DRPA proposes three alternatives for Ben Franklin Bridge ramp

This post comes to WalkBikeJersey from our friends at Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and is reposted here with their permission.


On Wednesday the Delaware River Port Authority's Engineering Department presented its preliminary design options to the DRPA Operations and Management Committee.

According to Philly.com, plans were presented for three design options ranging from a straightaway ramp, a single switchback, or three switchbacks. The estimated costs ranged from $3 million for the single switchback to $3.7 million for the straight ramp.

Image taken from The Inquirer. Credit: Robert West.

The design drawings will probably be presented to the DRPA Board at the March meeting; the options will be presented to the public at some point before the final design is determined.

We (the BCGP and WBJ) favor the straight ramp option although understand why some officials at DRPA have concerns of speeding cyclists. We think there are ways to slow the descent of wheeled vehicles, such as adding a kink at the ramp's midpoint (like the Connector Bridge in Schuylkill River Park). A switchback requiring users to make a 180-degree turn is less desirable but adding a staircase with bike wheel channels on both sides could make this option palatable. We would not support the multi-switchback option unless it was absolutely the only feasible choice.

An interesting point made in the Inquirer article is the possibility of widening the walkway on the Camden side, which narrows to 5 feet as it approaches the stairway. The widening would add a million dollars to the project.

Thanks to years of public support and effort, the walkway ramp is one step closer to reality. We will keep you posted as DRPA begins its public outreach.

Clarification: The proposed bridge ramp would be for the walkway on the south side of the bridge.

Newark makes the case for Red Light Cameras

The facts speak for themselves. Despite a strong push to eliminate red light cameras here in New Jersey and elsewhere, crashes are down where red light cameras have been installed in Newark. Not only that but after the cameras have been up for a while, even the number of violations are down which seems to demonstrate a change in driver behavior and that's even more important. 

Well maybe I should just let the video speak for itself and for the City of Newark.

Ralph Buehler's talk a powerful case for Sustainable Transportation

Ralph Buehler's talk on Wednesday absolutely rocked!   Ralph had me saying "Yes! Yes! Yes!" out loud about a dozen times during his lecture. His concise, logical, fact driven lecture style with just the right amount of reserved enthusiasm was very powerful.  If you didn't go, you really missed out! 

The theme of his talk was “Making Urban Transport Sustainable: Comparison of Germany and the U.S.”  Many in the sustainable transportation planning world like to use Germany as a comparator to the U.S. as both countries are wealthy and have large automobile ownership and the automobile industry makes up a large part of the national economy.  In fact, the German car industry is even a bigger part of the German economy that it is here.  So Germans are just as much invested and in love their automobiles as Americans but that hasn't stopped Germany from making effective efforts at reducing automobile use.  Using a combination of transportation policies that make driving less appealing and make transit, cycling and walking cheap and convenient, Germans now make a four times the number of trips by foot, bike, and public transport and drive for a 25 percent less than Americans.  Ralph explained this all armed with solid facts and figures.

We are inquiring about a video link of the lecture so more can here Ralph's talk. 

Now the power Ralph's lecture came as no surprise to me as his insights into transportation policy are second to none.  The seminar that he taught when he was a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers was one of the best classes I took at Bloustein. Today Ralph Buehler is an Assistant Professor in Urban Affairs & Planning at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria Center just outside of Washington D.C.

What We Do With Our Streets Will Change Our Future: Paul Steely White

Paul Steely White of New York City's Transportation Alternatives, makes the argument that how we shape the use of our streets will shape the use and health of our cities.   Filmed at TEDxDumbo 2012, a TEDxCity2.0 event, October 2012.  Enjoy!

The Burlington County Bike Plan - Map Your Comments

Have you ever come across something in your travels and say to yourself - "They really need to fix this". If you bicycle on a regular basis you almost certainly have.  But who are "They"???

The Burlington County’s Bicycle Master Plan team wants your participation. Following public meetings held in January, Cross County Connection TMA has released an online comment map and survey for you to sound off on where you want bikeways in the county. They want to hear where you want to go, your concerns and suggestions. Both the map and survey can be found on the project homepage:

driveless.com/BurlingtonCountyBikePlan

Is there a road in Burlington County that can be made better for bikes? Just Map It!

The interactive map was creating using a new planning oriented crowd source mapping service called Wikimapping. The site was developed by the bike map specialists at Steve Spindler Cartography.

The project team would also like to thank everyone that came out to January’s public meetings.

For more information or to submit comments contact:
Graydon Newman, CCCTMA
newman@driveless.com
856-596-8228

Join Us In Washington To Call On Your Congressperson on March 6th

Get your lobby on! Join the NJ Delegation in Washington DC for the National Bike Summit's Lobby Day on Wednesday, March 6th.

You don't have to attend the National Bike Summit to participate in this Lobby Day, but we do ask that you let us know you're coming by signing up here:

http://bikelobbyday2013.eventbrite.com/

Photo - Whiteknuckled on Flickr

What is involved? Travelling down to Washington DC to meet with your elected officials and stress to them the importance of supporting biking and walking programs, funding, and trail projects.

For the National Bike Summit in March we need representation from several Congressional Districts across the State. The most critical district that needs constituents is the 2nd Congressional District home of Congressman LoBiondo who is on the House Transportation Committee. The 2nd District covers most of South Jersey - Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland, Salem and the southern sections of Ocean and Gloucester Counties.

We cannot provide you with transportation, but we can let you know who else is travelling so you can find someone to carpool with. If you wish to travel solo, NJ TRANSIT trains connect with Amtrak in Newark, Trenton and Philadelphia. Once we have appointments arranged with the various senators and representatives, we'll share those meeting dates and times.

Posted and modified with permission from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

Save $15! NJ Bike & Walk Summit pre-registration closes at midnight!

Long distance road bicyclist and Assemblywoman, Grace Spencer to attend in a surprise, last-minute addition to the Summit!

Still hemming and hawing about going to the NJ Bike and Walk Summit this weekend?  Don't wait!  Register now!  Online registration closes at midnight!
Register online and pay only $50 and avoid paying the $15 "at the door" fee.  Space is filling up fast so you better not wait anyway.  And if you are a student with a valid ID you will only pay $25 but that will rise to $40 if you wait.  It's going to rain anyway on Saturday so what else are you going to do?

Assemblywoman Grace Spencer to appear on featured panel   
A member of the New Jersey Legislature, Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer (D) has represented the 29th Legislative District, which includes the Essex County municipalities of Belleville and a portion of Newark, since November 2007. Ms. Spencer received her BA in business management from Rutgers University and her JD from Rutgers Law School.  She specializes in liability law at the firm of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman and Goggin. Ms. Spencer is a member of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey.

In total, the NJ Bike & Walk Summit will have a total of 18 educational session with over 50 speakers.  To find out more, check out the Summit Schedule.  The Summit will be on Saturday February 23rd at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, a five minute walk from the New Brunswick train station.  Pre-registration closes on February 21 at midnight. Registration will be available on the morning of the summit, for an additional $15 per registrant. Register today!