After our guest speaker for the Voorhees Transportation Center’s Common Grounds Bikeability Seminar, discussed in yesterday’s post, there was a Q&A session with three notable figures in bicycling and public policy in New Jersey. The panelists were Jerry Fired, Recently elected Mayor of Montclair Township and avid cyclist, Liza Betz, Planner for Union County, and Micahel Dannemiller, NJ-East Cost Greenway volunteer and Senior Planner for the RBA group. Each member of the pannel brought very interesting information and opinions to the table. Here is a brief summary of each panelists talking points.

Jerry Fried got involved in politics through his organization, Bike Montclair. He shared with us how he sees biking as a way to create a more intimate community within his township. Mayor Fried shared some of his ideas for promoting bicycling, such as a Township wide bike day in early spring, making biking less intimidating by avoiding spandex (something in direct conflict with me and my wardrobe, but a good idea), and a a scavenger hunt throughout town pitting car vs. bike (showing township members can get around town much faster on a bike).

Liza Betz is a planner for Union County and took us through the steps her department has taken to increase bikeability in Union County. One major focus of her talk was creating an extensive bike map for Union County residents so that they have a way of knowing what bike routes are safe, as well as what bike routes and improvements will be made in the future.

Michael Dannemiller primarily discussed the completion and NJ-NY connection of the East Coast Greenway (ECG), a trail running from Maine to Florida. Michael talked about all the improvements to the ECG, and how supportive the local and NJ state government organizations have been of the ECG, building a multimillion dollar bridge to connect the ECG over a major highway.

After leaving the Common Grounds Seminar, I felt optimistic about the future of cycling in New Jersey. With the passion, motivation, and skill of the presenters and attendees of the seminar, I think bicycling will continue to grow as a way to connect people and communities in New Jersey.

On October 29th, transportation experts from accross New Jersey traveled to the Edward J Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers Universtiy for the Voorhees Transportation Center’s Common Grounds Leadership Seminars on walkability and bikeablity. The morning seminar on walkability and the afternoon session on bikeability were both conducted in a similar format, introduction to the material, a keynote speaker, a guest speaker panel, and an open forum. The keynote speaker for both seminars was Michael Ronkin, of Designing Streets for Pedestrians and Bicyclists and an expert on street design. Mr. Ronkin went through several different theories as to how to make neighborhood streets can be made more bike and pedestrian friendly. One underlying theme that I took away from Mr. Ronkin’s talks was the less-is-more philosophy of road re-development. We often think that roads must be repaved and widen to accomidate pedestrians and bicyclists. However, what Mr. Ronkins showed was that by simply restriping many major roads, the can me made extremely accominadating for cyclists. What also supprised me was that Mr. Ronkins was not in favor of “Share the Road” signs, as they distract both cyclists and drivers. Also, Mr. Ronkins did not think residential roads should be stripped as studies have shown that if local roads are stripped for cyclists, cars will travel faster and pinch cyclists against parked cars. These are just a few nuggets of info that Mr. Ronkins provided the audience in his wonderful lectures. My next post will be regarding the exceptional panel we had for the bikeability forum in the afternoon.

Nearly a million bicyclists and pedestrians in the US went to emergency rooms last year for bike and walking -related injuries. A surprising amount of these injuries came from improper sidewalk and crosswalk conditions. Improper crosswalk markings, or faded markings, can lead to a miscommunication between bikes and pedestrians and cars, leading to severe or deadly injuries.

To get an idea of the sidewalk conditions in their neighborhood, the people of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) surveyed over 200 crosswalks in West Windsor, NJ. The volunteers from the WWBPA and the McGraw-Hill company collected data on the slope of sidewalk, the condition of the concrete, and any crosswalk markings at each destination. The data has been recently uploaded onto an interactive website, created by Vertices LLC., that allows locals citizens to view the data collected by the WWBPA in an easy to use format. You can use the search criteria to find sidewalks with missing crosswalk signs, missing or malfunctioning walk signs, missing or dysfunctional curb cut slope, and much more. You can also simply click on any sidewalk on the map, or enter the address of the sidewalk where indicated, and a grid will appear to the left of the map will all relevant information regarding that crosswalk. The amount of information that is presented, and that can be extracted, from this website is almost overwhelming. Look for great things to come from this website and this data.

Visit the WWBPA website at: maps.gismap.us/wwbpa

A fact not known by many is that bike accident data for New Jersey, and most other states for that matter, post the location and description of every accident reported to local or state police officials. While this information is interesting to lookat in terms of the table on the website, it really doesn’t give you a sense of where and why the accidents are happening. Fortunately, Vertices LLC., in conjucntion with the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) will be putting all bike crash inforation regarding West Windsor, NJ in an online, interactive mapping website. The website will also contain all sidewalk-quality data collected earlier this year by the WWBPA. So check the website www.mappler.com/wwbpa in the coming weeks to look at the relationship betwee road conditions and accident locaitons, I think you will be surprised.

The Mappler Websites is a great resource for finding and sharing routes for biking and walking. However, once you find that route, the special awesome route that you want to brag about. Check out MapMyRide, a community of cyclist, and a few runners, who post rides that they particularly like. This, like mappler, is a great way to share and create communities.

To visit MapMyRide click here

Here is a favorite ride of mine

A hilly route in Maryland

There are a few indisputable facts about this summer; The weather is great (most of the time), gas prices are rising, the economy is in a decline, and the Tour de France is awesome! Almost 2/3 of the way through this 3 week 21 stage bike race that separates the men from the boys has seen great action the entire way through. The pain and anguish these riders endore has inspired me to create what I like to call the “Commuter Tour de France”.

Each day during the tour I have tried to bike somewhere different, somewhere I would usually drive. I figure if the Tour riders can climb mountains, I can probably climb the hill from my grocer to my apartment with a half-gallon of milk on my back. So I challenge all of you to do the same, and I will report back with a stage-by-stage when it has all come to an end and let you know how it went.

In light of the recent skyrocket in gas prices, two high school students, Asad Hussain and Jocelyn Im, decided to take action and let the people of New Brunswick, NJ know that their are other ways besides driving to get around. Hussain and Im created the website Train Station Access: Bike and Walk New Brunswick, NJ. The two students have already created a similar Princeton Junction Train Station website and decided to extend their reach to New Brunswick. The site , powered by Mappler via Google Maps, provides information about bike-rack accessibility and quality, Cafe’ and Deli locations, and Train Station access points. The purpose of this website is to show you how ‘green’ forms of transportation can interconnect and allow a large number of residents can travel throughout the tri-state area with little impact on the environment or their wallet. To view the website, click the below link:

http://www.mappler.com/nbbikerack

A shot of NBbikerack in action

Below is an article from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which I found on the League of American Bicyclists’ website. This is kind of a long resolution, but I just want to point out that how the mayors state,

“Surveys show that a majority of people want to ride more but are dissuaded by concern over traffic danger and other barriers . . . a national network of interconnected urban and rural bikeways can provide valuable community benefits, including low or no-cost recreation and alternative transportation options for people of all ages and abilities”

These areas of concern and needs can be met using on-line interactive mapping through applications such as Google Earth and Google Maps. One example I continually use in my blog is www.mappler.com/rubus_to_bike because it provide information as well as a way to connect the community as desired in the above resolution.

The like to the below article is: http://www.bikeleague.org/news/newsletter/e-news_061008.html#story4

ENSURING BICYCLING IS INTEGRATED INTO NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION, CLIMATE, ENERGY AND HEALTH POLICY INITIATIVES

WHEREAS, bicycling can provide multiple and cross-cutting benefits in U.S policy initiatives that seek to address transportation needs, limit climate change and energy consumption and improve public health.

WHEREAS, we now live in a nation with 300 million people, and that number is expected to grow to 365 million by 2030 and to 420 million by 2050 with the vast majority of that growth occurring in congested urban areas where there are significant limitations on accommodating increased motor vehicle travel; and

WHEREAS, since 1980, the number of miles Americans drive has grown three times faster than the U.S. population; and

WHEREAS, a national transportation system that invests in and is conducive to bicycling reduces traffic congestion in our most heavily congested urban areas while promoting an overall improved quality of life that is valuable for the Nation; As example:

More than 200 cities throughout the U.S., representing more than 35 million people have committed to implementing bicycle friendly action plans to make their communities more bicycle friendly;

The greatest potential for increased bicycle usage is in our major urban areas where 40 percent of trips are two miles or less and 28 percent are less than one mile;

Surveys show that a majority of people want to ride more but are dissuaded by concern over traffic danger and other barriers, and case studies have shown that when those barriers to bicycling are removed, people start riding;

WHEREAS, a national network of interconnected urban and rural bikeways can provide valuable community benefits, including low or no-cost recreation and alternative transportation options for people of all ages and abilities; and,

WHEREAS, the transportation sector contributes one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and passenger automobiles and light trucks alone contribute 21 percent; and

WHEREAS, Ten percent of global oil production goes solely toward fueling America’s cars and trucks and the U.S. could save 462 millions of gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling from one percent to one and a half percent of all trips; and

WHEREAS, bicycle commuters annually save on average $1,825 in auto-related costs, reduce their carbon emissions by 128 pounds, conserve 145 gallons of gasoline, and avoid 50 hours of gridlock traffic; and

WHEREAS, over 800 of our Nation’s Mayors have signed onto the Climate Protection Agreement of the United States Conference of Mayors urging the Federal Government to enact policies and programs to meet or exceed a greenhouse gas emission reduction target of a seven percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and

WHEREAS, two years ago the Conference of Mayors unanimously endorsed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, whereby a key component is to implement climate-friendly land-use policies and invest in public transportation and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

WHEREAS, the Center for Disease Control estimates that if all physically inactive Americans became active, we would save $77 billion in annual medical costs; and

WHEREAS, the United States is challenged by an obesity epidemic in which 65 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, and 13 percent of children and adolescents are overweight, due in large part to a lack of regular activity; and

WHEREAS, the percentage of U.S. children who walk or bike to school has dropped by 70 percent since 1969 such that only 15 percent of students were walking or biking to school in 2001 while the rate of childhood obesity has tripled in recent years.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors believes that achieving increased levels of bicycling is in the national interest;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors encourages the development and implementation of a coordinated national bicycling strategy aimed to increase safe bicycle use as a mode of transportation;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors encourages the development of federal transportation, environmental and public health policies that recognize increased and safe bicycle usage for transportation is in the national interest and that we further urge Congress in the next federal transportation reauthorization to establish policies and funding mechanisms that will aim to:

Reduce the number of motor vehicle miles traveled (VMT)

Improve safety conditions for bicyclists

Collect transportation and safety data needed to monitor progress, and,

Provide incentives for state and local governments to adopt and implement Complete Street policies designed to accommodate all users.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that even absent federal incentives, Governors and state-level leadership should embrace Complete Streets policies that acknowledge the contributions of bicycles as a means to reduce vehicle miles by integrating bicycle use into standard street design.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors calls on all Mayors that sign onto the Climate Protection Agreement to develop and implement action plans to incorporate bicycling programs and policies as a key component in reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors encourages every mayor to strive to make their city a Bicycle Friendly Community.

Portland, Oregon is known across the nation as the most bikefriendly city in the US. Part of Portland’s success comes from their ability to provide their residents with oodles (that’s right . . . oodles) of information. Some of the most valuable info provided by the city are maps of the bikeways not only in downtown Portalnd, but in the surrounding neighborhoods. All other cities, I beg, I plead don;t make Portland the exception, let them be the model to build cleaner, healthier cities across the nation.

For a link to the City of Portland Bike Way Maps click the link below:

http://www.portlandonline.com/TRANSPORTATION/index.cfm?a=70221&c=34809

For a link to a pocket-sized bikeway map of Portland, Or , click the link below:

http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=181325

For everyone without tattoo’s, beat-up fixed gear bikes, or a U-lock weapon you may not know what a Critical Mass is. Critical Mass is an event in which cyclist from around the area meet up, usually once a week or once a month, to reclaim the streets, proving the old saying that “There is strength in numbers”. With the increased gas prices these mini-demonstrations have been becoming more and more policitally and environmentally dirven. On April 20th, thounsands of bikes in Budapest joined together and raised their bikes in protest of our increasing consumption of fossil fuels (picture below). One way that these groups are spreading information about their causes and their rides is through the power of the online map. The Chicago Critical Mass Website has maps of routes and starting locations, video of their rides, and a forum where people can exchange ideas. All in all, the mixture of online resources and people passionate about bicycles makes critical mass events a grassroots-force to be reckoned with. To view the Chicago Critical Mass Website, click the link below.

http://chicagocriticalmass.org/

Budapest Critical Mass “Put your bikes where I can see them”

Chicago Critical Mass: February 2008 (Now that’s dedication!)