The 2022 participants in West Windsor’s Ride of Silence.
The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance will join organizations around the world in the Ride of Silence on Wednesday, May 17.
The Ride of Silence honors all those cyclists who have been injured – or worse, killed – while pedaling. In West Windsor, we honor in particular Aarav Shah, who was killed while bicycling across the country last summer. He would have been a junior at WW-P High School North this year.
The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance urges the West Windsor Township administration and Council to install rapid-flashing pedestrian beacons at the intersection of Penn Lyle Road with Canoe Brook Drive, the site of the recent collision between a person crossing Penn Lyle Road in a crosswalk and the driver of a car.
Join us at the Council meeting on Monday Feb. 13 to show your support! The WWBPA will speak at the start, during the public comment portion of the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Municipal Center.
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Together with three grants awarded early this year, West Windsor has received $1.33 million from the state for new multi-use paths, new sidewalks, and other bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
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The New Jersey Department of Transportation has unveiled a concept design for a replacement bridge over the railroad tracks on Clarksville Road and is seeking public input through Thursday. You can see the presentation for the proposed project here. There is more information here.
The WWBPA likes some of the concept plan – but wants to see a multi-use path on all sides of the project, not just on the northbound side. Right now there is no multi-use path or even a sidewalk envisioned for the southbound side.
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The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance was pleased to be asked our opinion on where additional rapid-flashing beacons should be installed in the township. These rapid-flashing lights, activated with the touch of a button, make our community safer for those who walk, run, scoot and bicycle. Several have previously been installed near the Princeton Junction train station, at some crossings for the Trolley Line Trail and between Grover Middle School and Village School, among other places.
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Four members of the Extraordinary Engineers robotics team use one of the improved crossings on Southfield Road.
West Windsor recently made two dangerous crossings between Grover Middle School and Village Elementary School safer, and a group of 9th graders couldn’t be happier.
As middle schoolers, their First Lego League team (Extraordinary Engineers), with some advice from the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance and Greater Mercer TMA’s Safe Routes to School program, had offered township officials a plan to boost safety at two crosswalks on Southfield Road. They were motivated by friends who told them about the challenges of walking and biking to school as well as a 12-year-old boy who was hit by a motorist in 2017 while biking to summer camp at Grover.
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Back in December, we told you that the League of American Bicyclists had once again called West Windsor a bronze-level bicycle-friendly community (one of five in New Jersey at that level). We’ve now received our report card plus suggestions on how we can join Princeton in attaining silver status – you can read it here.
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Do you share our passion for making West Windsor a safer place for all who walk and bicycle? Can you help us encourage more people to get around and explore on foot or by bike? If so, please consider sharing your talents and creativity by becoming a board member of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance.
We welcome all to apply and are especially interested in those who enjoy walking around our town or trails and/or those with a connection to the WW-P schools.
West Windsor’s Planning Board recently approved the new Circulation Element of the Master Plan. Quite a mouthful, we know! But it sets some great goals and policies to help make our township even better for walking and bicycling.
A big goal: “Create a pedestrian and bikeway system that makes walking and cycling a viable alternative to driving, and which optimizes bicyclist and pedestrian safety.”
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The WWBPA is thrilled that the League of American Bicyclists has renewed West Windsor’s bronze-level status as a bicycle-friendly community – one of 497 communities across the U.S. that have earned a bicycle-friendly designation.
The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program sets the standard for how communities benchmark progress toward making biking better. While the award process considers very visible elements such as bike infrastructure, other essential elements include efforts around adult and youth bike education, encouragement through events like Bike to Work Day, evaluation mechanisms, and enforcement all through the lens of equity.
West Windsor was the first New Jersey municipality to be named a bicycle-friendly community back in 2011, and we thank past and present mayors, township council members as well as county and state officials for their support. We also thank our members, who have demonstrated that they value a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly community.
West Windsor will receive more feedback from the League in the coming weeks, and the WWBPA will share those recommendations with you. Together, we hope we can achieve silver status in the coming years.
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Hello everyone! My name is Maanya Devaprasad, and I am currently a student advisor for the WWBPA. Today, I just wanted to share a few of my experiences these past few months. As a high school student in West Windsor, I have used this newfound time due to recent events to learn new things, cook, bake, garden, bike, and, most importantly, spend more time with my family. As I look back at the past few months, my most cherished memories happened either in the kitchen or at the park. In the kitchen, I have been trying to bake all types of desserts for my family, and I gave a few of my friend’s recipes a try. In the park, I especially enjoyed seeing all the members of our community walking and biking around. As I biked around the park with my family, I loved seeing so many other families walking or biking. Sometimes I even go on bike rides with my friends around my community because it is one of the safest activities we can do together during a time like this. Overall, I’m happy to see so many people outside staying safe while also trying to make the best of such an unforeseen time.
On Thurs, March 12, 7pm the WWBPA will be holding it’s annual membership meeting at WW municipal building Main Meeting Room A and is open to the public. Find out what we’ve accomplished in 2019 and what is planned for 2020. Have any concerns or ideas to improve the community? Come and share with us.
With the Pace Car magnet you let other drivers know your intention to drive the speed limit. Pace Car drivers pledge to obey traffic laws to protect pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers. By being a Pace Car you set the pace and make West Windsor’s streets safer for everyone. Pledge to make a difference today!
Join the West Windsor Speed Limit Pace Car Program and pledge to:
• Drive the speed limit • Stop at stop signs • Stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks • Yield to pedestrians in unmarked crosswalks at intersections • Share the road with pedestrians and bicyclists of all ages and abilities • Eliminate texting and phone use while driving • Display the West Windsor Pace Car magnet on your car • Encourage others to take the pledge
Together, we can make West Windsor streets safer for everyone: Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.
How does it work? Simply download the form, fill it out, drop it off at the WW Municipal Office or WW Branch Library and pick up your car magnet.
Fun Fact: The Pace Car Program was created by David Engwicht, an international traffic-calming advocate and author of several books on the topic of reducing the negative effects of motor vehicle traffic. Pace Car Programs have been adopted by towns across the United States and Canada.
Help make West Windsor more accessible and safe for walking, running and biking to Conover Fields, Mercer Lake, PNRA Rowing Center and Mercer Park by showing support for the Conover Rd multi-purpose paved trail project. It will connect the trail at S Post Rd, Conover Fields, and all of the neighborhoods until Galston Dr.
Let’s re-visit the great war between the executive branch (NJDOT) and the legislative (NJ Title 39) and judiciary (NJ Supreme Court Polzo v Essex County ruling) branches with regard to bicycling on the shoulder. Everybody does it, but is it legal?
NJDOT’s excellent 2011 Bicycling Manual recommends “riding on the right side of the road or on the shoulder.” NJDOT’s circa-1996 Introduction to Bicycle Facilities notes, “Advanced bicyclists are best served by bicycle compatible streets and highways which have been designed to accommodate shared use by bicycles and motor vehicles.” Paved shoulders are considered one form of bicycle compatible roadway.
So NJDOT encourages it, but does that make it legal? NJ Title 39:4-14.1 states: “Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle.”
Wait a minute, isn’t a bicycle a vehicle? Not in NJ – human-powered devices are specifically excluded from the legal definition of vehicle in 39:1-1: “”Vehicle” means every device in, upon or by which a person or property is or may be transported upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks or motorized bicycles.”
So what, it’s the same thing while riding in the shoulder, right? Not really, as the shoulder is specifically excluded from the “roadway” legal definition in 39:1-1: “”Roadway” means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder.” So a cyclist riding in the shoulder would not be granted all the rights and responsibilities as the driver of a vehicle.
Aren’t we nitpicking? Motorists can’t legally drive in the shoulder anyway – cyclists can’t very well have the same rights and responsibilities as the driver of a vehicle while riding in the shoulder, as it would also be illegal.
Exactly! If a cyclist has the same rights/responsibilities to follow the rules of the road, s/he should only ride in the travel lane, not in the shoulder.
NJDOT’s lawyers, presuming to encourage only legal cycling behavior, may well point to the sentence structure of 39:4-14.1. It implies that every person riding a bicycle *outside* the roadway (e.g. on the shoulder) would not have the same rights/responsibilities as the driver of a vehicle, but that doesn’t make it illegal, since it’s not explicitly prohibited, like it is for drivers of a vehicle in 39:4-82.
Under this interpretation, it’s a cyclist’s choice whether to ride in the roadway, and be legally bound to follow all the rules of the road, or live free on the shoulder. Just think, no rules, no responsibilities – bike against traffic, blow the wrong way through stop signs, it’s all legal if you’re a cyclist on the shoulder. Under this interpretation, cyclists have an implicitly legal option to ride on the shoulder that isn’t offered to drivers of vehicles.
So which is it? Illegal or legally available w no rights/responsibilities? According to the NJ Supreme Court in Polzo v Essex County, “Bicyclists do not have special privileges on a roadway?s shoulder. Indeed, a bicycle rider is directed to ride on the furthest right hand side of the roadway, not on the roadway?s shoulder. The Motor Vehicle Code does not designate the roadway?s shoulder as a bicycle lane.”
So, as far as the law with regard to cyclists is concerned, the NJ Supremes ruled that a cyclist “is directed” to the roadway, “not on the roadway’s shoulder.”
The Polzo ruling was in 2012 – why is NJDOT still encouraging cyclists to ride on the shoulder? Shouldn’t shoulders with sufficient space be designated as bike lanes? What ever happened to the Complete Streets policy?
In our 5th annual survey, WWBPA volunteers counted 360 bicyclists and pedestrians at 5 locations around the train station on Wednesday September 16, 2015 between 5-8pm. Last year the count was 343, but the numbers are not directly comparable, since we counted at only 3 locations last year. Comparing the same locations at the same time slots, biking and walking decreased 5% over last year. At least we had beautiful fall weather again this year.
Cranbury/Wallace/571 (Rite Aid) ? 25 bike, 112 walk
Scott/Alexander (Arts Center) ? 26 bike, 90 walk
Vaughn/Alexander (bus stop) ?? 19 bike, 39 walk
Station/571 (Rep. Holt Headquarters) ? 5 bike, 6 walk
Wallace/Alexander (WW lot) ? 11 bike, 27 walk
Total: 360 people, 86 who bike, 274 who walk
Thanks to our volunteers!
Traffic along 571 in downtown West Windsor flowed freely throughout the observation time, except for 3 minutes at 5:30pm – this is consistent with last year, which congested for 4 minutes at 6:00pm. Honks were also consistent at 11 this and last year, while the number of semi trucks rose by 2 to 7 this year. One of the honks was to encourage a right turn on red from Wallace to 571, which both the honker and honkee proceeded to do, illegally – an additional sign at the corner would aid in getting the message out. I was honked at from behind a few weeks ago while waiting on my bike at Wallace, but just pointed up at the No Turn On Red sign overhead.
Other observations:
midblock crossings of 571 at Rite Aid driveway ? 10
male ? 261, female ? 99
walkers ? 274, cyclists ? 86
walkers – 187 male, 87 female
cyclists – 74 male, 10 female
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Let’s face it – many people perceive bicyclists as arrogant. Let’s look at one too-typical letter to the editor, where? someone leads off with the arrogance charge, and see if we can determine the causes and underlying assumptions of this perception.
It’s that time of the year again. Yup, the bicyclists are out in mass, riding two abreast and showing no respect for anyone’s vehicle except their own. They choose to ride on narrow two-lane roads with very narrow shoulders, which forces them into the auto lanes and is extremely dangerous for all.
Our county, township and state have spent thousands of dollars to construct bike paths for the many cyclists out there, so why do they have to infringe on our roadways?
I know we are supposed to share the road. But it’s not sharing the road when I and other drivers have to slow down and cross the median strip so that these clowns can talk to each other while out for their morning cruise.
If the above was not the norm, I could live with these arrogant bike riders. But most of them ride like they own the road. They actually taunt us to hit them. They run red lights, do not stop for walkers in the crossing lane, and get obnoxious when questioned about their actions.
I know that the police have more important things to do other than policing these bike riders, but something has to be done before someone is seriously injured by these cyclists’ callous actions.”
So, let’s look at the NJ laws that apply to bicycling on the road. Riding two abreast is permissible under NJ law (39:40-14.2) – “Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway may travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded…”
Also, bicyclists are required to ride in what the writer calls the “auto lane” -?(39:40-14.2) “Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable” where 39:1-1 defines “‘Roadway’ means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder.” The NJ Supreme Court ruled ?a bicycle rider is directed to ride on the furthest right hand side of the roadway, not on the roadway?s shoulder.?
Perhaps in ignorance of the law, the writer believes that cars belong on the road and bicyclists don’t, e.g. “auto lane,” “infringe on our roadways.”
The writer complains that cyclists use the road even though “Our county, township and state have spent thousands of dollars to construct bike paths.” Implicit is the idea that cyclists don’t belong on the road because of the mistaken notion that only motorists pay taxes for bike paths and roads, e.g. “like they own the road.”
Also implicit is the idea that a motorist’s reason for being on the road is more important than the cyclists’ “morning cruise.”
There’s selective perception that cyclists disobey the law, e.g. “They run red lights, do not stop for walkers in the crossing lane,” implying that no motorist would ever do those same things.
The effect on the writer is “when I and other drivers have to slow down and cross the median strip.”
The writer imputes negative intentions to cyclists’ actions, e.g. “showing no respect for anyone’s vehicle except their own,” “They actually taunt us to hit them,” and “get obnoxious when questioned about their actions.”
The writer notes “something has to be done before someone is seriously injured by these cyclists’ callous actions,” perhaps not realizing that it is almost certainly the cyclists themselves who will be hurt in the event of a crash, not a motorist.
Unfortunately, the sentiments expressed by the writer are all too common, and build from ignorance to at least implicitly justify violence, all for the inconvenience of having to slow down and move over to pass. In the event of “serious injury” the writer will blame the victims, since the cause is “these cyclists’ callous actions.”
Perhaps you’re thinking to yourself – “this blogger is one of those arrogant cyclists.” Since we’re looking at calling other people arrogant, for a working definition let’s use “behaving in a way that makes me think you believe you are superior.”? I’ll respectfully suggest that others’ “arrogant behavior” is highly dependent on your own social and cultural values and expectations, and that sometimes just acting equal is enough to be called arrogant – like riding a bike in the roadway. Thoughts?
Five years after Montclair and NJDOT adopted New Jersey’s leading Complete Streets policies, this week Mercer County became the first to have all roads covered – state, county and every municipality. Congratulations to Mercer County for reaching this very important milestone toward making our communities more bicycle and pedestrian friendly!
Complete Streets policies require road improvements to support biking, walking and transit for users of all ages and abilities as the rule rather than the exception, and provide for incremental improvements without mandating retrofits.
Complete Streets benefit everyone, e.g. better safety (not just for cyclists and pedestrians, but mainly for motorists), higher property values (see walkscore.com) and improved security (more eyes on the street). Those who walk or bike feel better, are healthier and live longer – students who bike or walk to school score better on standardized tests.
Realizing these benefits will take time, as responsibility for our roads is divided between the state (for federal and state roads), counties and municipalities. Even a short trip can include roads and/or bridges under the care of many jurisdictions – for example, biking around Princeton’s Carnegie Lake involves traversing 3 counties and 5 municipalities, plus a state and maybe even a federal road.
What does a Complete Street look like? It depends – Complete Streets are not cookie-cutter. All of these pictures might be considered examples in some sense, while each may have additional possibilities to make them even more complete.
See if you can pick out which picture shows which Mercer County municipality – Trenton, Hamilton, Ewing, Hopewell Township, Pennington, Hopewell Boro, Princeton, Lawrence, West Windsor, East Windsor, Hightstown and Robbinsville.
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What would you do? You’re walking at night, from the station to home north of Clarksville – up Scott Ave, through school grounds and the parking lot to the intersection of Clarksville and Hawk Drive.
There’s no marked crosswalk, but there is a streetlight. Or, you could go to the painted crosswalk at the opposite edge of school grounds, but there is no street light and no way to manually activate the blinking crosswalk lights that are set on a timer for the students.
Also, you’d then have to walk back to Hawk Drive to continue home.
What would you do? Cross under the street light without a painted crosswalk or at the painted crosswalk without light? See the picture for an approximation of the differences.
Please join us at the Twp Council meeting tonight, Monday November 24, 2014, to ask for an improved painted crossing with a streetlight, pedestrian-activated warning lights and turning on the existing speed display signs at all times, not just during school times.
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Four Princeton-area residents participated in a weeklong bicycle ride in October from Philadelphia to Fredericksburg, Va. to promote the East Coast Greenway (www.greenway.org), a 2,900-mile urban version of the Appalachian Trail that links cities from the Canadian border in Maine down to Key West in Florida.
The four, Robert Russo of Belle Mead, Dan Rappoport of Princeton and neighbors Melinda Posipanko and Silvia Ascarelli of West Windsor, bicycled on everything from trails to quiet streets to roads with plenty of traffic, and across the National Mall in Washington. Together, they raised more than $11,000 for the East Coast Greenway Alliance, the nonprofit organization that is working with state and local partners to put more of the route on trails and quiet roads.
The 325-mile ride is an annual event, but the location changes. The goal to ride one section of the East Coast Greenway a year (hence the name, the Week-a-Year Ride) and finish in Key West in 2019. The 2013 ride came through Princeton and West Windsor because the East Coast Greenway includes the D&R Canal Towpath from New Brunswick to Trenton.
?This annual ride provides an exploratory trip to experience the economic impact that off-road trails can and do provide to the different communities that we ride through,? said Robert Russo, who is the treasurer for the East Coast Greenway Alliance. ?We get to meet with government leaders in the different states to emphasize the economic and health benefits of a growing off-road trail network.?
All 40-plus riders met with Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who is considered the most bike-friendly governor in the U.S. By the end of 2017, 60% of the East Coast Greenway route in that state should be off roads. Overall, about 30% of the route is now off roads, and the vision is to get all of it away from traffic.
Dan Rappoport has participated in three of the four rides so far, only missing the first, from Calais, Maine to Portland, Maine. In 2013, the ride from Hartford, Conn. to Philadelphia took him past his childhood home in Cranford. Riding down the East Coast, he says, is his substitute for the dream of a cross-country bike ride.
The ride was Melinda Posipanko’s first multi-day tour. She loved how the Greenway crafts safe routes by connecting existing trails with quiet roads wherever possible.? She was particularly impressed that the route did not go out of its way to avoid less fortunate neighborhoods in the cities and towns it passed through thereby enhancing the possibility that bike tourism will bring economic benefits to these areas.
Like the others, Silvia Ascarelli, a first-time east Coast Greenway rider, is taken with the vision of a route from Canada to Key West. While Delaware is making impressive strides with its off-road trails, she was equally wowed with the well-used network of trails in Maryland from Baltimore to Washington that made riding there a pleasure. For more about this year?s ride, read her blog, www.exploringbybike.wordpress.com
The 2015 version of the ride will pick up where this one ended, in Fredericksburg, and will end in Raleigh, North Carolina. This will be a more difficult ride than in previous years due to longer mileage and fewer greenway sections, so it will be geared toward advanced cyclists. Anyone interested in participating can email info@greenway.org for more information.
In the attached photo, from left:
Silvia Ascarelli of West Windsor, Melinda Posipanko of West Windsor, former New Jersey resident Ed Majtenyi, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, Robert Russo of Belle Mead, Dan Rappoport of Princeton
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Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month via Zoom due to Covid. We will eventually resume meeting in the West Windsor Municipal Building. Email us at wwbikeped@gmail.com 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.
