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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The WWBPA holds its annual meeting via Zoom at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, 2022. You’ll hear from two exciting guest speakers: WW Police Chief Robert Garofalo (and/or his traffic sergeant, Kevin Loretucci, if he’s needed in an emergency) and Eleanor Horne, one of the founders of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail.
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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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I went walking in the woods in West Windsor and spotted this fellow asleep in his hammock.
Then I spotted one ready to get a party started. And another gnome. Then a dozen or so more, tucked amid the tree trunks and leaves along the path. Did others scamper into hiding places before I arrived? Through that door at the bottom of a tree? That Rutgers one, though – did he get beaten up playing football? Or get the worse end of a quarrel with a deer?
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Thanks to PSE&G (which owns the land) and a nudge from the township, the Trolley Line Trail — the trail under the power lines — now extends to Village Road West instead of ending at Penn-Lyle Road. That means you can walk, jog, scoot or bike more than 3 miles from the northern end at Rabbit Hill Road without ever needing to be on the road (except when crossing at intersections, of course).
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Your membership in the all-volunteer West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) helps promote more sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, and other improvements that make it safer for everyone to walk and bicycle in West Windsor. Thank you for your past support!
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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The days are getting shorter, but that’s no reason to be outside less. Just make sure you’re still visible, whether walking, jogging or biking at night or whenever the light is poor. Even wearing white may not be enough, as this poster shows.
The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance has plenty of ways to help, with great deals on lights, reflective gear … even an LED leash for your dog. Items cost between $2 and $14.
Stop by our table at the West Windsor Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 2, Oct. 16 and Oct. 30.
Motorists, please be extra vigilant while driving when visibility is poor.
Plus: We’ll once again be offering bike check-ups at the farmers market, also on Oct. 2, 16 and 30.
While our volunteers will do quick adjustments to get your bike back on the road, we do not do extensive repairs. Nor do we stock parts. This includes inner tubes and tires. Please bring a new inner tube if you need a flat tire fixed.
If the check-up shows your bike needs more than a quick adjustment, you’ll need to go to a local bike shop.
Yes, we do the work for free, but please consider showing your thanks by becoming a member of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance.
Don’t forget: The WWBPA will be collecting bike donations for the Trenton Bike Exchange on Oct. 16.
West Windsor is seeking to renew its status as a bicycle-friendly community with the League of American Bicyclists. As part of the application process, the League wants feedback from anyone who has biked in West Windsor. (We are currently a bronze-level community and are proud to be the first New Jersey community to have earned this status.)
If it’s time to get rid of some bicycles you no longer need, consider donating them to Bike Exchange of Trenton. Volunteers will fix up the bikes for resale, with the proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County.
You can drop off bikes during West Windsor’s Dumpster Drop-Off Day on Sept. 18 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Public Works facility on Southfield Road) or at the WWBPA’s table at the West Windsor Farmers Market on Oct. 16 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Donations are tax-deductible.
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I like this fun fact about the Union Transportation Trail: It lets you brag that you’ve travelled across Monmouth County, from Mercer County to Ocean County. Yet because it’s in the western corner of the county, it’s only 9 miles long.
The UTT is a crushed-stone rail trail that starts south of Hightstown and takes you through woods, past farms and fields and near the Cream Ridge Golf Course. Once part of the Pemberton & Hightstown Railroad, it’s now a great place for walkers, joggers, cyclists and even those on horseback.
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Governor Murphy has signed a law that requires motorists to give cyclists and other non-motorists a wide berth when passing.
The Safe Passing Law informs motorists when and how to safely pass a cyclist, pedestrian and other vulnerable road users (such as skaters and people on scooters or in wheelchairs).
If you’re driving and need to pass one of these non-motorists on the road, here’s what to do:
Move over one lane from the cyclist, pedestrian or other road user IF it is possible ANDSAFE to do so.
If no additional lane is available, pass when there is at least 4 feet between your vehicle and the cyclist, pedestrian or other user.
If neither is a safe option, reduce your vehicle speed to 25 mph. Reduce your vehicle’s speed even further if the posted speed limit is less than 25 mph.
Please don’t try to squeeze by a cyclist or other vulnerable road user, especially if you can’t see oncoming traffic.
Remember that cyclists ride as far to the right as practicable – that does not mean they hug the curb or white line. They (and others) need room to navigate around glass, yard waste and other debris in the road, bike lane or shoulder, and they hate potholes and bumps at least as much as you do.
Slowing down and passing safely likely will cost you just seconds, but your actions can prevent accidents, injuries and fatalities.
The law takes effect early next year, but please start following it now. New Jersey joins 42 other states with similar laws, so take these habits with you when you leave the Garden State.
A reminder to cyclists: bike in the same direction as traffic. It’s not only the law, it’s safer. Remember to be visible and be predictable. Pedestrians, you should walk in the direction of oncoming traffic as much as possible when in the road.
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If you missed out on a free bicycle tune-up at National Night Out, visit the West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance table this Saturday at the West Windsor Farmers Market. We’ll be there during market hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Anything squeaking or rubbing on your bicycle? Need the seat raised or a flat tire repaired? Our volunteers will check if a quick adjustment is what you need to get your bike back on the road again. (Please bring a new inner tube to replace a flat tire.)
Speaking of flat tires, REI is hosting a one-hour virtual event about bike tire repairs on Thursday, Aug. 12 starting at 4 p.m. Registration is required — go here: Let’s Talk Tires
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Let’s keep your bike humming between annual tune-ups at your local bike shop. It’s all too easy to quickly give your steed the once-over and let your excitement of being in the great outdoors get the better of you.
Follow these quick pre-ride tips that will keep you safe while still keeping you … um…pumped up! Every time you ride, don’t forget the ABCs of bike safety. If something doesn’t seem right and you’re not sure what to do, have a bike mechanic look it over.
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).
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WWBPA board member Steve Hagen’s favorite spot to bike is traffic-free.
You may be familiar with the D&R Canal towpath that marks the border between West Windsor and Princeton – but did you know that it goes for 34 miles, all the way to New Brunswick and Trenton? And that there is a second section along the Delaware River, with a sister canal path on the Pennsylvania side? (Click here for a map.)
WWBPA board member Steve Hagen shares why he spends many summer weekends on leisurely bike rides along the Delaware River.
Jan/Feb is the WWBPA Membership Drive. Help us help you to improve West Windsor in 2021 and beyond. Want to see improved Bike and Ped infrastructure, safety and education in our community? Support WWBPA through our membership drive. Select Join/renewbelow and donate today.
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 am to 1 pm every other Saturday from May through Halloween.
