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New Jersey Lagging in Bike-Friendly State Rankings

New Jersey has dropped from 7th to 12th place in the League of American Bicyclists’ latest Bicycle Friendly States report — the Garden State’s lowest ranking in the seven years that the League has been publishing the annual report.

BFS-2014

The League measures bicycle friendliness by awarding  up to 100 points based on a number of key indicators, including infrastructure and funding that provide on-the-ground bicycle facilities; education and encouragement of programs that promote cycling; and passage and enforcement of laws that make it safe and comfortable for people of all ages to ride. New Jersey’s bicycle friendliness remained stagnant between this year and last, showing less than a half-point difference in total points from 2013 to 2014. But with other states’ point totals on the rise, New Jersey’s inaction caused its ranking to fall five slots.

In the 2014 Report Card for New Jersey, the League identified the lack of a safe passing law and a vulnerable user law as the state’s key shortcomings. Although New Jersey continues to be a national leader in passing Complete Streets policies at the municipal and county levels, it has yet to enact legislation that will better enforce reckless driving to protect pedestrians and bicyclists on the roadway.

The good news is that New Jersey legislators have already introduced bills this year focused on improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable users:

  • S231/A958 a vulnerable user bill, which increases penalties for motor vehicle violations resulting in serious bodily injury or death to pedestrians, cyclists, or highway workers
  • A1591 which would increase penalties for careless driving when a violation results in injury or death to a pedestrian.
  • A1600 which requires drivers to move over or slow down when approaching a bicyclist or pedestrian.

Increased funding for safe street infrastructure is also needed. In 2014, 2.8 percent of NJDOT’s dollars are directed toward projects that make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists — an increase from 2.1 percent in the previous year. However, according to the New Jersey State Police, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 27 percent of all road fatalities in New Jersey in 2013. Given this stark disparity, New Jersey must put more resources into these projects. The recent changes to the Route 35 project are the most recent example of how New Jersey is doing that, but to remain a leader in bicycle friendliness, there must be less of an advocacy lift to get legislation and projects advanced that support a more bicycle-friendly state.

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[…] Washington State Hangs Onto “Most Bike-Friendly” Title, While NJ Lags […]

Bob E
Bob E
9 years ago

It’s not surprising at all that New Jersey’s ranking has dropped. While cities in the top states continue to make good progress with cycling infrastructure, and there are some world-class cyclepaths in those states that are routed to serve commuters well, here in New Jersey the cycling advocates are thrilled with the substandard, disjointed bike infrastructure recently announced for Route 35. And, regarding the proposed S231/A958 and A1591 bills, these basically say that AFTER a cyclist or pedestrian is killed, the offending motorist will have to shell out a few more bucks. Don’t get me wrong — penalties do need to be increased substantially — but let’s focus on preventing these types of collisions in the first place.

Taylor
Taylor
9 years ago

Bob E, take a look at A1600, the third bill mentioned.

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[…] To see how that $1 million could have been used to help New Jersey climb back into the top 10 most bike-friendly states and remain in the top tier of the national Complete Streets rankings, we shopped around for some […]

Cyndi S
9 years ago

Bob E, what is not well known is that NJDOT is still using AASHTO 1999 as its guidelines for road design. We would like to see them use AASHTO 2012 for Rt 35 and all new projects, and possibly NACTO, and are urging these changes to happen this year.

Bob E
Bob E
9 years ago

Thanks for the update, Cyndi; that’s good to hear. Sorry for sounding a little negative before, but sometimes it’s frustrating to be a cyclist in New Jersey.

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[…] recognized as honorable mentions — an encouraging bit of news for the Garden State, which was demoted earlier this year in the League’s Bicycle Friendly States […]

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[…] state by the Federal Highway Administration, and New Jersey’s Bike-Friendly State status has dropped. The silver lining is that the number of municipalities and counties adopting Complete Streets […]

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[…] Passing legislation stalled — Despite the increase in bicycle infrastructure, New Jersey dropped to 12th place in the League of American Bicyclists’ latest Bicycle Friendly States report — the Garden […]

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[…] New Jersey Lagging in Bike-Friendly State Rankings … […]

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[…] highest ranked state in the region, inched up one spot to 11th place. Last year the Garden State dropped from seventh place to twelfth, the lowest ranking for New Jersey since the League began publishing […]

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[…] still doesn’t have a Safe Passing Law, and the state’s bike-friendly ranking fell yet again in 2015. This comes at a time when one-third of road fatalities in New Jersey are bicyclists and […]

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[…] vulnerable road users. New Jersey has been called out for the lack of such law and continues to hold the state back from rising to the top of bike-friendly states rankings. While the bill passed the Assembly last […]

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