West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance

Explore the Lawrence Hopewell Trail

Thursday, July 1 by silvia

The Lawrence Hopewell Trail – a 20ish-mile loop connecting Lawrenceville and Hopewell – is one of WWBPA board member Silvia Ascarelli’s favorite local trails. She loves to combine it with the D&R Canal towpath to help get her where she wants to go by bike (they meet near the historic Brearley House).

Posted in Bicycle routes, Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, Lawrenceville, Trails |

Our Trail-to-Trail Community Bike Ride (and Walk)

Monday, September 24 by silvia

Join the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance for its sixth annual Community Bike Ride on Oct. 6 (rain date Oct 7) as we head down the D&R Canal towpath to discover how it connects to other bicycling and walking routes.

Our eight-mile ride will leave from Turning Basin Park (Alexander Road and the canal) and head to Brearley House in Lawrence (located on the 20-mile Lawrence Hopewell Trail). We?ll stop there for refreshments and some give-aways, plus hear about the Lawrence Hopewell Trail and the East Coast Greenway before turning back.

This is the last in our series of free family-friendly bike rides for 2012. Meet at the park at 2:15 p.m.; the ride leaves at 2:30 p.m. No preregistration is necessary; just bring a bike in good working order and a helmet. Children under 13 should be accompanied by an adult.

This year, we are adding a walking option, from Port Mercer Canal House. Gather at the parking lot at 2:15 p.m. (departure time is 2:30 p.m.) for the 1.3-mile walk to Brearley House. Because of road construction, the parking lot is only accessible from Route 1, not Princeton.

The ride is so-sponsored by the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, Sustainable Lawrence and the Princeton Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee.

About two dozen people, many of them new faces, joined us on Sept. 15 for a five-mile loop from Community Park down the Trolley Line Trail to Penn-Lyle Road and past High School South back to the park. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Tags: bicycle, bike ride, biking, D&R Canal, East Coast Greenway, Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, Lawrenceville, Princeton, walking, West Windsor
Posted in Alexander Road, Bicycle routes, Bike Ride, Community Bike Ride, D&R Canal, East Coast Greenway, Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, Lawrenceville, Princeton, Trails, Walkability |

Proposed Route 571 Main Street Design Unsafe

Tuesday, September 13 by JerryFoster

The WWBPA responded to the county’s proposed CR 571 Main Street design recently, maintaining that it is unsafe for everyone: motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike. In the past 10 years, two pedestrians were killed on this stretch of roadway (2004 and 2005), while no motorists were killed.? A 17-year-old motorist was killed in 2006, however, just west of downtown Princeton Junction, when she lost control of her car on the curve coming off the bridge over the train tracks.

The proposed wider-straighter-faster design does nothing to address these safety issues. Instead, it preserves the current 45mph design speed and 40mph posted speed limit. Drivers don’t respect crosswalks when they have to slow from high speed, and the proposed design does nothing to provide pedestrian refuges in the center of the roadway to promote safe crossing.

Rt 571 Concept Illustration

The design also features a new two-way center left turn lane (TWLTL) that studies have shown to be unsafe; AARP calls them “suicide lanes.” One study even showed that artificially lowering the posted speed limit, but not the design speed, caused an increase in crashes.

Picture 7

Here’s a picture of Hamilton’s SR 33 that most resembles what is planned. The 45mph design speed is simply not appropriate for the pedestrian friendly Main Street that our Redevelopment Plan envisions. A survey of other Mercer County towns shows that Princeton, Lawrenceville, Hightstown, Hopewell and Pennington all have 25 – 30mph speed limits on their Main Streets. Why not in West Windsor?

The WWBPA is not just opining, and we’re not just complaining – our response, and our recommendations based on the December 2009 Public Review, are founded on research and guidelines from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. We are recommending constructive, Complete Streets alternatives to remedy the safety issues and make a Main Street that we can all be proud of.

The current design shows why Mercer County should adopt a Complete Streets policy to complement the state and West Windsor township policies – our transportation network needs jurisdictions with consistent policies to benefit our taxpayers.

Thanks to everyone who has gotten involved to support our position! We appreciate all of you who have signed our petition at the Farmers’ Market, or who have contacted the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, which recently conducted public outreach on this and other federally-funded projects.

More help is needed. Please contact our public officials to support our position. With a lower design speed and pedestrian refuges, our senior residents can cross Route 571 safely to the new Rite Aid, and our children can cross Route 571 safely to the new ex-Acme shopping center, as well as to the high school. And our teenage drivers should be able to keep control of their vehicles when going more slowly. Everyone benefits.

Tags: AARP, Complete Streets, design speed, Downtown Princeton Junction, DVRPC, Hamilton, Main Street, Mercer County, Pedestrian crossings, Redevelopment Plan, Rt 571, safety, senior, speed limit, twltl
Posted in Advocacy, Complete Streets, Hamilton, Hightstown, Lawrenceville, Main Street, Pedestrian, Princeton, Route 571, Safety, Speed limits, Walkability |

Ralph’s Ride (And Walk) in Lawrenceville

Tuesday, May 31 by silvia

Lawrencevillle is dedicating its new Trolley Bridge, part of the Johnson Trolley Line over Five Mile Run, with a nature walk and a bike ride in honor of Ralph Copleman (Mr. Sustainable Lawrence) on Saturday, June 11.

Tags: Lawrenceville
Posted in Lawrenceville |