Friday, April 30 by silvia
May is National Bike Month, and the WWBPA urges you to take part by getting out on your bike (or, if you don’t bike or don’t currently have a bike, to get out and walk).
We are planning a number of events, including our annual mileage tally for bicycle commuters. Last year, members and friends rode 2,466 miles. E-mail us your weekly tallies (we can remind you too!) and include stories and photos. You can post on our Facebook page too.
We’re starting the month on Saturday with a group walk from Maurice Hawk Elementary School to the West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market to mark the opening of the 2010 market season. The walk begins at 10 a.m. from the playground behind the school. Get a ticket there for a drawing featuring all kinds of goodies at the market itself. We’ll also have a table at the Farmers’ Market to talk about bicycle and pedestrian matters in West Windsor and beyond.
On May 8, the WWBPA will participate in Princeton United Methodist Church‘s bike drive and safe cycle event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m at the church, 7 Vandeventer Avenue. Bikes will be collected for the Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange and the WWBPA will have an information table there.
On May 15, we’re back at the Farmers’ Market. Ride your bike, lock it at the racks located at the edge of the parking lot that were installed last year by the WWBPA and BikeFest with the help of West Windsor Public Works and stop by for a chat. If you’re up in North Jersey, check out the South Orange/Maplewood Bicycle Coalition’s three-mile Tweed Ride. It’s free; just get in the mood by wearing a bit of tweed! (It coincides with The Montrose Park Historic District Association “Montrose In May” house tour.)
National Bike to Work Week is May 17-21. Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association invites to register for a drawing of bike goodies that will be held May 24 and to stop by the Princeton Junction train station on May 18 for a free bikers’ breakfast of coffee and doughnut holes. The WWBPA is contributing bicycle and pedestrian maps of West Windsor. Also on May 18, GMTMA, the WWBPA, BikeFest, the West Windsor Parking Authority, New Jersey Transit and West Windsor are hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. for the new bike racks and lockers that are being added to the station. You’ll find us by the racks between the southbound Northeast Corridor line and the Dinky. Want a locker? Sign up with GMTMA.
A final opportunity to tune up for BikeFest is the Trenton Bike Tour on May 22. The 15-mile ride, promoted by Trenton Cycling Revolution, starts at 8:30 a.m. in Cadwalader Park.
The month ends with BikeFest on May 29. Sign up your family for one of several rides around West Windsor.
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Posted in National BIke Month |
Thursday, April 29 by JerryFoster
Map of Scudder Falls Bridge
Great News! A bicycle and pedestrian path will be added to Scudders Falls Bridge on I-95 as part of the road widening, according to an article in the Trenton Times Tuesday, April 27.
Congratulations to everyone for contacting the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission with your support, and especially to John Boyle of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia for leading the advocacy effort! The WWBPA posted an article asking for support on February 4 this year.
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Tags: Bike/Ped Path, Scudder Falls Bridge
Posted in Advocacy, Bikeability, Complete Streets, Walkability |
Tuesday, April 27 by sandy
Friday, April 30, 2010
Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Studios, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA), and others, are launching a campaign, “No Phone Zone,” to curb distracted driving.
The NHTSA estimates that distracted driving habits cause the death of nearly 6,000 Americans each year and injuries to 515,000 (22% of all injured people) in 2008.
“A call or text isn’t worth taking a life,” said Winfrey. “We must not allow more mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers to die before we take action against distracted driving. Let’s put a stop to it now, by joining together on April 30 for national ‘No Phone Zone Day’, and by making our cars a ‘No Phone Zone.’”
Watch Oprah’s Putting Distracted Drivers to the Test Video
Does text messaging effect your driving skills? Meet three people who believe they can text while driving without putting themselves or others in danger. We put them to test. Watch as they complete an autobahn driving test to measure their driving skills while they are text messaging.’
Read “Dnt Txt N Drv,” Oprah Winfrey’s OpEd in the New York Times, April 24, 2010.
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Posted in Safety |
Monday, April 26 by silvia
West Windsor Farmers' Market
Saturday is opening day for the West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market on Vaughn Drive. Join the WWBPA for a leisurely walk of less than 1 ½ miles from Maurice Hawk Elementary School to the market. The walk starts at 10 a.m. at the playground behind the school, and the WWBPA will have giveaways for participants.
See old friends, make new ones and get the first local goodies of the season. Then make your own way home, or join the return walk at noon.
The walk is free and no advance sign-up is needed. All children must be accompanied by a parent or other adult for the walk, and all minors must have Walk Waiver, which are available in advance on the WWBPA Web site or on the day of the walk at the school. Walkers are responsible for their own safety and the WWBPA is not liable for any injuries.
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Posted in Farmers' Market, Pedestrian |
Sunday, April 25 by sandy
Looking for a good bike route in New Jersey? Road Biking New Jersey: A Guide to the State’s Best Bike Rides author Tom Hammell, born and raised in New Jersey, has explored most of the state’s roads by bike. He is an avid cyclist and a ride leader with the Princeton Freewheelers, logging thousands of miles a year leading other riders over beautiful back roads.
Tom is a longtime volunteer at the New Jersey studio of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D); he read from his book on Monday, April 19, 2010 at RFB&D’s Record-A-Thon.
RFB&D is the nation’s largest audio textbook and literature library, serving students with print and learning disabilities. Volunteers read and record its extensive collection, with thousands of new titles added each year in every subject and grade level.
Road Biking New Jersey contains 35 rides of varying length, terrain, and difficulty; Hammell designed the routes for the average recreational rider.
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Posted in Bicycle routes, Disabilities |
Saturday, April 24 by silvia
These bike lockers are getting a new home
We are moving closer to adding more bicycle racks and lockers at the Princeton Junction train station.
Employees of West Windsor Public Works took down bike lockers that were going unused at the Howell bus station and will install them in the coming weeks at the Princeton Junction train station, where there is a waiting list of people wanting to rent them. They also have bike racks from New Jersey Transit that will be installed on both sides of the Northeast Corridor tracks.
Join the WWBPA, WW Public Works, New Jersey Transit and the other partners on this project — Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, BikeFest and the West Windsor Parking Authority — for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at 8:30 a.m. on May 18. GMTMA is sponsoring a (grab and go) bikers’ breakfast beforehand. Mark National Bike to Work Week May 17-21 by riding your bike to the train station!
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Posted in Bike Racks, Princeton Junction train station |
Friday, April 23 by sandy
Twenty-year old Joseph Genovese, Jr. was sentenced in Philadelphia in April 2010 to seven to 14 years in prison after driving under the influence of marijuana and killing 53-year-old Cindy Grassi and disabling 36-year-old Sandra Wacker in 2008. Philly.com reports that Genovese had pleaded guilty in February to vehicular homicide and aggravated assault. Police report “Genovese was stopped at the red light behind two cars when he swerved around the stopped cars, drove through the light, and hit the two women at high speed as they were in the crosswalk.”
Click here for the entire Philly.com article.
Marijuana: Facts for Teens, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
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Posted in Pedestrian, Philadelphia, Safety |
Wednesday, April 21 by sandy
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), “in 2007, 70,000 pedestrians were injured in motor vehicle crashes in this country, and 4,654 pedestrians were killed. Pedestrians comprise about 11 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths each year.”
The IIHS notes that pedestrian crashes can be reduced by
- Changes in roadway design, including sidewalks, refuge islands, signal phasing, lower vehicle speeds
- Improvements in vehicle design, including improved bumper design, changing fender/hood design, addition of special detection systems
- Education programs, especially for children
- Daylight Savings Time: Adding an hour of light in the evening increases visibility of both pedestrians and vehicles
The new Volvo S60 automatically detects pedestrians. Photo by Lars Ardarve/Volvo
In an attempt to reduce pedestrian injuries, Volvo developed a car that stops automatically when it senses a pedestrian in its path. Volvo unveiled its newest S60 sedan at the 2010 New York Auto Show.
More about the Volvo system >>
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Posted in Pedestrian, Safety |
Tuesday, April 20 by silvia
This challenge comes courtesy of Bike & Walk Montclair and is endorsed by the WWBPA:
“This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day and Bike&Walk Montclair challenges you to go CAR FREE FOR A DAY.
Motor vehicle emissions from short car trips (distances easily walked to cycled) are much more polluting than longer trips on a per-mile basis because 60% of polluting emissions is released during the first few minutes of vehicle operation.
On Thursday, April 22, 2010, make a commitment to reduce your carbon footprint by walking, biking and taking public transportation.”
What will you do to mark Earth Day? Let us know! And watch for the WWBPA’s annual National Bike Month challenge in May.
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Posted in Uncategorized |
Monday, April 19 by silvia
GroWW (Greening of West Windsor) is planning a tour of West Windsor gardens for Saturday, June 26, and the WWBPA will help map out suggested walking and biking routes. The organizers are looking for gardens of all kinds: large or small, full of flowers, vegetables or a mix, using everyday or exotic plants. They also are interested in those showcasing environmentally sustainable practices or that encourage wildlife habitation.
Want to suggest some (or volunteer your own)? E-mail growwgardentour@gmail.com
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Posted in Bicycle routes, Garden Tour, Walkability |
