POSTPONED!! - Critical Public Hearing Feb 10, Regarding ECG

This just in.

The public meeting about replacing the NJ TRANSIT Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River in the Meadowlands and possibly installing a pathway over the new bridge for the East Coast Greenway, has been postponed. Originally scheduled for this Wednesday, the meeting has been postponed due to the likelihood of heavy snow fall tomorrow. The meeting will likely be rescheduled sometime in late March. WalkBikeJersey will let you know about the new meeting time the moment we get that info into our offices.

For further discussion please see our previous post.

First NJ Bike Summit a near Sell Out!

If you didn't get your tickets yet, you'd better do so before you finish reading this blog post.



Rumor has it that the NJ Bicycle Summit is just about sold out of its 130 tickets with only 8 spots remaining. Also note that the deadline for registration is February 14th which is less than a week away and even if there are spaces available there will be NO "day of event" registration.

The fact that the Bicycle Coalition of New Jersey could so easily fill this inaugural event's 130 openings is a testament to the pent-up need and latent demand for better cycling infrastructure and policies in New Jersey. Politicians, take note!

I know that I speak for many when I say that I hope this event is the kick-off of a very strong, vocal and well organized bicycle AND PEDESTRIAN advocacy campaign by the Bicycle Coalition of New Jersey and by all the local groups and clubs already in existence.

Critical Public Hearing Feb 10, Regarding ECG

UPDATE!!! - MEETING POSTPONED!

For further information see this post.

The below message comes directly from Michael Oliva, the Mid-Atlantic Trail Coordinator for the East Coast Greenway Alliance. I can't make this one but I hope some of you from Northern Jersey can show your support.
-Andy B.

Dear Friends:

The East Coast Greenway, the developing 3000-mile bike route connecting cities from Maine to Florida, has long seen the Meadowlands crossing as the most difficult nut to crack along the entire route. But for the first time, we see a possible opening.

NJ Transit is building 2 new rail bridges across the Hackensack River (a “north” span and a “south” span adjacent to the current Portal Bridge, which will be put out of commission), and taking 2.5 acres of parkland from Hudson County to build a new rail facility. By law, they must give back to the County. State law mandates that NJ Transit must compensate Hudson County by providing one of the following: either (1) double the acreage being taken, (2) double the dollar value of the taken land, or (3) a combination of replacement land and financial compensation. We want that mitigation to take the form of 2 miles of ECG trail in Hudson County, including a bike & ped path on the new southern Hackensack River bridge, to bring the ECG off-road from Belleville Turnpike in Kearny to West Side Avenue in Jersey City, adjacent to Hudson Generating Station (see attached maps). Two miles of trail, in a 20’ wide corridor, comes to 5 acres: that’s double the area of the land being taken, meeting the letter of the law.

But to accomplish this, we need your help. On Wednesday, February 10, from 6 to 8:30 pm, there will be a critical public hearing at Secaucus Public Library (1379 Paterson Plank Rd; map here). We urge your attendance. If there is a strong show of support for a bike-ped facility, we can get NJDEP and Hudson County on our side, creating a full-court press on NJ Transit. Public support is imperative; without it, success is unlikely.

In the 18 years since the East Coast Greenway was conceived, this is the best opportunity we've seen to build part of the ECG across the Meadowlands. Can we count on your support? Please contact mike@greenway.org if you have questions, or to let us know that you'll be there.

Thank you!

Dennis, Mike & Eric
East Coast Greenway Alliance

ECG Proposed Route Using New Portal Rail Bridge (Click to enlarge)

ECG Proposed Route - Close Up (Click to enlarge)

Public Notice (Click to enlarge)

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

Interesting Statute of the Month - No Highway Off-ramps Near Schools

UPDATE! (2/2/10) - Zoe at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign commented below that this law is referred to as the "Terrell James' Law." I was curious about that and pulled up what I believe is the final bill language that created the statute below.

According to a NJDOT Press Release from February 7, 2006, the "Terrell James' Law" was (would be) named "in memory of an 8-year-old who was killed in a tragic 1997 accident that occurred on a Newark playground located between two highway ramps."
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I was doing some research again and I came across this interesting little tidbit. The law is only a little more than two years old but it is an interesting bit of legislation particularly for you folks concerned about Safe Routes to School issues. Also, if you follow the link below there is a bit more to this legislation than this one statute.

27:7-44.12 New entry or exit ramp, construction within 1,000 feet of school; prohibited; exceptions.

4. a. A new entry or exit ramp shall not be constructed as part of a highway project if a school is located or is being constructed within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the entry or exit ramp, unless, during the planning and design of the project, the department determines that the construction is required and that there is no feasible or prudent alternative.

b.Prior to making the determination required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the department shall, as part of its community outreach efforts to identify a preferred alternative design for the highway project, notify the local board of education in whose district the school is located or being constructed, and in the case of a school being constructed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the authority, or in the case of a nonpublic school, the board thereof, the Department of Education and the members of the Legislature representing the district in which the school is located or being constructed, that the department is considering the construction of an entry or exit ramp within 1,000 feet of the school. The preferred alternative design for the highway project shall not be selected until the members of the Legislature notified pursuant to this subsection have been afforded the opportunity to submit comments to the department. If the department subsequently determines that the construction of the entry or exit ramp is required and that there is no feasible or prudent alternative, pedestrian safety issues shall be included as part of the environmental review undertaken by the department pursuant to State and federal laws, rules and regulations. When the public forum is held as part of the environmental review of the proposed highway project, the department shall present its plan for any entry or exit ramp and the safety measures, consistent with the recommendations of the study required pursuant to section 7 of this act, that are to be included in the highway project.

c.An entry or exit ramp for a highway shall not be reconstructed if a school is located or being constructed within 1,000 feet of the location of the ramp unless the department shall take steps to minimize the public safety hazards of the reconstructed ramp, consistent with the recommendations contained in the study required pursuant to section 7 of this act.

L.2007, c.308, s.4.

Op-Ed: New Mercer County Bike Map Looking for Comments

First I must say that this map is a great start with wonderful potential. It would be great to have maps such as these for every county in New Jersey.

However, the new Mercer County Bikeability Map, while an "OK" start leaves much to be desired. Too many (but no where near a majority) roadways that are relatively safe to ride on are considered "Unfavorable" while others that I would never ride on (and I'm a very bold and experienced rider) are given "Excellent" ratings. Unfortunately I have personally found this to be an all too common problem with many bicycle suitability maps pubilished for New Jersey counties.

Now admittedly, this is a work in progress with the DVRPC, who put this map together, looking for comments to improve the map. I hope New Jersey cyclists that are familiar with Mercer County's roadways go to town on this map and plaster it full of comments to improve it. It is definately a product that has potential and I support the DVRPC for putting it together.

Mercer County's Interactive Bike Map

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

Last week the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission launched the Mercer County Regional Bike Map overlayed on a Google Map. This map is intended to be a resource for Mercer County residents and bicyclists to help them plan bicycle-friendly routes to ride, and also to help planners identify priority bicycle corridors and facilities to be considered in the future.

http://www.dvrpc.org/asp/bikemercer/

For the next month or so DVRPC and Mercer County would like your input on priority bicycle routes, and your opinions on the routes submitted by others, as well as any knowledge you have about the bikeability ratings shown here: are they too high, too low, or do they not reflect a specific local issue that you know about? Comments will help improve the bikeability scores shown on the site. Proposed routes and comments will be accepted until Friday, March 12th.