Bicycle and Pedestrian Policy

“I Want My Complete Streets”: A Statewide Effort To Make Our Streets Safer and Our Communities Healthier and More Economically Sustainable

One quality of life issue that unites people of all ages is the need for safer streets. Professionals from pediatricians to gerontologists know that to live and feel healthy, Americans need to be spending more time outdoors, walking or biking several times a week for common activities like short trips to the store. Streets that accommodate such active living are called “Complete Streets” (CS), and municipalities that want to take advantage of grants and initiatives to improve safety, health, and economic vitality are well-advised to adopt CS policies that make it easier to connect their residents with places they’d like to go.

NJ DOT Unveils new Website for Complete Streets

Today, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) unveiled their new Complete Streets Website! Here policy makers, advocates, and residents can all come to understand more about Complete Streets and see the progress NJDOT is making in implementing the policy though its own roadway projects. The site also provides a great deal of transparency in the Complete Streets process by listing the exemptions procedures and identifying those projects that have received an exemption.

Head on over to the new site today! http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/eng/completestreets/

CALLING ALL BICYCLE ADVOCATES to attend the June 11th NJ TRANSIT BOARD MEETING!

At the May Board Meeting, recommendations regarding the NJ TRANSIT Bicycles on Trains Policy were presented to the NJ TRANSIT BOARD by North Jersey Transit Advisory Committee Chair Suzanne Mack. The Board will be discussing the outcome of the discussions related to the recommendations at the June 11th Board Meeting. We need supporters there on June 11th at NJ TRANSIT…read more →

The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design: What’s New and How Will the Changes Impact the Pedestrian Environment?

In 1991 the Department of Justice adopted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design. These standards required newly constructed and renovated places of public accommodation and commercial use to be designed in ways that prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability. These principles also required consistency with design guidelines published by the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers…read more →

Rolling and Patrolling

Bicycle patrols have become an increasingly popular choice for police departments across the United States, including New Jersey. By creating closer and more frequent interaction with law enforcement, the public becomes more familiar with the officers responsible for their safety. Bicycle patrols emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an alternative to typical patrolling methods.   According to…read more →

Breaking News: March adds 4 New Municipal Complete Streets Policies!

March has been a busy month for New Jersey municipalities, as 4 new Complete Streets policies have been passed throughout the state. Through the tireless efforts of local advocates and their community leaders, policies were passed in Trenton (March 1), Princeton Twp (March 12), Princeton Boro (March 13), and Dover Twp (March 27). This brings the total number of municipal…read more →

What’s the Law Anyway? A Quick Guide to New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Laws (2012)

Title 39 of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.) covers motor vehicle law, as well as laws that govern highways in general (note: the definition of “highway” according to state law is different from the colloquial definition of the term – according to state law, virtually every public road and street that automobiles operate on, including city streets and side…read more →

Complete Streets in NJ….an Evolution

While residents of New Jersey can occasionally complain about road conditions for drivers, hazards for bicyclists and pedestrians have been historically overlooked.  This can be attributed to the fact that the street environment in our communities tends to be oriented towards automobiles, often resulting in unsafe conditions for other users. Through efforts by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)…read more →