Tag: NJ Bike & Walk Coalition

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GREAT NEWS FOR PEOPLE WALKING AND BIKING!

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition has advocated for this law along with NJ Bike & Walk Coalition, The Tri State Transportation Campaign, The Bicycle Coalition Of Greater Philadelphia, and TEAM4 the NJ Safe Passing Law.

Drivers must now move over when passing people walking and on bikes!

Updated Aug 06, 2021; Posted Aug 05, 2021

By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A long-sought goal of advocates finally happened Thursday when Gov. Phil Murphy signed the state’s first law requiring drivers to safely pass people on bikes, scooters and pedestrians who are using the roads.

Murphy signed the law Thursday, that allows New Jersey to catch up to 42 other states and other counties that have safe passing laws intended to reduce collisions between cars and other road users. The bill had been passed by a 34-to-1 vote of the state Senate on June 30.

Passage of the bill caps over 10 years of advocacy led by the NJ Bike and Walk Coalition, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the grassroots TEAM4 the NJ Safe Passing Law, advocates said.

 

This is how it looks and feels to a person on a bike and for a driver.

Read more about it.

Debra Kagan, New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition Executive Director: “We want to thank the Governor and legislators for passing this groundbreaking law, and the many advocates and volunteers who worked so hard for so many years to make this possible.”

 

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City Streets Should Always Be Safe For The Most Vulnerable

City streets should always be safe for everyone riding bikes or walking.  Asbury Park is not alone among municipalities in NJ working on ways to #slowthecars and reduce reliance on automobiles on city streets. 

The Asbury Park Slow Roll, November 14th, 2020

The monthly Slow Roll was a pleasure as usual, spending time with others cruising around Asbury Park on bikes. We noted the bike and walk infrastructure appearing in the city, but as usual we also experienced impatient drivers, and a close pass as we navigated Main Street. It underscored the ongoing need for more and better infrastructure to make streets safe for people walking and biking, to slow and calm traffic #20isplenty, and the need for reduced the use of automotive vehicles in our small city.

According to NJ Bike Law, bicyclists may use the full lane, and are not required to ride in the bike lane. Bike riders are more visible riding in the lane, but often rightfully feel frightened and vulnerable among motor vehicles. Paint doesn’t protect, and these striped lanes are within the space where a driver door will open, either hitting the person on the bike or forcing the bike rider into traffic. Whenever possible “take the lane” if you are a bike rider, and if you are a driver please be aware that bike riders are permitted to do so.

Visibility is of utmost importance (contact us to get bright bike lights!). Science has proven that drivers are most likely to see other vehicles, but too often completely unable to see people walking or biking.

#takethelane #bicyclistsmayusefulllane

This is the way city streets should look all the time. Let’s keep working on safe streets for everyone, especially the most vulnerable in Asbury Park.

 

Today is World Day Of Remembrance For Road Traffic Victims, and we hope that you will sign & share this pledge for a NJ where no one dies on the roads: tinyurl.com/visionzeronj

World Day Of Remembrance For Road Traffic Victims

11.15.2020

Follow Tri-State Transportation Campaign and NJ Bike &b Walk Coalition

 

 

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Advocacy In Action Panel Video: NJ Bike & Walk Coalition Summit 2020

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition founding member, Polli Schildge was invited to lead a panel at the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition Summit on March 7th, 2020.  The panelists invited represented a swath of Jersey Shore towns, and each member of the panel shared experiences in their unique journeys to implement Complete Streets initiatives in their cities.  The audience so had many questions for each panelist that we ran out of time to answer them all, indicating the need for us to stay connected so we can learn from one another. Thanks for another great NJBWC Summit!

The panelists included Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli, the 2016 NJBWC Advocate of the Year, and Eatontown Mayor Anthony Talerico, who advocates Complete Streets as a policy initiative. Nancy Blackwood, is chair of the Red Bank Environmental Commission and Green Team, and an advocate for Complete Streets.  Rick Lambert is a Steering Committee member of Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition, and Doug McQueen is a founding Member of APCSC. Kenny Sorensen is a passionate advocate for safe streets in Neptune City, and Kathleen Ebert is founder of Point Pleasant Borough Complete Streets.

Watch the video here.

Complete Streets USDOT definition:

Complete Streets are streets designed and operated to enable safe use and support mobility for all users. Those include people of all ages and abilities, regardless of whether they are travelling as drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, or public transportation riders. 

In short: Complete Streets are designed to enable safe access for all users, especially the most vulnerable.

Advocacy In Action: Initiative to Acceptance to Implementation

Attendees heard from a panel of activists, city leaders, and administrators about ways that they’re working within their communities on issues like speeding, bike lanes, road diets, scooters (and other micro-mobility), and parking.

They shared strategies that work (or don’t work!) in their efforts to enable their cities to provide ways for residents and visitors to get around safely without dependency on cars. We continued the discussion from a previous Summit panel about the possibility of establishing a Jersey Shore Complete Streets Coalition.

Left to Right: Polli Schildge, Rick Lambert, Nancy Blackwood, Ben Lucarelli, Anthony Talerico, Kathleen Ebert, Kenny Sorensen, Doug McQueen

 

Polli Schildge, Panel Moderator, Founding Member APCSC

Watch the video

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TAKE ACTION: Sidewalk riding is not a state issue

Cyndi Steiner, Executive Director, NJBWC

Jerry Foster, President, West Windsor Bicycle Pedestrian Alliance

Oppose Statewide Sidewalk Riding Ban!

Adults and children alike ride on the sidewalk because they do not feel safe riding in the roadway. Our state legislators should be focused on making roads safer for bike riders rather than forcing riders onto heavily trafficked, congested, unsafe roads. Our state has done little to pass a safe passing law that would require motorists to pass bike riders and pedestrians at a safe distance (a “three foot” or “four foot” law), and even less towards adopting a Vision Zero plan that would eliminate road deaths statewide. Further, the state has had a Complete Streets policy since 2009 yet very little has been done in terms of street infrastructure to accommodate all road users, including pedestrians and bike riders, on state roads. Over 140 municipalities and eight counties have passed these same Complete Streets policies, but again, very few are actually implemented.  Yet the state legislature appears eager to pass a bill that will force bike riders into the streets by ending sidewalk riding statewide.
We oppose amendment to A1810, the proposed statewide ban on sidewalk bicycle riding. It is unnecessary and works against children, underserved and other utilitarian riders who are trying to get to work safely. The state needs to make substantial efforts to make roads safer for bike riders, and should not be banning sidewalk riding! The decision about sidewalk riding should be left to cities to determine which streets are safe for bicycle riding and where people may have to ride on sidewalks.

https://njbwc.org/sidewalk-riding-is-not-a-state-issue/