The decision was unanimous—this morning, the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) Finance Committee moved to build a pedestrian and bicycle ramp on the Ben Franklin Bridge. The ramp will replace a three-story stair tower on the bridge’s New Jersey side, which will let pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair users get to and from Philadelphia with [...]
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A PATCO train travels across the Ben Franklin Bridge, from Philadelphia to New Jersey | Photo: Bob Snyder During the first three quarters of 2011, transit ridership was up by 1.8% nationwide, but PATCO’s numbers rose even faster. The South Jersey-Philadelphia commuter line’s ridership grew by 3.62% in 2011, a figure that even [...] The South Jersey area needs safe biking and walking routes, and we’re helping put them there. Along with the William Penn Foundation and a number of local partners in southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the TSTC has been working to improve safety for South Jersey roads and create a network of regional trails radiating [...] Patty Woodworth, Action Wheels Bike Shop owner and Anthony Preziosi, Gloucester County cyclist, discuss the need for pedestrian and bicyclist-focused road safety improvements with Mayor Harry R. Riskie of Woodbury, NJ. Last Friday, Tri-State Transportation Campaign joined Action Wheels Bike Shop, Mayor Harry R. Riskie of Woodbury, NJ, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater [...] In a video and advertisements, AARP New Jersey has asked Representative LoBiondo to support national complete streets legislation, as well as local pedestrian safety improvements. AARP New Jersey has released a video urging Representative Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-2) to co-sponsor the “Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011″ (H.R. 1780/S.1056) and to [...] A RiverLINE train passes through the Rutgers University-Camden Station. Source: Rutgers University-Camden Upon beginning service in 2004, the RiverLINE, New Jersey Transit’s 34-mile light-rail service between Trenton and Camden, was often reported to have been an expensive mistake. Critics cited the large construction cost overruns and posited that South Jersey would see limited [...]  Although crosswalks and other pedestrian infrastructure have been added to the entrance to Washington Lake Park, residents still have trouble accessing the park without a car, due to the lack of continuous sidewalks or safe places to cycle. Born and raised in New Jersey, Daria Volpe grew up riding a bike everywhere she could around her neighborhood. When she became a student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, she continued to ride and used her bike to transport her to and from classes. Since she’s always viewed cycling as a convenient form of transportation, an excellent recreational activity and a great way to stay active, she’s attempted to teach her children how to safely ride, but has become increasingly dismayed by the lack of opportunities to do so in Washington Township in Gloucester County, where her family currently resides. Daria has been working with Tri-State, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Cross County Connection Transportation Management Association and Action Wheels Bike Shop in Wenonah, NJ to explore opportunities for safe walking and biking in Washington Township. Although Washington Township has great parks and schools, and is in close proximity to a number of multi-use paths and trails, to say that getting around town on a bike is difficult would be an understatement. Volpe has summed it up by saying, “My goal when I ride a bike in Washington Township is to get out of town–because you just can’t ride a bike here without taking your life into your hands.” Unfortunately, pedestrians in the area don’t fare much better far as safety is concerned–between 2007 and 2009, 13 pedestrians were killed in Gloucester County, including a 71 year-old on Hurffville-Cross Keys Road in Washington Township, in 2007. When pedestrians and cyclists aren’t accommodated in roadway design, there are frequently tragic consequences. In 2001, Jason Beiner, a senior at Washington Township High School was killed while riding his bike on Hurffville-Cross Keys Road near the entrance to Washington Lake Park. In response to the death of her friend, then high school junior Alyson Boyer convinced the mayor and other township officials to improve pedestrian safety in the vicinity of area schools. As a result, Washington Township applied for and received funding under the Safe Routes to School program, and built sidewalks in front of three area schools, all less than a mile from the entrance to Washington Lake Park. Although the addition of these sidewalks was an extremely positive development, progress on safe routes for walking and biking has been slower or less successful elsewhere. For example, at another local school, the township received a grant and built a sidewalk along Pitman-Downer Road, near Bunker Hill Middle School; however, parents were concerned that it was built too closely to the road, without an adequate buffer from fast moving traffic. As a result, the school board is installing a new sidewalk next to the old one and will have the original sidewalk removed. Additionally, although some pedestrian infrastructure has been installed at the entrance to Washington Lake Park, the section of Hurffville-Cross Keys Road shown in the photos below still lacks adequate sidewalks, bike lanes or continuous shoulders that can be used for biking.  Within mere feet of the entrance to Washington Lake Park, a shoulder that can be used for biking on Hurffville-Cross Keys Road disappears. More pictures after the jump: » Continue reading… For many of us, learning how to ride a bike was a rite of passage. Being able to ride to school, the store or even just down the block represented a new degree of freedom and personal mobility (it just so happened to also be very good exercise). Although many Americans still have this [...] A national complete streets law would help address dangerous roads for walking, such as southern NJ's Black Horse Pike. Throughout the nation, we are living with the legacy of outdated roads, many of which can be downright hostile to those who travel them. For more than half a century, our infrastructure has been [...] The design of the wide, fast Black Horse Pike makes it dangerous for walking. This is compounded by a lack of pedestrian infrastructure and walking-friendly development in the corridor. Recently, MTR walked Atlantic County’s Black Horse Pike, in southern New Jersey, to explore and document the conditions that make this road particularly dangerous [...] |
 
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