Latest News

NJ Transit, Summit Update, River Road Public Meeting

NJBWC testifies at NJ Transit board meeting
Continuing the dialogue with NJ Transit at their December 13 board meeting were NJBWC board member Jerry Foster and NJBWC member Neile Weissman, also representing New York Cycle Club.

In his comments, Jerry focused on the economic development benefits of increasing the ability to bike and walk to transit (including buses and trains) as a competitive advantage NJ can relatively easily implement compared to other states. He requested that NJ Transit work with municipalities and counties to ensure safe routes to transit, including bike lanes and sidewalks within 2 miles of train stations and bus stops.

Jerry further made the point that using public transportation has the potential to save NJ families over $8,000 annually by having 1 less car; it also results in less congestion, less pollution, and improved overall health. As an example of the demand for biking and walking to transit, he described an increase of 18% from 2011 to 2012 in biking and walking at the Princeton Junction train station, according to counts taken by the West Windsor Bike & Pedestrian Alliance.

Neile spoke about how the “spontaneous” increase in Manhattan cycling immediately following Sandy was facilitated by “a decade of relentless and methodical implementation” by NYC government. He emphasized the long-term need in New Jersey to replace the number of trips by car by fully integrating human-powered and mass-transport modes in order to maximize catchment; further that this heightened integration is a necessary component of a disaster-hardened mass transit infrastructure.

Specifically, the requests were:

• Facilitate “complete-street-to-train-bike-ped” routes to NJT stations
• Upgrade bike parking at NJT stations — including staffed, full service facilities operated by local bike shops and community groups
• Reduce or eliminate peak-hour restrictions by providing bike storage that does not reduce the number of passenger seats:
  • in multi-level cars, increase per car bike capacity from 8 to 28 by adding overhead hooks.
  • in older stock, retrofit vertical storage to yield a per-car five-bike capacity in a six foot space.
• Develop Rail-With-Trail (“RWT”), built on the right-of-way of an active railroads. Where the right-of-way allows sufficient separation, RWTs could serve as connectors to supplement “spur capacity” (rail lines with limited service), or substitute for trains taken offline.
• Look for opportunities to expand ridership by:
  • changing policies to enable suburb-to-suburb commuting
  • launching a cyclo-tourist marketing campaign to boost local economies, build constituency and justify expansion of weekend service.

NJBWC will continue to advocate for increased bicyclist accessibility on board NJ Transit trains. Hurricane Sandy made this agenda that much more critical.

Bike New York’s President & CEO to speak at NJ Bike & Walk Summit
Ken Podziba, the dynamic and creative CEO of Bike New York, will be joining us at the NJ Bike & Walk Summit this year. Ken will chair our featured panel session on working with local politicians. As the former NYC Sports Commissioner in both the Guiliani and Bloomberg administrations, Ken is well-versed in the interworkings of city and municipal governments. We look forward to hosting Ken at this year’s summit! To register for the summit, please access the registration page on EventBrite.

River Road/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Strategy Project- Public Meeting Announced
NJBWC is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the River Road/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Strategy Project, a study to design a multi-modal transportation system for the Bergen County portion of River Road (Edgewater to Fort Lee) in order to reduce congestion and improve safety and quality of life along this section of River Road. NJBWC has provided input on the proposed designs – bike lanes, walkways and sidewalks, and improvements to the bus system along this route. We would like to see our constituents also speak up about this project, given that it is highlighted in the latest release from Tri-State Transportation Campaign as one of the two most dangerous roads to ride in Bergen County. There will be a public meeting to review the proposed design on Thursday, January 17th from 4 -7pm, at the Edgewater Community Center, 1167 River Road in Edgewater. We encourage everyone with an interest in River Road to attend. More information is available at the project website.

BTCNJ and NJBWC partner in donation to Newark Bike Exchange
Together with Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey, NJBWC made a donation of bicycle equipment and clothing to the Boys & Girls Club of Newark Bike Exchange. BTCNJ members donated bicycle gear as part of their annual Shop & Shop held at their December club meeting; NJBWC collected these items and delivered them to the Newark Bike Exchange.

The Boys & Girls Club of Newark Bike Exchange was opened in the past year by the New Jersey Bike Exchange, which runs bike exchanges in Trenton and Plainfield in addition to Newark. The Bike Exchange is an all-volunteer effort that collects, repairs and sells bikes that have been donated to the organization. The mission of the Bike Exchange is to help low income families get bikes at low cost, and to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club. Since it’s founding in 2008, the Bike Exchange has sold 7136 bikes and raised $324,432 for the after-school programs of the Boys & Girls Club.

If your club or organization is interested in donating bikes, bike parts and accessories to the NJ Bike Exchange, please contact the exchange at info@BikeExchangeNJ.org. More information about the Bike Exchange can be found at www.BikeExchangeNJ.org.

Cyndi Steiner and Ethan Brook at BTCNJ’s December Shop and Swap. (photo by Ralph Monti)

Gary Johnson, Stacey Troilo and Andrew Kuntz, volunteers at the Newark Bike Exchange (photo by Cyndi Steiner)

Earn your NJBWC patch!
The NJBWC depends on your support to continue our advocacy work. Please consider showing your support by joining the coalition. Memberships start at $35/year for our bronze level. An embroidered iron-on patch of the NJBWC emblem will be sent to you when you join NJBWC at the bronze level or higher. The patch can be placed on clothing, backpacks, panniers, rack bags, or any other cloth item of your choosing.

“The freedom, independence and enjoyment of fresh-air discovery, with all the resulting health benefits, are embodied in cycling. We need a strong advocate for a safe cycling infrastructure to maximize general public benefit. ” Jay Marowitz, chair of the Morris Area Freewheelers Foundation.

Join on-line using PayPal or download and send in our membership form. We look forward to having you on board with us!

Club memberships are $250 annually and include your logo in our newsletters for the year. Shops may also purchase annual newsletter sponsorships for $250. Contact us at info@njbwc.org for details.