The following originally appeared on the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle News:
While the doomday clock on Transportation Enhancements (TE) is ticking, New Jersey has announced one more round of TE that can fund bicycle and pedestrian projects including Circuit trails.
Funds are available for design, right of way acquisition, and construction. Selection of TE projects involves the participation of civic and environmental groups, the transportation community, and other government organizations such as the state’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations. The solicitation letter from Commissioner James Simpson invites those with construction-ready projects.
The application deadline is July 17th. For more information, go to the New Jersey DOT Transportation Enhancements web page.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Call Senator Menendez now to save Federal Bike/Ped funding
Call Senator Robert Menendez right now and ask him to save Federal bike and pedestrian funding!
(973) 645-3030
The below comes from America Bikes and is a very short script that they want you to use when you call your senator / congressperson. Short and sweet!
- Hi, my name is [[your name]] and I live in [[city/town]].
- I’m calling to ask that Senator Menendez maintain the Cardin-Cochran agreement in the transportation bill. Please ensure that states not be permitted to opt-out of local control over biking and walking funds.
- Over 50,000 pedestrians died preventable deaths on American streets between 2001 and 2010. Having saddled communities with unsafe streets, it would be the height of cruelty for Congress now to take away resources from local communities trying to improve those conditions and save lives.
- The bipartisan Cardin-Cochran agreement in the Senate transportation bill would ensure that local governments can access 1 – 2% of federal transportation dollars for local projects.
- Will Senator Menendez ensure that local governments have control over funds for biking and walking improvements?
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Riding in East Orange? Come with bells on
Word comes to WalkBikeJersey from our friends at the Brick City Bike Collective, that the East Orange Police are enforcing the following New Jersey state law:
In New York City, the police often use the bell requirement as an excuse to pull over and ticket otherwise law abiding cyclists. It would appear that the New Jersey law is being used for essentially the same purpose. A much better use of limited New Jersey law enforcement resources would be for officers to pull over cyclists who operate their bicycles illegally and dangerously, or ride at night without lights. Riding without a bell is none of that.
While a bicycle bell is a polite way to notify pedestrians that a bicycle is approaching, bells are totally useless when warning cars drivers or superfluous as ones voice is often just as effective when warning pedestrians and usually much louder than a bell.
When looked at it in this light, it is clear that this 1951 law is truly archaic and needs to be repealed as it provides no real safety benefit and is only ever used by police as a means to pull over well behaved cyclists.
On a side note:
A BIG tip of the ol' bike helmet to the Mexican / Central American guy who passed and then dropped me on a climb in Atlantic Highlands on Wednesday. He had a decent road bike but what was truly amazing was that he was wearing jeans a long sleeve t-shirt in the midday heat!!! Obviously riding for transportation. I was in my finest Italian kit, shoes and bike (yes, everything Italian) and I just couldn't keep up and I'm in pretty damn good shape. I told him how impressed I was and rooted him on. He laughed and was soon gone.
I'm totally not worthy.
39:4-11. Audible signalDarryle of the BCBC told us that, "That is why I got pulled over. He said he stopped me because I didn't have a bell. It wasn't like he stopped me for something else, and wrote me up for the bell in the process, it was only because I didn't have a bell." Luckily for Darryle, he was only given a warning.
No person shall operate a bicycle unless it is equipped with a bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible for a distance of at least one hundred feet, except that a bicycle shall not be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a bicycle any siren or whistle.
Amended by L.1951, c. 23, p. 70, s. 12.
In New York City, the police often use the bell requirement as an excuse to pull over and ticket otherwise law abiding cyclists. It would appear that the New Jersey law is being used for essentially the same purpose. A much better use of limited New Jersey law enforcement resources would be for officers to pull over cyclists who operate their bicycles illegally and dangerously, or ride at night without lights. Riding without a bell is none of that.
While a bicycle bell is a polite way to notify pedestrians that a bicycle is approaching, bells are totally useless when warning cars drivers or superfluous as ones voice is often just as effective when warning pedestrians and usually much louder than a bell.
When looked at it in this light, it is clear that this 1951 law is truly archaic and needs to be repealed as it provides no real safety benefit and is only ever used by police as a means to pull over well behaved cyclists.
On a side note:
A BIG tip of the ol' bike helmet to the Mexican / Central American guy who passed and then dropped me on a climb in Atlantic Highlands on Wednesday. He had a decent road bike but what was truly amazing was that he was wearing jeans a long sleeve t-shirt in the midday heat!!! Obviously riding for transportation. I was in my finest Italian kit, shoes and bike (yes, everything Italian) and I just couldn't keep up and I'm in pretty damn good shape. I told him how impressed I was and rooted him on. He laughed and was soon gone.
I'm totally not worthy.
Monday, June 11, 2012
NJT Ruling - Low Platform Access Restored. Weekend Access Restricted. Did we really gain anything?
As expected the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors reversed its restriction on bicycles at low platform train stations. The decision came out of the findings of a bicycle policy committee that looked at bike access. The findings were released to the public several weeks ago and bicyclists were encouraged to show their support for the findings. In a single vote bike access was restored to more than half of the NJ TRANSIT rail stations.
That open transparent process (and the feel good cooperation) was negated by the second recommendation - A back room add-on that appeared for a vote with little public notice, NJ TRANSIT announced new weekend restrictions for bikes. Trains that destine for New York Penn Station between 9 and 12 AM and Trains that depart NY Penn between 5 and 8 PM will no longer allow bicycles. Note that trains that start and terminate at Hoboken and Newark are not subject to the weekend restrictions. We can thank NJ TRANSIT board member Regina Egea for making the new rule slightly less onerous. She successfully moved to shave off two hours of weekend restrictions.
For a look at the complete draft policy (with original hours) see page 28 of the NJ Transit Board Meeting draft agenda.
There was clearly no science applied to the new restrictions, instead the board deferred to the antiquated rules of New York's MTA, which have changed little since their creation in the 1980's. On an average weekday 276,459 trips are taken on NJ TRANSIT trains. On Saturdays the ridership decreases by 65% TO 95,420 trips and on Sunday that number is just 75,418 or a 72% decrease in ridership.
As experienced bike on rail users know conductors already have the latitude to restrict bikes on trains and they are not afraid to turn passengers with bicycles away if the train is crowded.
And so the crazy quilt of New Jersey Transit bike rules acquires another patch right next to:
In the meantime plan your trips accordingly and keep a copy of the rules in your pocket or on a smartphone.
That open transparent process (and the feel good cooperation) was negated by the second recommendation - A back room add-on that appeared for a vote with little public notice, NJ TRANSIT announced new weekend restrictions for bikes. Trains that destine for New York Penn Station between 9 and 12 AM and Trains that depart NY Penn between 5 and 8 PM will no longer allow bicycles. Note that trains that start and terminate at Hoboken and Newark are not subject to the weekend restrictions. We can thank NJ TRANSIT board member Regina Egea for making the new rule slightly less onerous. She successfully moved to shave off two hours of weekend restrictions.
For a look at the complete draft policy (with original hours) see page 28 of the NJ Transit Board Meeting draft agenda.
 |
| The crazy quilt of NJ TRANSIT Bike on rail rules can make an attractive pair of Christmas Stockings |
There was clearly no science applied to the new restrictions, instead the board deferred to the antiquated rules of New York's MTA, which have changed little since their creation in the 1980's. On an average weekday 276,459 trips are taken on NJ TRANSIT trains. On Saturdays the ridership decreases by 65% TO 95,420 trips and on Sunday that number is just 75,418 or a 72% decrease in ridership.
As experienced bike on rail users know conductors already have the latitude to restrict bikes on trains and they are not afraid to turn passengers with bicycles away if the train is crowded.
And so the crazy quilt of New Jersey Transit bike rules acquires another patch right next to:
- No bikes on Major Holidays
- No bikes on the day before all Holidays
- No bikes on the day after Thanksgiving
- No bikes on the eves of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
- Bikes are allowed at all times on the Atlantic City Rail Line
In the meantime plan your trips accordingly and keep a copy of the rules in your pocket or on a smartphone.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Show your support to return bikes to NJ TRANSIT trains
Show your support for the recommendations to restore bicycle access to NJ TRANSIT trains at all train stations by attending the next NJ TRANSIT board meeting on Monday, June 11th at 9am at the NJ TRANSIT Headquarters in Newark.
Thanks to over 300 cyclists who signed our petition to restore access bicycle access at low level platform stations, a very responsive and concerned NJDOT Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Chairman, James Simpson quickly formed a taskforce to see what could be done to restore full access to the trains and other ideas that could help integrate bicycles more efficiently with NJ TRANSIT trains.
While the recommendations are likely to pass the full NJ TRANSIT Board at the June 11th meeting, it would be a great gesture if we could get at least 10 cyclists to attend the meeting to that the Commissioner and the NJ TRANSIT Boards
| ...once again with a bicycle? |
While the recommendations are likely to pass the full NJ TRANSIT Board at the June 11th meeting, it would be a great gesture if we could get at least 10 cyclists to attend the meeting to that the Commissioner and the NJ TRANSIT Boards
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Lead Footed Legislation Seeks Relief For Red Light Runners
If you are a "beat the light" kind of driver then relief from those pesky red light cameras may be on the way. According to the Hunterdon County Democrat State Senators Michael Doherty and Jennifer Beck have introduced legislation that seeks to ban red light cameras in New Jersey.
New Jersey may be joining nine other states where the populist calls for privacy violations has taken precedent over the proven safety benefits of automatic enforcement. A study released by the Texas Transportation Institute showed that red light related crashes decreased in Texas cities by 25%. The study looks at data collected over three years, NJ's red light cameras three year data on red light intersection crashes. A 2007 study in the City of Philadelphia showed that red light violations declined at two dangerous intersections on US1 by 96% after cameras were installed.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which conduct the 2007 Philadelphia study added this note in its press release:
"Red light running causes about 800 crash deaths per year, and about half of the people who are killed aren't the signal violators. They're pedestrians and people in vehicles that are struck by motorists committing the violations. Another 165,000 people are estimated to be injured in red light running crashes each year."
To put that into perspective, the number of people injured or killed by red light running annually exceeds the population of Paterson.
We agree with Senator Doherty's argument that red light cameras should not be used as revenue generators for cash starved municipalities, but this can be corrected by following Pennsylvania's red light camera model which directs the surplus revenue toward traffic safety programs and projects. The program known as ARLE has paid for projects such as upgraded signals, pedestrian bumpouts and sharrows.
Maybe the state legislature should send a copy of the legislation to those NJ families whose lives have been ruined by those who ignored traffic signals and ask for their opinion on it.
New Jersey may be joining nine other states where the populist calls for privacy violations has taken precedent over the proven safety benefits of automatic enforcement. A study released by the Texas Transportation Institute showed that red light related crashes decreased in Texas cities by 25%. The study looks at data collected over three years, NJ's red light cameras three year data on red light intersection crashes. A 2007 study in the City of Philadelphia showed that red light violations declined at two dangerous intersections on US1 by 96% after cameras were installed.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which conduct the 2007 Philadelphia study added this note in its press release:
"Red light running causes about 800 crash deaths per year, and about half of the people who are killed aren't the signal violators. They're pedestrians and people in vehicles that are struck by motorists committing the violations. Another 165,000 people are estimated to be injured in red light running crashes each year."
To put that into perspective, the number of people injured or killed by red light running annually exceeds the population of Paterson.
We agree with Senator Doherty's argument that red light cameras should not be used as revenue generators for cash starved municipalities, but this can be corrected by following Pennsylvania's red light camera model which directs the surplus revenue toward traffic safety programs and projects. The program known as ARLE has paid for projects such as upgraded signals, pedestrian bumpouts and sharrows.
Maybe the state legislature should send a copy of the legislation to those NJ families whose lives have been ruined by those who ignored traffic signals and ask for their opinion on it.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
"The Circuit" Promises To Make Trail Connections Beyond The Philadelphia Region
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and dignitaries from both sides of the Delaware River made the formal announcement for "The Circuit". A 750 mile regional trail network that cover all of the Greater Philadelphia Region including Mercer, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties.
Connectthecircuit.org
Planning for the Circuit will unify a fractured network of multi-use trails. Currently in the 9 County Philadelphia Region 250 miles of trails are complete including the Schuylkill River Trail and The East Coast Greenw. 50 miles of trails are in the planning or construction phases including sections of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail and the East Coast Greenway. Those trails are to be connected by another 450 miles of planned trails estimated to cost about 250 Million dollars to build. While that may seem to be a lot of money, laying out the project over a 20 year timeline would only account for 1% of the Philadelphia Regions transportation and transit budget.
But as the map shows the Circuit will be making connections far beyond the Liberty Bell. The East Coast Greenway will run from Maine to Florida but trails in Camden and Gloucester County could link up with the regional trail being developed in Atlantic and Cape May Counties. Mercer County's trails could link with Monmouth's growing network by prioritizing the Capital to Coast Trail. And so on...
Connectthecircuit.org
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