The Trustees of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance support the proposed Princeton Junction Pocket Park on Alexander Rd between CR 571 and Harris Rd. We believe the park will be a great place to bring West Windsor residents together, to meet and enjoy our continually improving downtown area.
To make the park as bicycle and pedestrian friendly as possible, we will be delighted to donate bike racks, and suggest adding a sidewalk connection to Harris Road, which will be useful for families and students who walk to the park.
We encourage contributions to:
Friends of West Windsor Open Space, P.O. Box 74, West Windsor, NJ 08550
to support the park, and look forward to making West Windsor a more bicycle and pedestrian friendly community.
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The Princeton Junction train station now has more bike parking for our many bike commuters.
A new eight-locker unit has been added to the east side, near the first set of steps in the daily parking lot (with room to add more as needed), and four new bike racks have been added to the west side between the Trenton-bound tracks and the Dinky.
The WWBPA coordinated the project, which involved six entities, and managed the installation of the new concrete pads, which was contracted to Trenton’s Capital City Contracting Co. The lockers and racks were supplied by New Jersey Transit, and West Windsor Public Works handled the installations of both the lockers and racks. All of this was made possible through a four-way cost-sharing among the West Windsor Parking Authority, West Windsor Bike Fest, Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association (GMTMA), and the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance through its membership dues. Thanks, all, for helping make West Windsor a more bicycle-friendly community!
The racks were filled the day after they were installed, and the new lockers will help shrink the existing waiting list. Anyone wishing to rent a bike locker should contact GMTMA at 609-452-1491 x224. The cost is $7.50 per month for six months ($90 per year). Contracts are automatically renewable.
We are seeing more people biking to the train station. If you’d like to try it but need some help selecting a route, email us at [email protected]
As part of the store’s expansion, bike racks were recently installed in front of Trader Joe’s grocery store. Now it’s even easier to bike to the grocery store! If you’re heading to Trader Joe’s from east of Route 1, there’s a nice short cut from New Meadow Road along the old roadway alignment that’s traffic-free until you get to the apartment complex. It even saves you a traffic light and the short hill.
Thanks to the township for putting the finishing touches to the bike racks at the West Windsor Arts Center. New concrete and flagstone borders were recently installed, and look very classy indeed. Now nobody needs to worry about getting their bike dirty when attending an event at the arts center. Oh yeah, or your shoes, either!
The next time you visit the Arts Center, check out the colorful new bike racks on the side of the new building! A big thank you to the township, Arts Center board, and especially to BikeFest, which kindly paid for them. Nice!
The big melt was on, temperatures were rising into the 60s, school was out for teachers’ professional development, and student bicyclists flocked to Plainsboro’s Village Center.
During a short stop on a bike for coffee and a muffin on that day just over a week ago, a very interesting phenomenon was observed: the numerous bike racks in the back parking lots were completely deserted. Not to worry, the benches in front had bikes locked to them, and the bike rack next to the entrance of the new library was packed!
Nice job, Plainsboro! We in West Windsor look forward to our revitalized Main Street Route 571 being able to attract our fair share of bicyclists out for a nice ride.
In the meantime, there’s a lesson for all: if bike racks are visible (so generally, near entrances), they’ll be used much more than if they are hidden away.
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The NJDOT just published (only online) the New Jersey Bicycle Manual. It’s not just for kids, either. Here’s a list of the covered topics, from the table of contents:
Selecting, Fitting & Equipping Your Bike
Quick Maintenance Checks
Off to a Good Start
Traffic Basics
Sharing the Road
Parking Your Bike
Difficult Situations
Riding at Night & in Rain and Snow
Riding with Others
Riding on Shared-Use Paths
NJ Bicycling Law & Roadway Restrictions
Traffic Signals, Signs and Road Markings
The manual includes lots of clear diagrams and photos to help cyclists navigate in a variety of situations (even how to share the road with pedestrians and horseback riders).
This is an excellent resource for both novice and experienced cyclists.
Freehold residents and shop owners this month discussed a plan? to make the borough’s downtown friendlier for bicyclists and pedestrians. Issues included adding a traffic signal, where to place bicycle racks, building more sidewalks, and police enforcement.
There’s still some apprehension among some people about some of the ideas put forth by some consultants, and the biking and walking community may be called on again to show their support. The borough will draft its own bicycle and pedestrian plan, due for release early in 2011. Councilman John Newman also noted the need for a Complete Streets policy.
The plan presented by the consultants from Michael Baker Jr. was well thought out and clearly showed an understanding of the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians…Similar to the plan they put together for Morristown, the suggestions for Freehold also included a liberal use of bicycle lanes and sharrows on major streets where appropriate, accompanied by a reduction in motor vehicle lane width and limited elimination of on-street parking (the one street that they recommended this last action, they never observed cars parked on the street). They also suggested extending the Henry Hudson Trail further into town using the old railroad right-of-way, which is currently not used.
Despite general opposition from many downtown merchants, the proposed plan does call for bicycle parking be placed in select curbside locations on Main Street, which follows the bike parking standards detailed by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. However, if a curbside parking plan cannot be ratified by the Borough Council, the consultants did provide a ?Plan B? bike parking proposal that would provide better parking options if bicycle parking is still not allowed along the Main Street storefronts.
Probably the most unique part of the plan (and undoubtedly the coolest) was the bicycle map of the Borough that included a Bruce Springsteen bicycle tour. Freehold Borough has many historic sights due to its 300+ years of history and its close proximity to the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth… Still, Freehold is known the world over for being the birthplace of Bruce and there are many sights around town associated with ?The Boss.? While there are eight other historic sights and places of interest in the Borough, there are nine sights uniquely associated with Springsteen and the proposed bike map points them all out.
Freehold is about to release a study by the New Jersey Department of Transportation about how to make the borough friendlier for bicyclists. But turning the study into reality is hardly a slam-dunk. Its supporters need our vocal support to help businesses overcome fears about cyclists on the sidewalk and bikes that aren’t locked to bike racks, among other things. (We say cyclists can bring in extra business, particularly if downtown is on a safe route to the Shore.) The key meeting is Monday, Dec. 20.
Read this email that the WWBPA received from John F. Newman, a Freehold councilman for the Springsteen connection and more:
About one year ago,?I was elected as a councilman in Freehold Borough.? One issue that immediately reared its head was an ordinance that was passed (before I was sworn in) which required bikes to be parked at bike racks in town, despite a dearth of bike racks.
I railed against this issue, and soon thereafter secured a NJ DOT grant to have a bike-ped study of the town.? That study is about to be unveiled to the public for their review and comment, but I am learning of some opposition to the study, namely how it could affect the downtown.
I am reaching out to bicycle advocates so that they can assist me in garnering support to ATTEND the meeting and bring their views of the benefits of a bike-friendly community. Being in Freehold Borough, some items in the DOT study were to link the Henry Hudson Trail to the downtown, link the rest of the 1.9 square mile borough to the downtown, and linking the borough to points outside its boundaries, such as the Monmouth Battlefield and other nearby parks. Also, within town is proposed a bike path/trail. This will?map out places of historic interest and a tour of Springsteen’s Freehold. Of course, the study also takes into account safety of bicyclists and pedestrians.
As noted, there is some resistance. I would appreciate it if you and your friends could help me by attending the December 20, 2010 meeting. The public portion starts at Freehold Borough Hall at 4:00 until 6:30; then the council meeting starts at 7:00 where a presentation will be made directly to the mayor and council.
Your support and input will be greatly appreciated as well as your comments on the beneficial aspects bike-friendly communities – the concept still has to be sold.
You can read more about what Freehold has been doing on WalkBikeJersey. The state also has mapped a route that goes through Monmouth Battlefield.
And did you know this about Freehold’s role in bicycling history?? Cycling champion Arthur Augustus Zimmerman resided in the town during his racing career in the 1880s and 1890s, and from 1896-1899 operated the Zimmerman Bicycle Co.; the company’s bicycles were known as the “Zimmy.” Today, Freehold Borough is home to the Metz Bicycle Museum, where the only extant “Zimmy” can be seen.
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.
The Trustees of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance support the proposed Princeton Junction Pocket Park on Alexander Rd between CR 571 and Harris Rd. We believe the park will be a great place to bring West Windsor residents together, to meet and enjoy our continually improving downtown area.
As part of the store’s expansion, bike racks were recently installed in front of Trader Joe’s grocery store. Now it’s even easier to bike to the grocery store! If you’re heading to Trader Joe’s from east of Route 1, there’s a nice short cut from New Meadow Road along the old roadway alignment that’s traffic-free until you get to the apartment complex. It even saves you a traffic light and the short hill.
Thanks to the township for putting the finishing touches to the bike racks at the West Windsor Arts Center. New concrete and flagstone borders were recently installed, and look very classy indeed. Now nobody needs to worry about getting their bike dirty when attending an event at the arts center. Oh yeah, or your shoes, either!
The next time you visit the Arts Center, check out the colorful new bike racks on the side of the new building! A big thank you to the township, Arts Center board, and especially to BikeFest, which kindly paid for them. Nice!
The big melt was on, temperatures were rising into the 60s, school was out for teachers’ professional development, and student bicyclists flocked to Plainsboro’s Village Center.
Nice job, Plainsboro! We in West Windsor look forward to our revitalized Main Street Route 571 being able to attract our fair share of bicyclists out for a nice ride.
Freehold residents and shop owners this month discussed a plan? to make the borough’s downtown friendlier for bicyclists and pedestrians. Issues included adding a traffic signal, where to place bicycle racks, building more sidewalks, and police enforcement.
