Google Street View Captures the Evolution of Complete Streets in NJ

If you subscribe to Streetsblog then you may have seen the latest entry looking at Google Map's new Street View archive, which lets look at street view images back to 2007. It shows some exemplary before and after shots of bike, pedestrian and transit improvements to streets in Indianapolis, New York and Cleveland. So let's look at a few transformations right here in New Jersey.

Trenton - Warren St (Lincoln Hwy) and Livingston St

A wide poorly marked street was transformed with a roundabout, landscaping and bike lanes.

Ocean City/Somers Point - Route 52 Causeway

Before the opening of the causeway bicycles and pedestrians were banned from using this bridge. This project is NJDOT's crown jewel.

Highlands/Sea Bright/Sandy Hook - Route 36 Bridge

NJDOT's first large scale complete streets project, not as evolved as the Ocean City bridge but a major improvement nonetheless. Also provides a critical connection between the Henry Hudson Trail in Highlands with the Sandy Hook Bikeway.

Woodbury - Rt 45/Broad St

NJDOT's makeover of Woodbury's commercial street is a classic road diet with some nice touches at the intersections. Door zone bike lanes will continue to be an issue with this configuration until the political will evolves to permit the reduction of on street parking.

Wayne - Ratzer Rd

I wanted to include this to show that making over a street doesn't have to involve major construction project. Simply changing the paint after resurfacing a road is the easiest and most common way to improve a street.

Senate forwards Transport Bill WITHOUT bike/ped funding

The following is written by Tanya Snyder at Streetsblog.DC and is reproduced here due to the importance and urgency of this issue and as she has done a MUCH better job summarizing the issue then I have the time to. 

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted unanimously this morning to pass a two-year transportation reauthorization bill, moving the bill one step closer to passage by the full Senate.

Unlike in the House, where the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has full responsibility for the transportation bill, the Senate splits jurisdiction among several committees, so the saga isn’t over yet by a long shot. The Senate Banking Committee still needs to consider the transit part of the bill, Commerce will get its hands dirty on the rail portion, and Finance is going to figure out how to pay for the whole thing.

Non-Motorized Transportation Takes a Hit
Rarely have bike and pedestrian safety been so squarely at the center of a Congressional boxing match as during the debate over this bill. The fight over dedicated funding for bike/ped projects – much of it focused on the Transportation Enhancements program – threatened the delicate bipartisan consensus for this bill. What emerged was a compromise that placated even the most hardened TE haters like Sens. James Inhofe and Tom Coburn.

To continue reading this article follow the link to the complete story at Streetsblog.DC.

Also make sure you read Tanya Snyder's second look at the Senate Transportation Bill and why she thinks it's not as bad as it could have been.  Also make sure you read the reaction by Rails-to-Trails' Kevin Mills to Tanya's second article (his is the second comment).  He is not so optimistic.

Videos you can use - Feb 11, 2011

Again, I don't like to just rehash content that is already out there on the web without at least a little analysis but the following two videos that were featured on Streetsblog NYC are just too good and pertinent not to share.

The first is a look at the different view the media and law enforcement has of cyclists and of the drivers that hit them in the Netherlands. Clarence's analysis of the differences is spot on and needs no further comment so take a look at what he has to say here.



Also, and maybe even more relevant to New Jersey, is this video meant to counteract some of the national push-back on Red Light Cameras. The video has it's very disturbing moments, so be warned. There is a bit of irony since much if not all of the video of the crashes seem to have been shot on Red Light Cameras (tragically ironic, really since the cameras didn't seem to help those victims). Again Streetsblog's analysis along with that of the commenters just about says it all.

Streetsblog Interviews Dan Burden

I don't normally cover stuff that other blogs are writing. I figure most of you will read it on your own and look to WalkBikeJersey for original and Jersey only content. However, this time I must make an exception.

Streetsblog has done an excellent interview with Dan Burden, one of the "wise old men" of the bicycle and pedestrian cause. In the interview Dan talks about the new book from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) called Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach. The interview is long but full of incredibly insightful information that anyone working to make New Jersey's streets a safer and more convenient to walk and bike should know about.

The book looks like a must have for any bike/ped advocate or street designer but it will cost you up to $37.50. Oh wait! You can download it for free too!