Winners of the free drawing at the WWBPA's Community Bike Ride
More than 60 bicyclists, including a few youngsters towed by parents, joined the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance for its third annual Community Bike Ride on Saturday, September 26. We beat the rain by several hours as we rode from WaterWorks to Grover Middle School and back.
It was fabulous to see so many people enjoying themselves using the Township?s bike lanes and co-existing with cars on the road.
Many thanks to West Windsor police for assisting at key intersections, McCaffrey?s for providing food at our rest stop and to AlJon?s for donating a certificate for a free pizza as part of our free drawing for all participants. Many others won bike-related equipment provided by the WWBPA, including David Aderhold, the WW-P school district?s assistant superintendent for pupil services and planning, who won a safety vest. In keeping with the WWBPA?s efforts to encourage more walking and biking, Cheryl Kastrenakes from Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association talked about how to start a walking school bus to get kids to school (they don?t have to run every day!). See gmtma.org or wwbpa.org for more information.
The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance?s third annual Community Bike Ride takes place at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 26. In addition to our free, family-friendly ride from WaterWorks to Grover Middle School and back, we will offer pre-ride safety tips beginning at 1:30 p.m. (Come anytime between then and the start of the ride.) We?ll run through the ABC Quick Check, ensure helmets are fitted properly, learn hand signals and practice two skill drills: dodging obstacles on the road and making left turns.
Registration will also open then.
As an added bonus, we will have a free drawing open to all participants at Grover that will include a WWBPA T-shirt, a WWBPA map, a safety vest, ankle bands, a bike light and a bike helmet.
I wanted to express my delight in finding out that the curb cuts on the sidewalks around High School South along Clarksville Road have finally been implemented.
I have been waiting for this for over 9 years and am very happy that it did come through.
About a dozen bicycles were stolen from the Princeton Junction train station this summer. That?s a small fraction of the 100 or so bikes locked there every day, but still very frustrating for the victims.
How to fight back:
Use a good lock. Or two. Even the most expensive lock can?t guarantee that your bike won?t be stolen, but thieves prefer easier targets and are less likely to have two types of tools to tackle two types of locks. Cable locks are easier to cut. Combination locks are easy to open.
Lock your front and rear wheels. Make sure your U-lock is on tight and that the space within it is filled with your frame, spokes and security post, leaving no room for a bottle jack to get in and break it.
Think about where you lock your bike. A thief can lift your locked bike over a short pole. Use bike racks!
Remember to register your bike online with the West Windsor Police Department. If it is stolen, having the serial number on file makes identification easier if it is recovered.
Finally, the WWBPA is working with New Jersey Transit and others to add 10 lockers at the station as well as extra bike racks. Let us know your ideas of how to make the train station and other areas around town safer.
“When to detach the parental leash? The trip to and from school has become emblematic of the conflict parents feel between teaching children autonomy and keeping them safe…
“In 1969, 41 percent of children either walked or biked to school; by 2001, only 13 percent still did, according to data from the National Household Travel Survey. In many low-income neighborhoods, children have no choice but to walk. During the same period, children either being driven or driving themselves to school rose to 55 percent from 20 percent. Experts say the transition has not only contributed to the rise in pollution, traffic congestion and childhood obesity, but has also hampered children?s ability to navigate the world.”
On a gorgeous Labor Day weekend, members of Plainsboro Venture Crew 814 (part of Boys Scouts of America), including WWBPA trustee Jerry Foster and student advisor Jason Chin, embarked on 24-mile bike trip along the Jersey Shore.
Starting from the city of Long Branch, they biked on roads along the ocean, through the shore towns of Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach and eventually into Sandy Hook National Recreation Area. Sandy Hook has over 5 miles of paths dedicated to bicyclists and pedestrians.
It was a very enjoyable and scenic ride through forested areas, along the beaches, and in view of New York City. After a few hours of relaxing on the beach and jumping the waves, they headed back 12 miles south to pack the bikes and enjoy the sunset on the Long Branch boardwalk.
Venture Crew 814 looks forward to another exciting year on the trails.
After three years of advocacy by the WWBPA, a new crossing has been built between the Avalon Watch apartments and the Village Shops on Clarksville Road. The project, funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and Mercer County, should make it safer for bus riders and shoppers to cross the road. It includes a pedestrian refuge island in the middle of the road, an in-pavement lighting system, flashing signs, and left-turn lanes. A diagram of the project is at westwindsornj.org/clarksville_crosswalk.html.
Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month via Zoom. We will eventually resume meeting in the West Windsor Municipal Building. Email us at [email protected] if you would like the Zoom code.
Find us at the West Windsor Farmers Market (Vaughn Drive parking lot) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from May through Halloween.
