Thank you,? James Jenkins, for this report:
As a frequent bicycle commuter through Mercer County Park, I was recently surprised to find significant road construction taking place on the main park road.
The appearance of road construction crews was an indicator of some great news for users of the park.? The once-gravel shoulder of the main park road is now paved and lined as a bicycle lane.? Previously, bicyclists using the main park road had to contend with a very narrow lane for traffic and bicycles.? In addition, the transition between paved road and gravel posed a potential safety hazard.? The problem no longer exists.
Kevin Bannon, Mercer County Park Commission’s executive director, is obviously thrilled with the completion of the project, too. ?He pointed out that the road situation was one of the more common complaints heard from park users.? He requested the funding for the project in 2010 and received approval from the Freeholder Board and County Execute Brian Hughes (who, I?m told, is also a huge fan of the project).
The cost of the project is $601,614, which includes all logos, striping, signs, crosswalks and turnarounds.
Thank you, Mercer County! We know the park is already popular with bicyclists, and this will make it safer and even more appealing for a wider range of cyclists. The WWBPA hopes we can one day see a bike route or multi-use trail through the park to Mercer County Community College.
Yea!!!! Truly good news. The bike path is nice but when you just want to get through the park as fast as possible the road is the way to go. A real BIKE LANE makes it legal to do so safely. Don’t forget the NJ Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal to ride in the shoulder. (Read: http://walkbikejersey.blogspot.com/2012/03/op-ed-polzo-vs-essex-county-decision_16.html)
Great news! This was something that the wwbpa was advocating for for many years. I personally spoke to Kevin Bannon several times over the years. He was all for it, it was just a matter of funding. This is clearly a win for everyone in Mercer county. I think it will also help west windsor ultimately attain silver status as a bicylcle safe community.