Help Make Jersey City Bike Friendly

[Bobblehead]

While I'm all for matching the proper outfit with any outing (what lady wouldn't be), I do think it's rude to display such casual disregard for human life and overall public safety.

Not to mention fashion, and common decency.

[Miss Eliza Bennet]

As long as no one slams into me (and that includes 10 year olds whipping around gazebos in the park), cyclists usually don't bother me much. Except the beautiful godzillas who blithely ramble through main thoroughfares at a pace and disregard for general traffic patterns, signage, and lights in such a way as to tie up traffic so we can all see how beautifully their outfits are coordinated with their touring bikes. handbags, and teacup chihuahuas.

While I'm all for matching the proper outfit with any outing (what lady wouldn't be), I do think it's rude to display such casual disregard for human life and overall public safety.

[Area Man]

Biking is without question dangerous in JC, and I don't see that changing, even with the addition of bike lanes.  Drivers have no respect for people on bikes.

[Mr_Grieves]

Didn't the "experiment" on Grove end in May?  What's the verdict?  I guess, but I just don't know, the city thinks it's positive since the lanes are still there.  Personally, I don't think it proved anything. While I commend the city for getting off its butt on this matter, a short bike lane to nowhere can't prove anything.  I bike on Grove 6 days a week at least twice a day.  Double parking is still rampant and biking on Grove is no more or less dangerous.  Possibly, it's more dangerous since it might give bikers a false sense of security.  Since the bike lane began, I had 2 close brushes with cars that sped up to beat me to Mercer to make the turn while I was in my lane.  I had to slam on the brakes.  I also see bikers on the sidewalk as always.  In any event, I get the feeling there's a lack of planning in this endeavor.

[Bobblehead]

Is this the thread where we should post pics of folks double-parking in the bike lane? Because some folks just don't get the concept. . . .

[Area Man]

I would love to see more bike lanes in JC. Aside from driving 25 miles to my office each morning, my bicycle is my primary mode of transportation around town. 

[PuddinPop]

Seriously, Jehu?! And here I thought you were a cyclist...

I don't think NJ has a law designating bikes to the road only. It might be done on a city by city, but I don't think it is a state law.

Does Jersey City have such a law?

Does this mean that they'll finally start getting treated like vehicles and start ticketing assholes who ride on the sidewalk and don't follow traffic laws?

[CeeDub]

yes.  Let me google that for you - or not.

[jehu]

I don't think NJ has a law designating bikes to the road only. It might be done on a city by city, but I don't think it is a state law.

Does Jersey City have such a law?

Does this mean that they'll finally start getting treated like vehicles and start ticketing assholes who ride on the sidewalk and don't follow traffic laws?

[TheFang]

Does this mean that they'll finally start getting treated like vehicles and start ticketing assholes who ride on the sidewalk and don't follow traffic laws?

[Rabelais]

This is all we need, more bad bicycle drivers on the road!! not to mention the sidewalks.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop is a proponent of the measure, saying it will “encourage the use of bicycles.”

A bicycle will hurt you less when it hits you. Don't assume automobile drivers are any better.

[jehu]

This is all we need, more bad bicycle drivers on the road!! not to mention the sidewalks.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop is a proponent of the measure, saying it will “encourage the use of bicycles.”

[MCA™]

Jersey City proposing bike-parking requirements for most new retail, residential structures
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 11:53 AM
Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 12:07 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City is on its way to becoming more bike-friendly, with the City Council considering a requirement for most new residential and retail structures to include space for bicycle parking.

The proposed regulations would require a minimum of one-half a bicycle space per bedroom in all residential buildings aside from one- and two-family homes, which would be exempt.

The requirement would also hit retail establishments over 5,000 square feet, which would have to house a minimum of four bike spaces, and schools, which would need anywhere from 1.5 to four spaces per classroom. Houses of worship would not be exempt, with the proposal requiring them to have one space per 20 seats.

Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano expressed skepticism about the plan at last night’s council caucus, saying it seemed like a “nice gesture” that may not be practical. There are residential structures in the city that barely have enough room for parking spaces for cars, Sottolano said.

“Where the hell you going to put the bikes?” he said.

The proposed regulations, which are set for introduction at tomorrow’s council meeting, are for new structures only. Peppered with questions from Sottolano at Monday’s caucus, City Planner Kristen Russell said developers would have to “find a way” to include car and bicycle parking when designing their new buildings. Bikes could go in the rear of a structure, in a little room off a lobby or on racks in a garage, Russell said.

“It’s really a design decision on the part of the developer,” she said.

The proposed bike-parking regulations would also affect hospitals (one exterior space every 20,000 square feet; one interior space every 50,000 square feet); parking garages and lots (equivalent to 5 percent of auto parking); and parks (one space per 5,000 square feet).

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop is a proponent of the measure, saying it will “encourage the use of bicycles.”

Tomorrow’s council meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Grove St.

[MCA™]

Let's get some of these bike corrals in JC. What say, BikeJC? Easy Riders? Grove Street Bicycles?


Hoboken looking for businesses to apply to install one of city's first three bicycle corrals
Published: Saturday, June 09, 2012, 3:00 AM
By Travis Fedschun/The Jersey Journal

Additional bicycle parking is on the way, thanks to a grant awarded to Hoboken. The city has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Bikes Belong Coalition to install pilot bike corrals. The Mile Square City’s pilot program will feature at least three on-street bike corrals that each hold 10 to 24 bicycles.

“This infrastructure reallocates previously unused street space to better accommodate the mobility of all our residents,” said Transportation and Parking Director Ian Sacs in a release. “Corrals clear sidewalks of bicycles and also serve as curb extensions, improving visibility for drivers and pedestrians.”

Bike corrals were pioneered by Portland, Oregon and have since been adopted in other cities across the country such as New York and San Francisco.

“I’m very pleased Hoboken is moving ahead with this innovative approach to address the increased need for bicycle parking and that we’re able to do it through grant funding,” said Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer in a release.

Modeled on other cities’ sponsorship programs, Hoboken is inviting businesses to apply for a bike corral near their locations. As part of the program, Hoboken will pay to install the corrals with grant funding.

Through a maintenance agreement, the adjacent business/property owner will then be required to keep the corral free of debris, oversee snow removal and inform the city of structural issues or damages.

Interested businesses are asked to contact bikes@hobokennj.org for more information.

[MCA™]

Jersey City mayor cuts ribbon on bike lanes on Grove Street to kick off Green Week
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2012, 3:00 AM
Celeste Little/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy kicked off Green Week, part of Project 365, at City Hall on Monday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new bike lanes on Grove Street.

The pilot bike paths, on Grove Street from Christopher Columbus Drive to Grand Street, will be open throughout the month of May. On Monday, the first cyclists tried out the new lanes.

If the bike lanes prove to be successful, lanes may be opened throughout the city, city officials said.

“We believe it makes our city a little more environmentally friendly,” Healy said.

City spokesman Jennifer Morrill said the success of the bike lanes will be judged by how many more people start using bicycles along the street and whether there is a decrease in unsafe cycling, such as cyclists riding on sidewalks.

City employees will also speak to local cyclists to see if they feel safer and poll local business people on how they feel about the lanes, she said.

Jersey City was recently named one of the greenest cities in the U.S., and was one of the finalists for the 2012 Siemens Sustainable Community Award.

Some 60 percent of city residents utilize means of getting around other than driving cars.

The city is also partnering with Bike JC and the Hudson Transportation Management Association on an education campaign to promote safety for drivers and cyclists.

[MCA™]

Jersey City Adds Temporary Bike Lanes Along Grove Street
By Matt Hunger • Apr 26th, 2012

Jersey City’s long wait for a bike lane looks to be over, temporarily. This won’t come as news to residents who’ve been walking along Grove Street today where the lane is currently being painted onto the road. The bike lane will officially open to cyclists on Monday, April 30th, and will last exactly a month as the city looks into the feasibility — not to mention popularity — of the move.

However, the bike lane, which will run the length of Grove Street in both directions, has been called “the bike lane to nowhere.”

Still, any start is a good start as motorists get used to sharing the road, according to Dan Levin, a good-government activist and proponent of bike usage in the city. Levin calls the bike lane “a positive step.” (more)

[EasyRidersJC]

March 15, 2012

For Immediate Release
Bike JC
BikeJC.org

Jersey City Cycling Community and City Council Members to Meet Next Week to Discuss Jersey City Cycling Policy

Jersey City Council members Steven Fulop and Michele Massey will join Bike JC board and general members to discuss their views on safe street, smart streets, and bicycling in Jersey City, on Thursday, March 22, at the Hudson Pride Center, 32 Jones Street, Jersey City, from 8-10 pm. The public is welcome.

Bike JC is a citizen-based advocacy organization that aims to make Jersey City streets welcoming for bicyclists, by supporting bike-friendly policies and bicycle education. Its signature initiative is the Jersey City Ward Tour, which takes 500 riders around the six wards of the city, as a show of bicycling enthusiasm and pride in our city. This year, the Third Annual Ward Tour will take place June 3.

Bike JC brings together citizen cyclists, policy wonks, planners, parents, businesspeople, and commuters in working towards making city streets safe for all. The Bike JC board encourages anyone interested in smart streets, bicycling policy, bicycling, urban planning, or transit to join us on March 22, 8-10 pm, at the Hudson Pride Center, 32 Jones Street, First Floor, Jersey City, NJ. The Center is located two blocks from the Journal Square Transportation Center.

For more information, contact Chris Englese, chris@bikejc.org

Hudson Pride Map

[PuddinPop]

I love the bike routes! If you follow them long enough you end up lost in the hood!

[shahaggy]

Are you trying to say Jersey City's "Pick a major road, put some Bike Route signs on it without even considering the safety issues, wait until most of the signs get stolen, proceed to do nothing" model isn't nice?

at least our bike lanes won't fall off into the hudson like in Hoboken 

[devb]

Are you trying to say Jersey City's "Pick a major road, put some Bike Route signs on it without even considering the safety issues, wait until most of the signs get stolen, proceed to do nothing" model isn't nice?

[MCA™]

I see Hoboken can have nice things.


Ten miles of bike lanes to be added to Hoboken streets
Published: Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 10:33 PM
Updated: Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 10:34 PM
By Stephanie Musat/ The Jersey Journal

In a unanimous decision, the Hoboken City Council voted to add 10 miles of bike lanes to Hoboken streets.

The ordinance establishes Class II bike lanes on an additional 10 miles of streets including segments of Hudson Street, Garden Street, Park Avenue, Willow Avenue, Clinton Street, Adams Street, Jefferson Street, Monroe Street, Jackson Street, Harrison Street, Newark Street, 2nd Street and 11th Street.

Hoboken currently has a total of 4.5 miles of bike lanes, including 0.34 miles of a Class I lane, 2.1 miles of Class II lanes and 2.1 miles of Class III lanes.

Class I lanes are protected bike lanes such as the one on the southern end of Sinatra Drive. Class II lanes are striped bike lanes such as those that currently exist on Grand and Madison Streets.

Class III bike lanes are also known as "sharrows," or shared lane markings which are used on streets that are too narrow to accommodate striped bike lanes, such as numbered cross streets.

"As we establish bike lanes on nearly 80 percent of our streets, we are taking a big leap towards making Hoboken truly bike friendly," said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. "By slowing down traffic, bike lanes make streets safer for everyone including drivers and pedestrians, and this lays an even stronger foundation for our ongoing pedestrian safety efforts."

There will also be an additional 9.7 miles of sharrows on narrower streets that cannot accommodate a striped bike lane. In addition, the city intends to create a two-way protected (Class I) 0.43 mile bike lane along Observer Highway as part of a complete street redesign scheduled for next year.

In total, this will result in almost 25 miles of streets with bike lanes, or nearly 80 percent of the 32 street miles in Hoboken.

[MCA™]

Hudson County Moves Beyond the Automobile in new video series
Published: Monday, February 28, 2011, 3:49 PM
Updated: Monday, February 28, 2011, 4:22 PM
Denise Copeland/Betty the Bike

StreetFilms.org has started a new video series called Moving Beyond the Automobile, and has chosen to feature Hudson County as their first subject.

The NYC-based organization takes a look across the Hudson River to their near neighbor, where over the last two decades new development has been booming.

This first chapter in the Moving Beyond the Automobile series dicusses Transit-Oriented Development, more commonly known by its "TOD" acronym in transportation industry circles.

A TOD is defined as a high-density, mixed-use residential area with access to ample amounts of transportation. There are usually many transportation choices within its core and thus is a pedestrian and bike-friendly environment.

Hudson County has transportation options as diverse as you can when you mix in the Hudson-Bergen light-rail, multiple ferry lines, PATH and NJ Transit commuter trains, and buses.

A bit less than 3.5 minutes, the video is beautifully filmed and edited, and contains some very positive facts about the transit developments in Hudson County.

Did you know that in Jersey City, car ownership is as low as 40% to 45%?  Or that over 5 billion dollars has been invested in building residential units along the new waterfront transit routes?

Hudson County has also been recently named one the the top 15 areas in the nation for transit innovation.

Moving Beyond the Automobile is a ten-part video series which explores solutions to the problem of automobile dependency. It's a visual handbook that will help guide policy makers, advocacy organizations, teachers, students, and others into a world that values pedestrian plazas over parking lots and train tracks over highways. Cars were then, and this is now. Welcome to the future.

Check out the next chapters at streetfilms.org.

[PuddinPop]

******BUMP******
Be there! Going to be lots of fun
Also, if you have a bike you would like to display (fold-up, painted, pieced together, fancy...) email chris@bikejc.org

[PuddinPop]

Hope to see everyone here:

[MCA™]

How do I get one of those snazzy Bike JC t-shirts I saw during the Jersey City Ward Tour? Or better yet, a jersey.