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Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and others open the Garden Street Mews. A ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday marked the opening of Garden Street Mews — Hoboken’s first pedestrian street, and only the second of its kind in New Jersey, according to the city. Mayor Dawn Zimmer was joined by president of Bijou Properties Larry Bijou, architect Dean [...] [Update: The reauthorization bill was adopted by the EPW Committee today on an 18-0 vote, with one package of amendments adopted. Importantly, the CMAQ "reserve fund" that is a (more-or-less) dedicated source for bike/ped funding can no longer pay for road projects.] The 2-year transportation reauthorization bill released by the Senate’s Environment and Public [...] 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 [...]  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… This graphic from the Wall Street Journal shows the city's timeline for filling in the Midtown gap in the East River Greenway. Mayor Bloomberg, NY state legislative leaders, and elected officials representing Manhattan’s East Side announced at a Wednesday City Hall press conference that the city and state had signed an agreement to [...] The Putnam Memorial Bridge connects Glastonbury and Wethersfield in central Connecticut. For years, livable community activists, including current and former elected officials, have advocated vigorously for pedestrian and cycling access to the Putnam Memorial Bridge, oftentimes in the face of consistent ConnDOT refusal. Earlier this month, however, the Department announced that the debate [...] Data from a Hunter College study shows fewer pedestrians being injured by cyclists between 2007 and 2010, the same time frame in which NYC has improved bike infrastructure and cycling has grown. [Update 9/26: For further reading, see last week's City Room article about how this study has been critiqued by other members [...] A concept rendering of a potential new East River esplanade and greenway. The last of three public forums on a proposal to finally fill in a gap in the East River Greenway on NYC’s East Side is this Tuesday. Elected officials organizing the forums — City Councilmember Dan Garodnick, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, State [...] A bicycle-sharing station next to a rail stop in Washington, D.C. New York City officials announced today that they had selected Alta Bike Share as the vendor for a bicycle-sharing system, with 10,000 bikes, that will launch next summer and initially stretch from 79th Street in Manhattan to Bedford-Stuyvesant and Windsor Terrace in [...] A crosswalk at Main Street and Stevens Avenue in Little Falls, NJ in 2008 (left) and today. Three years ago, Tri-State organized a walking tour to address safety hazards to pedestrians and cyclists in downtown Little Falls, NJ. The July 2008 tour, which was joined by ABC of Little Falls and other community members, was made possible [...] |
 
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