyclists or pedestrians.

In case Jim Perskie's editorial is pulled from the web we've included it verbatim below:

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

There have been 24 more pedestrian deaths in New Jersey so far this year than in 2008 — and traffic-safety officials can’t figure out why.

“We’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it,” said Pam Fischer, director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety.

Do you think it might have something to do with the increased enforcement of a decades-old law that gives pedestrians the right of way when in a crosswalk? The law was virtually ignored for years. Whatever the statutes said, pedestrians were taught to stop, look both ways and wait until no cars were coming. It worked pretty well. Then the state started handing out grants for enforcing the crosswalk law — in the name of pedestrian safety, if you can believe it.

All of a sudden, streets were full of pedestrians stepping into crosswalks — and into traffic. Why not? The cars have to stop to let you cross. The law says so. The signs say so. Except they don’t. Not always, or even often. Sometimes a car headed in one direction stops. But the car headed in another doesn’t. And any car that does stop to let a pedestrian cross runs the risk of getting rear-ended.

The Press has run dozens of letters pointing out how dangerous this law is. A friend who is a police officer stopped me on the street to tell me how dangerous this law is.

Everybody seems to get it except state traffic officials.

The kitchen sink isn’t working, folks.

Go back to teaching pedestrians to look both ways and wait for traffic to clear before crossing, and who knows? Just maybe fewer pedestrians will get killed.

Pedestrian dies on Rt 35 in Ocean Beach, as predicted

The Star Ledger reported (1,2) this past weekend about a Mark Infante, municipal prosecutor from West Orange who was killed while walking along the shoulder of Rt 35 as he returned home from the post office just after 12 noon.

View Larger Map

Approximate site of the fatal crash on Rt 35 South and Bay Beach Way

Yes, unfortunately the news of a pedestrian dieing on a New Jersey State Highway is nothing new and all too common. A review of the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian News Digest shows that at least 15 bicyclists and pedestrians were killed on New Jersey roads in the month of November alone.

What is chilling about this one for me is that I predicted it.

You may recall back in August I wrote an article (Is Rt 35 south of Pt Pleasant "Shore to kill?) about the obvious and plentiful hazards facing pedestrians, bicyclist and drivers alike. However, during the quiet winter months and in broad daylight is not how I saw such a tragedy happening.

Please, let this be the last fatality of any type on this stretch of Rt 35.

The connection between Open Space and Biking and Walking

I was reading BikePortland earlier this week and came across an article that talked about the connection between preserving farmland from development and high quality recreational road cycling. While it is something that I've thought about before, I found it interesting that someone else had made the connection to farmland and open-space preservation and maintaining quality cycling particularly right at this moment in time.

A view from Sunrise Mountain Road in Stokes State Forest during an overnight bike tour.

As part of next week's elections, Ballot Question One will ask New Jerseyans if the State should bond 400 million dollars to continue funding the New Jersey Green Acres and Farmland Preservation programs. Previous voter approved bond funds managed by Green Acres and Farmland Preservation have been used to assist in the preservation of the 1.2 million acres of parkland and 180,000 acres of farmland in New Jersey. As cycling and pedestrian advocates you might be asking, "How does preserved land help our cause?" Well, let me suggest a number of ways that it does.

#1 - Preserving land and protecting it from development prevents sprawl in New Jersey's scenic areas. Some of my favorite places to take a recreation road ride are full of beautiful farms and scenic vistas. In these areas much of the land that I pass by is protected from development. Not only does this keep the scenery beautiful but since population densities are kept low, the roads that pass through these areas remain quiet with very low traffic volumes, perfect for cycling. And again it can't be said enough, these areas are just plain beautiful and a real pleasure to cycle through.

Enjoying the view on quiet Rocktown Road in Hunterdon County. The farm in the foreground
and much of the forest on Sourland Mountain in the distance are protected from development.

#2 - Many preserved lands become places to hike and mountain bike. (Not much else to say here.)

Coming down the deserted hairpin on Middle Valley Road in Long Valley, Washington
Township in Morris County (didn't have a real mountain biking or hiking photo available).

#3 - Removing the development potential from land far from municipal services prevents car dependent development where nothing can reasonably be reached by foot or bicycle like schools or parks. Also, taking these lands out of "circulation" can, in theory, help focus development back into city and town centers where amenities already exist and are easily accessible by non-motorized means.

Vacant lots and underutilized buildings wait for more productive uses
less than 5 minutes walk from Trenton's new, world-class train station.

#4 - Parkland that is preserved today can be used as vital links in building future transportation trails. Using pre-existing parks are often a way that trail planners can get a trail through an urban or otherwise densely developed area. This is how much of the East-Coast Greenway is being routed through Northeastern New Jersey.

#5 - Finally while admittedly not directly in line with the thesis of this article, in New Jersey, Green Acres moneys are often directly used to improve the pedestrian environment in pre-existing towns, like with the Morristown Green and Bay View Park in Perth Amboy. It has been long understood that urban open-spaces, as long as they are properly maintained, greatly improve the quality of life of pedestrian oriented cities and towns.

While this all may sound like a promotion to support the bond initiative next week, there is no intent either way. I just want people to be aware of the interplay between preserved lands and the quality of walking and biking, particularly with the bond coming up for a vote next week. Rejection of the bond initiative may actually be a good thing. If the bond is rejected, due to the political popularity of the Green Acres and Farmland Preservation programs, legislators may finally be forced to find a different funding source for land preservation, preferably one that has a dedicated source of annual revenue.

Red Bank residents start "Safe Routes" Group

From their website:

Our group encompasses a wide range of interests (bike commuters, residents who walk/shop downtown, fitness cyclists, etc.). While there are many facets of pedestrian and cyclist safety, we are first organizing around getting safe routes to schools for Red Bank's kids. Via NJDOT grant funding available through the national Safe Routes to Schools program, we believe that we can achieve a signed network of safe routes that connect the west side of Red Bank to the east side. This safe flow of pedestrian and cyclist traffic is important on many levels, not the least of which is that it would allow most any kid in Red Bank to get to most any school.

View Safe Routes to School in a larger map

And according to a press release they had their first organizational meeting on Wednesday, October 21.

The formation of Red Bank Safe Routes is a reaffirmation to us at WalkBikeJersey of the pent up demand New Jersey residents have for wanting to live in communities where they, their children and elderly can safely walk and bike. Places like Red Bank were planned to be compact walkable communities where the car was a luxury and not a necessity. Fortunately for us, New Jersey has many places like Red Bank, built before the needs of the automobile dominated the way the American landscape would be developed. Like those residents in Red Bank and elsewhere throughout or state, all we need to do is just reclaim a little of that roadway space (much of it wasted anyway) back from the automobile.

Best of luck Red Bank Safe Routes!

Is Rt 35 south of Pt Pleasant "Shore to kill?"

This past Saturday night I was returning home by car from a bike trip to Island Beach State Park. However driving north on Rt 35 at 9pm was an exceptionally unnerving experience even despite traveling below the 35mph speed limit much of the time. Roadway condition were poor and the street lighting just as bad. In many places the roadway, particularly the shoulder was ill defined and in most places, exceptionally wide. Overall the original roadway design seems more appropriate for a highway with scattered commercial strip mall development and 50mph speeds than a street with downtown style stores interspersed with residential homes and HEAVY pedestrian and bicycle traffic.


View Larger Map

And talk of pedestrian and bicycle traffic! It was everywhere and coming from every conceivable direction. This was particularly true in the Lavallette and Ortley Beach areas. Despite the volumes of bike and pedestrian traffic facilities for them were extremely minimal and often in poor condition. Bike lanes are nonexistent and even sidewalks were intermittent. Bicyclists came from every direction with only one of over a hundred having any lights even though it was completely dark by this time. Pedestrians were also hard to see, including ones making every effort to use the marked crosswalks. Local authorities did try to help pedestrians by placing construction barrels in the roadway to accent crosswalks but at night this seemed (to me at least) to cause more confusion.

Now the reason why I bring this up is that Rt 35 is a state highway and it my best understanding that it is entirely within NJDOT's jurisdiction. It is a roadway obviously in need of repair particularly on the north bound side. With repairs coming soon at some point it is time for NJDOT to step up and come up with an Context Sensitive Solution for this highway that suits the needs of all roadway users and increases safety for all. Under the former guidance of Gary Toth, NJDOT became a leader in Context Sensitive Design. With plenty of room in most places there is no reason why contiguous sidewalks and bike lanes (including a possible retrograde lane on the north bound side) along with crosswalk bulb-outs cannot be built to the latest standards without impacting sacred parking spaces. I can think of few other roadways in New Jersey at the moment that are more in need of such treatment.

I just hope something is done about this soon before the title of this post proves to be prophetic.

Thoughts from those who must still think the Earth is flat

Ahhh.... The lovely Heritage Foundation. Still calling walking, biking and transit "19th Century transportation." That's almost as bad these days as saying your a staunch supporter of The Flat Earth Society.

Anyway, got wind of this from a nice mass transit blog called The Overhead Wire. On that blog they link and quote the latest in 1950's transportation ideology coming out of best known right-of-center think tank in the land:

At the same time, many environmental groups, labor unions, consultants, and construction companies are urging the federal government to redirect federal transportation policy toward 19th century transportation options by shifting federal resources from highways and autos to transit and trains, as well as hiking and biking, in the belief that these latter modes--while slower and more costly (emphasis mine) --are more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly. With an opportunity to receive greater subsidies, the transit and train lobbies have moved aggressively to influence Congress and the media, and many in Congress are already promising to push for these changes.

Besides the derogatory and frankly stale references to walking, biking and transit as so "19th Century" (travel in Northwestern Europe to see how backwards these modes really are) the rest of the essay does bring up some interesting statistics about mode share and other strategies to reduce auto dependence. My purpose with this post is not to debate them point to point where I disagree (even though I could easily). Why waste my time (I've got something else to post!) when the entire planning profession has proven their argument shallow and false time and time again. Rather I simply wanted to point out the continuation of this right-wing trash talk.

Not that there isn't room for debate. Some of the points this essay makes are interesting. However to continue to write off the three most efficient modes of transportation on Earth that:

• provide equity in transportation
• have been proven time and time again to work all around the world and here in America
• can often be much faster than a car

is simply downright laughable and without merit. Such old and tired rhetoric must be called out particularly when it comes from an organization as powerful as this.