Videos you can use - Moving Beyond the Automobile: Bicycling

Streetfilms is currently in the midst of a great series called Moving Beyond the Automobile and this weeks installment is focused on bicycling. I figured I'd share it with you all as a bit of fodder to feed your excitement for this Saturday's Bike and Walk Summit.



One note:  It's a shame that of all the towns talked about, there is not one mention of anyplace in New Jersey.  Heck!  Even Columbus, Ohio gets a prop!  Well, then again, I don't think that Philly is mentioned either but it would still be nice to have a town in our state that was at the forefront of this movement to be noticed.

How are you getting to the NJ Bike/Walk Summit this Saturday?

Leave the car at home and walk, bike and/or take transit to get to the NJ Bike and Walk Summit this Saturday, February 26!

The new Trenton Transit Center *

With the NJ Bike and Walk Summit located in Trenton this year there are plenty of opportunities for you to ride, walk, take a trail, train, light rail or bus to get there.  Trenton was ranked as the 8th most walkable city in 2008 by Prevention Magazine.  The new, world class, Trenton Transit Center welcomes riders of NJ Transit's NE Corridor Line, RiverLINE Light Rail as well as numerous bus routes, all equipped to handle riders with bicycles.  Also arriving at the Transit Center are numerous Amtrak trains as well as SEPTA's Trenton Line (formally called the R7).

Bicycle accommodations on the RiverLINE. *

Once you get to the Transit Center getting to the Summit is an easy task.  At only 0.9 miles away, the Masonic Temple is about an 18 minute walk or a 5 minute ride by bicycle.  Sidewalks are plentiful and traffic on State Street is calm and sparse particularly on a Saturday with all the state offices closed.

Also, WalkBikeJersey has been notified that THERE WILL BE BICYCLE PARKING AVAILABLE ON SITE, and likely inside the Masonic Temple.  Make sure you bring a lock even if bicycle parking is allowed inside the building.





View NJ Bike/Walk Summit: Trenton Local Directions in a larger map

It is also possible to take the Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath to get to Trenton from destinations north along the Delaware River and now also from the northeast, from Princeton and destinations beyond. This is due to the recently completed, paved section of trail along Rt US 1 and the train tracks, between Mulberry St and North Broad St.

The dusty but paved new section of trail just south of Mulberry St. *

One is also not restricted to using the D&R Canal Towpath to get into Trenton.  South Clinton Ave makes a fine approach for cyclists from the southwest.  The modified street grid network of Trenton and surrounding Hamilton makes approaches from the area east of Rt 1 fairly doable.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the area to the north and west of US Rt 1, out to the loop of I-95 and in the newer sections of Hamilton Township to the east.  Here the residential streets only partially connect and nearly all the arterial roadways have little accommodations for cyclists.  Still, there is always the bus.


View NJ Bike/Walk Summit: Trenton Directions in a larger map

* - All images taken and copyrighted by the author and can only be reproduced after a formal written request is submitted and permission granted.

FREE Webinar: Getting Bike Shops and Advocates To Collaborate on Safe Routes to School

The following is copied from the National Safe Routes to School Partnership announcement for the above titled webinar:

Webinar: Getting Bike Shops and Advocates To Collaborate on Safe Routes to School
Thursday, March 3, 2011, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EST

Register Today

Are you looking to engage your local bike shop in Safe Routes to School programs? Or, as a local bike shop, have you been looking for ways to get involved in the Safe Routes to School movement but haven’t quite figured out how you fit?

This webinar will highlight success stories in Colorado and Austin, Texas that have teamed a local program with a bike shop to enhance Safe Routes to School efforts. In addition to programmatic highlights, presenters will explain the benefits of involving bike shops, describe a strategy for approaching local bike shops, and discuss concrete ideas for collaboration ranging from low hanging fruit to full-fledged sponsorship.

Involving bike shops in Safe Routes to School projects is key to creating a sustainable program that encourages more bicycling. Any parent, program staff, manager or bike shop staffer that has struggled to implement bicycling within Safe Routes to School activities should attend this webinar!

Presenters:

• Jenna Berman, Education Director, Bicycle Colorado
• Leslie Luciano, Director of Advocacy, Bicycle Sport Shop, Austin, TX
• David Cowan, Program Manager, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
• Robert Ping, State Network Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership

 Click here to register now!

This webinar is part one of a six part webinar series by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership that focuses on bicycling and Safe Routes to School.

Thank you to the SRAM Cycling Fund for making this series possible.

For more information please contact Dave Cowan at dave@saferoutespartnership.org

* Long distance charges apply accordingly.
** Recording of webinar will be available at www.saferoutespartnership.org within seven days of original broadcast.

Federal Bike/Ped monies could be on chopping block this week.

The following message comes from the League of American Bicyclists and is reproduced here in it's entirety for your information:

Potential Attack on funding for bicycling could happen this week
We are on "Amendment Watch"

Dear Friends:

Working with our partners at America Bikes, we have been monitoring and preparing for possible federal budget cuts that could attack biking and walking. This is a “pre-alert” to give you the heads up that if biking and walking funding and programs are attacked, we will have a very short window in which to take action.

If an amendment attacking biking and walking is proposed we will let you know right away and ask that you do your part as a citizen to raise your voice for biking and walking. If such action is required we will provide specific information and directions.

There is no action to take at this moment – this is just a heads up that we need everyone to stand-by for action.

Thank you in advance.

NJ Bike/Walk Summit on-line registration closing on Saturday

The below comes to WalkBikeJersey from the NJ Bike and Walk Coalition:

Today is the closing day for NJ Bike/Walk Summit on-line registration.  The Summit will take place in Trenton, NJ on Saturday, February 26, just ten days away. 

We normally hold registration open for a few days after the deadline because registration forms sent to us by mail lag a bit.  We've decided to leave the on-line registration open also, but only until Saturday, February 21, at which point both mail and on-line registration will close.

We've had an excellent response to the summit and THERE ARE ONLY 15 SPACES LEFT!

If registering for the summit has somehow slipped your mind this year, you still have a short window of opportunity left to register and be part of this event.

Join us in Trenton on February 26 and make a statement for bicycling and walking!

What exactly will NJDOT Bikeway Grants help build?

Ed note - If you're going to read one article in WBJ this week, let it be this one.  I spent the better part of three days doing the research and putting this story together because this is really important. Thanks for reading!

Last week both WalkBikeJersey and NJ Off-Road Biking reported about NJDOT awarding $7.6 million in Local Aid grants. The Bikeway Program is one of the four Local Aid grant programs that was a part of that announcement and it alone awarded nearly $3 million in grants for 12 different projects. Unfortunately the information provided by NJDOT does not go into specifics about each project and just gives the names of the projects and the towns where they are located.

Locations of NJDOT Bikeway Grant recipients throughout NJ.
View NJDOT Bikeway Grant Projects 2011 in a larger map.
Zoom in on project area to see project route details

Without specific information it’s difficult to get an understanding of exactly what this nearly $3 million is going to help build. In light of this, WalkBkeJersey decided to do a little bit of on-line investigating to get a better idea where this money is going. Unfortunately again, plans for all but one of these projects were not to be found on-line. However, through newspaper stories, information on local government websites and through some well deduced interpretations and observations from aerial imagery, I was able get a good idea of what is planned for 8 out of the 12 projects. The end result is the interactive Google map above and project reviews below. I’ve done my best to interpret the information I found and only mapped the projects where I felt I had enough information to do so.

Of the projects I was able to get a good idea about, some are well though out and will have clear benefits for all levels of cyclists.  A few seem to be great ideas but are likely see little use due to location.  Others will take many more years and many millions of dollars to make them practical and usable routes.  Then there are those that are well intentioned but the designs and treatments leave much to be concerned about.  So on to the reviews:

The Good:
1 - Middle Township Bike Path - Phase 3

How Many People Commute By Bike In Your Town?

Link to Larger Map

The interactive map above contains the bicycling to work numbers from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2005-2009 by Municipality. Clicking on any NJ town on the map will give you additional information such as the number and percentage of those taking transit or walking to work.

This data should not be confused with the 2010 Census, the American Community Survey is a large ongoing phone survey that covers questions that are no longer included with the 10 year Census.

Bike to Work data is not representative of the actual number of bicycle trips taken because it only accounts for commuters who bike to work more than 3 days a week. It doesn't count occasional riders or bicyclists riding to transit (they are counted as transit riders). It is however a good barometer of bicycle activity in a given area.

Census Data - http://factfinder.census.gov

Mapping - http://geocommons.com

Note: due to the size of the map we suggest closing the "Layers" tab moving the map to the right before clicking to view the attributes for any town. Alternatively simply click on Link to Larger Map.