West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance

Time for Road Diets

Sunday, May 30 by sandy

Alexander Road could benefit from a "road diet."

The WWBPA  believes that Alexander Road and Canal Pointe Boulevard would benefit from road diets. A Seattle study of a road diet on one of its streets notes the following:

• Speed has declined.
• Collisions have declined.
• Pedestrian Crossings are safer.
• Bicycle volume has increased
• Peak hour capacity has been maintained.

Read previous news items about Canal Pointe Boulevard.

Posted in Advocacy, Bicycle routes, Bikeability, Canal Pointe, Complete Streets, Pedestrian, Speed limits, Walkability |

Yield to Pedestrians

Monday, April 5 by silvia

A West Windsor resident describes her recent experience trying to cross at a crosswalk this way:

“My daughter and I were walking at about 3:30 pm and crossed the road at the crosswalk on Clarksville and Norchester – sure enough, no drivers stopped, as though they were completely oblivious to the pedestrian crossing.   It’s even worse at the crossing at 571 and Sherbrooke .”

She noted a Packet Publications article, Police to Watch Pushy Drivers, about a state grant to Hillsborough  police for extra patrols to counter aggressive drivers and a stalker radar.

“I’d love to see stepped-up enforcement of drivers neglecting to stop at designated pedestrian crossings here in West Windsor,” she adds.

What do you think? Attend the WWBPA’s annual meeting on April 8 if you want to talk about ways to improve motorists’ awareness of pedestrians. None of us want to have a brake-squealing “oh no” moment.

The annual meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the West Windsor Municipal Center, 271 Clarksville Road.

A video from Ridgewood, NJ students on why you should drive 25 in residential areas:

Posted in Advocacy, Pedestrian, Speed limits, Walkability |

Street Smart

Thursday, April 1 by sandy

How far will your car go before stopping? at 25 mph? at 35 mph? at 45 mph?

Between 14% and 17% of all traffic deaths involve pedestrians, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  Children represent 43% of pedestrian accidents and, of those, nearly 3% result in death.

Street Smart, a pedestrian and bicyclist safety program begun in the greater Washington, D.C. area in 2002, has produced TV spots as part of its Spring 2010 Campaign to create public awareness and law enforcement.

“The goals of the campaign are to change motorist and pedestrian behavior, and reduce pedestrian and bicyclist deaths and injuries, by:

• Increasing awareness of the consequences of pedestrian and bicycle crashes
• Recommending actions to reduce risks, such as:
  • Use Crosswalks
  • Obey Signals
  • Look Left-Right-Left
  • Slow Down
  • Stop for Pedestrians
• Increasing awareness of law enforcement action against unsafe and illegal behavior”

For more information, including Pedestrian and Cycling Tips, go to bestreetsmart.net.

Posted in Advocacy, Pedestrian, Safety, Speed limits |

New Jersey Adopts Complete Streets Policy

Friday, February 26 by JerryFoster

In December 2009, the New Jersey Department of Transportation adopted a Complete Streets policy, designed to ensure that roadways are designed with all potential users in mind.

According to the National Complete Streets Coalition, such policies can offer many benefits in all communities, regardless of size or location.

Complete streets make economic sense. A balanced transportation system that includes complete streets can bolster economic growth and stability by providing accessible and efficient connections between residences, schools, parks, public transportation, offices, and retail destinations.

Complete streets improve safety by reducing crashes through safety improvements. One study found that designing for pedestrian travel by installing raised medians and redesigning intersections and sidewalks reduced pedestrian risk by 28%.

Complete streets encourage more walking and bicycling. Public health experts are encouraging walking and bicycling as a response to the obesity epidemic, and complete streets can help. One study found that 43 percent of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended activity levels, while just 27% of those without safe places to walk were active enough.

Complete streets can help ease transportation woes. Streets that provide travel choices can give people the option to avoid traffic jams, and increase the overall capacity of the transportation network. Several smaller cities have adopted complete streets policies as one strategy to increase the overall capacity of their transportation network and reduce congestion.

Complete streets help children. Streets that provide room for bicycling and walking help children get physical activity and gain independence. More children walk to school where there are sidewalks, and children who have and use safe walking and bicycling routes have a more positive view of their neighborhood. Safe Routes to School programs, gaining in popularity across the country, will benefit from complete streets policies that help turn all routes into safe routes.

Posted in Advocacy, Bikeability, Road Signs, Safety, Speed limits, Walkability |

Cycling Tragedy in East Windsor

Thursday, February 18 by silvia

The WWBPA is saddened by the tragic death of a cyclist killed by an overtaking vehicle on Dutch Neck Road in East Windsor on February 16.  According to local newspaper accounts, the East Windsor man,  Edward Boye, relied on his bicycle to get around because he suffered from cerebral palsy. The driver, Margaret Corrigan, also of East Windsor, is reportedly facing vehicular homicide charges, among others.

This is the second serious accident on Dutch Neck Road this month involving a cyclist or pedestrian. Earlier this month, a cast member of  ‘Sesame Street’ who lives in the area was hospitalized after being hit by a car while crossing Route 130 at Dutch Neck Road.

Please drive safely within the speed limit and give bicyclists plenty of room when passing – half a lane is a good rule of thumb. Under New Jersey law, bicyclists have the right to ride in the travel lane. Motorists, please share the road with bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable users of the roadway, such as the disabled, crossing guards, police officers and maintenance workers.

Please join us in extending our condolences to the families of everyone involved in this collision.

Posted in Safety, Speed limits |

Reactions to the WWBPA’s Recommendations for Route 571

Monday, January 11 by silvia

Let's see the right changes to this dangerous road.

The WWBPA’s recommendations in response to Mercer County’s “concept” plan for Princeton-Hightstown Road/Route 571 are getting plenty of attention.

Please take the time to read our lengthy comments aimed at making this busy stretch of roadway safer for bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists and making it more in keeping with the Main Street our town deserves. Leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts about what needs to be done.

The key points are:

• Reduce speed to 25-30mph, per state guidelines;
• Landscaped medians with left-turn cutouts and pedestrian refuges  rather than a two-way left turn lane;
• Pedestrian-activated signal that stops traffic at Sherbrooke Drive. This can be done as a first step, before the millions of dollars needed for the full concept plan is found.

Councilwoman Linda Geevers wants a formal response from the engineers and/or consultants to the recommendations and suggested that they may want to meet with us.

Resident Larry McGill wrote in a neighborhood forum: “The WWBPA is demonstrating once again what a tremendous asset it is to our town.  The safety issues related to this stretch of 571 require exactly the kind of careful thought and analysis you’ve provided here.”

Former WWBPA officer Meg Chicco wrote:

“Many thanks to you and the WWBPA for your efforts to keep 571 at the top of the list. It has been a long process to get it this far and we have to keep pushing to make sure it doesn’t slip in the list of priorities.

I just want to comment on item #2. As you know the Mayors Task Force (bike/ped life before WWBPA) took an active role in working with the County and the Township to help design the plan that we have today. Some time during that process the idea of medians was proposed. The County was adamantly opposed to this idea for some very practical reasons.

1. The road would have to be significantly wider to accommodate medians. This would require more taking of property and a greater engineering cost.
2. Since the County is responsible for 571 maintenance they opposed medians due to upkeep and the difficulty they present for plowing.Landscaped medians (and ordinary ones as well) require maintenance.
3. Since the properties along 571 would eventually change (we hope) with some being consolidated (we hope) the placement of driveways and cross-overs are yet to be determined.
4. As for the change in speed-limit and a signal at Sherbooke, these are improvements that would not effect the current design.

If I recall correctly the Council passed a resolution with regard to the improvments on 571. If they didn’t back when the design was proposed they should now. If a resolution was passed, what is the effect of this resolution with regard to the obligations of the Township to press for these improvements?”

Once again, please leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts about how to improve this road. Thank you! To see comments already entered, please click on Comment here or below.

Posted in Advocacy, Bikeability, Route 571, Safety, Speed limits, Walkability |

Slowing Down In Our Town

Thursday, January 7 by silvia

West Windsor and Mercer County are working on reducing the 50 mph speed limit on Cranbury Road from the Plainsboro border to just before Van Nest Park, where the limit drops down to 25 mph. The speed limit will be cut to 40 mph from the border with Plainsboro and then cut again to 30 mph ahead of the curve around Perry Drive. This curve has been the scene of many accidents and near-accidents, where cars have karoomed onto residents’ yards.

In addition, the Township is studying the possibility of reducing speed limits on parts of Southfield Road.

The WWBPA applauds these as  important safety measures and is encouraged that the Township will reduce speed limits.

Update: On April 6, 2010 West Windsor Township Council adopted Resolution 2010-R080, which was sent to the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders asking that
speed limits be reduced as follows:

• 40 MPH from the county line of Middlesex County and Mercer County along Cranbury Road to Perry Court.
• 30 MPH from Perry Court along Cranbury Road to the point approximately 350 feet east of Steele Drive where the current speed limit is posted for 25 MPH.

Posted in Cranbury Road, Safety, Speed limits |