West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance

Week Four and Totals for National Bike Month

2009-05-30T16:17:00.012-05:00

Well, National Bike Month is over. Thanks to everyone who participated in our bicycling challenge. Grand Total for the Month of May: 2,466 miles! That's considerably more than last year. Way to go everyone! If the average car gets 25 mpg, that's 98.6 gallons of gasoline not burned, and the equivalent to saving roughly 1873 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere due to car commuting! Even though National Bike Month is over, don't lose momentum- keep on pedaling!!

Here's the details from Week Four: It was a little on the wet side, but as it turned out most of the days were bikeable:

Total miles for the week: 479

Whit Anderson (WWBPA Member): 40 miles for the week

Silvia Ascarelli (WWBPA Trustee): 6 miles in two days going to the train station

Russ Buckley (WWBPA Friend): 13 miles on one commute

Juan Cardenas (WWBPA Member): 12 miles for the week

Ken Carlson (WWBPA Trustee): 33 miles on two commutes

Henry Van Cotter (WWBPA Member): 69 miles. "Took my bike on NJ Transit for the first time last night- Hamilton To Princeton Junction- worked out fine"

Jessica and Deniz Dagci (WWBPA Friends): 64 miles (32 miles each). The Dagci's live on Washington Road in WW and commute by bike four days a week to Princeton (6 miles roundtrip), plus once a week an 8 mile trip to the grocery store. They live car-free. Way to go Dagci's!!

Bruce Ellsworth (WWBPA Member and former Trustee): 21 miles on one round-trip commute

Bill Garrett (WWBPA Member): 81 miles

Chris Scherer (WWBPA Trustee): 40 miles, round trip tot he WWBPA Trustees picnic loaded with 2 six packs of beer!

Ben Tufford (WWBPA Friend): 142 miles on three days of commuting

New Times Square Pedestrian Makeover

2009-05-27T08:14:00.004-05:00

Check out this video from the NY Times on the new pedestrian "free of cars" plaza between 42 Street and 47th Street in Times Square.

National Bike Month- Week Three

2009-05-24T12:06:00.019-05:00

Week Three Total: 876 miles Total for Month so Far: 2020 miles (we have surpassed last year's total and we have one week to go!)

Well, we are deep into National Bike Month, and the weather was ideal last week for riding. Here's the details from those who sent in their miles and experiences with a highlight of Bill Garrett (pictured above):

Bill Garrett (WWBPA Member): 99 miles for the week. Bill lives off of Cubberly Road in West Windsor and bike commutes most days to work at Mathematica on Alexander Road. Bill is an avid cyclist and is doing the 500 mile Anchor House Ride for the Runaways again this year.

Whit Anderson (WWBAP Member): 30 miles this week. "Had a sick kid this week, only 30 miles for me" (in 3 days of commuting).

Silvia Ascarelli (WWBPA Trustee): 16 miles this week to the train station and back

Russ Buckley (WWBPA Friend): 39 miles for the week, 3 days of commuting. Russ lives in West Windsor 6.5 miles from work in Plainsboro.

Juan Cardenas (WWBPA Member): "So far this month I've logged 36 miles commuting on the bike (Home to/from Princeton Jct. train station" You may find my commute route on Bikely.com: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Regular-commute

Ken Carlson (WWBPA Trustee): 106 miles and all five days this week (13 work days in a row bike commuting!)

Van Cotter (WWBPA Member): 10 miles, 1 day of commuting

Jessica and Deniz Dagci (WWBPA Friends): 64 miles (32 miles each). The Dagci's live on Washington Road in WW and commute by bike four days a week to Princeton (6 miles roundtrip), plus once a week an 8 mile trip to the grocery store.

Bruce Ellsworth (WWBPA Member): 42 miles on two bike commutes

Dimitriy Fridkin (WWBPA Friend): 88 miles from 4 days of bike commuting. Dmitriy is a High School South sophomore who lives in Plainsboro and bike commutes 7 miles to High School South every day! You can find his route on Bikely.com http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/To-School-and-Back.

Matt Martin (WWBPA Member): 15 miles. "I biked 3 days this week to the train station"

Marc Monseau (WWBPA Friend and Princeton resident): 25 miles biking. "Got a flat on the way in yesterday, so 25 miles biking, 10 on foot"

Joe Monzo (WWBPA Friend): 36 miles, one way South Brunswick to Columbus.

Paul Shapiro (WWBPA Member): 114 miles

Ben Tufford (WWBPA Friend): 142 miles in 3 days of commuting from Robbinsville to Manalapan. Here is a link to Ben's commute: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Morning-Commute294521

Jeanne Weinmann (WWBPA Friend): 24 miles this week, 4 days of commuting.

Plainsboro Walkability Assessment

2009-05-18T22:33:00.006-05:00

The Safe Routes Assessment of Plainsboro Township on Saturday, May 16 was largely successful, thanks to the many volunteers we got from the community. A total of 45 volunteers in 15 teams assessed 170 intersections in Plainsboro for safety and accessibility elements. Volunteers came from WW-P High School South’s GREEN CmPS team, WW-P High School North’s Environmental Club, Vertices LLC, and of course, the WWBPA. The project was supported by a $1400 grant from McGraw-Hill, as part of their 6th annual Global Volunteer Day.

Over the months of preparation for the assessment, I believe I have well invested my time into this project. Throughout my work with the WWBPA, I have also been highly impressed by their continued dedication to realize their mission of a “community where residents and visitors have access to and can travel safely and conveniently by bicycle and on foot for commutation, recreation, and fitness within West Windsor Township and between neighboring communities.” Undoubtedly the Walkability assessment performed yesterday will help enable residents of both West Windsor and Plainsboro to travel more safely on foot.

We plan to continue the project in the following week by inputting the data collected yesterday and creating a subsequent online map. The map will be similar to the one created last year. I hope that using the map we create and the subsequent prioritization of problematic intersections, we will be able to advocate for pedestrian infrastructure improvements in Plainsboro Township. Help in this portion of the project would be greatly appreciated; if interested, please email wwbikeped@gmail.com.

Thanks again to all the volunteers!

-Jenny Yu

Opening Day at the West Windsor Community Farmers' Market

2009-05-17T09:22:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was fun at our table at the West Windsor Community Farmers' Market for opening day. We set up and staffed our WWBPA table and had lots of people stop by to talk, share ideas, pick up a copy of our spring newsletter, and picked up 4 new memberships!

We'll be back at the market in 2 weeks, and every other Saturday morning, here's the season schedule: May 30, June 13 (with the Pedals for Progress Bike Drive), & 27, July 11 & 25, August 8 & 22, and September 12 & 26.

National Bike Month- Week 2

2009-05-17T02:26:00.020-05:00

Week 2 Total: 579 miles
Total for month so far: 1169 miles

Well, week 2 had much better weather than week 1, which was great since this week was National Bike Week and Friday was actually National Bike Day. The WWBPA had an information table at the train station on Wednesday where we met many new bike commuters, many of whom bike to and from Princeton. Total mileage for week 2 was 515 miles (Week 1 was revised to 526 miles with additional reports- see earlier post). Please send in your report for week 2 if you haven't. This week, we're highlighting 2nd Vice-President Ken Carlson, who was happy to be able to bike all five days during the week.

Reports from Week 2:

Ken Carlson (WWBPA Trustee): It was my first week this year of biking to work every day of the week. 90 miles in all for the week. Since January 1st, I have bike commuted to work 50% of the time, and I'm hoping to get that to 75% by year's end. I feel fortunate to be able to bike commute to work, and I find I am happiest when I don't have to drive my car! My 18 mile round trip biking route to my job in Cranbury is for the most part, fairly safe and in places very pleasant. Click on this link to see my route: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Grovers-Mill-West-Windsor-to-Dey-Road-Cranbury. I highly recommend checking out this bike route site (www.bikely.com).

Whit Anderson (WWBPA Member): Whit, Mr. Consistent biked 50 miles for the week, biking every day on his 10 mile round trip.

Silvia Ascarelli (WWBPA Trustee): "Just two roundtrips to the train station (six miles) this week -- was put off by the threat of rain on a third day.
For those who also watch the weather when deciding whether to ride to the station, please fill out the WWBPA's online survey: (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=beZw8P_2f7k42Ztm4oNo9feg_3d_3d).
We are working with New Jersey Transit to add more racks and lockers but also are exploring whether sheltering some racks with a roof would encourage more riding. Let us know your thoughts!"

Jessica and Deniz Dagci (WWBPA Friends): 64 miles (32 miles each). The Dagci's live on Washington Road in WW and commute by bike four days a week to Princeton (6 miles roundtrip), plus once a week an 8 mile trip to the grocery store.

Bill Garrett (WWBPA Friend): 103 miles for the week (16 mile round trip to Mathematica).

Matt Martin (WWBPA Member): "I have a grand total of 15 miles for the week- happy National Bike Day" (three days of commuting). "My daily bike commute is shorter these days due to the fact that we moved to a house closer to the Princeton Junction train station (where I then take the train to Jersey City). I now have a daily bike commute of just 4 miles round trip. Also, I was glad to recently get one of those great bike lockers at the train station, which makes the biking experience even more enjoyable"

Joe Monzo (new WWBPA Friend): 72 miles- 1 long roundtrip ride between his work in South Brunswick and his home in Columbus. Ken C met Joe on 5/19 while we were both commuting along Southfield Road. Joe gets the prize for the longest bike commute!

Daryl McMillan (WWBPA Trustee): 1.5 days of commuting for 15 miles.

Paul Shapiro (WWBPA member): 64 miles. Two days of bike commuting. Paul lives in West Windsor and works in Philadelphia and several days a week parks at Cornwalis Heights off of Rt 95 and bikes 16 miles to work.

Ben Tufford (WWBPA Friend): Biked two days totaling 88 miles.

Jeanne Weinman (WWBPA Friend): 12 miles in 2 days of commuting

Scholarship Opportunities for High School Students Deadline May 15

2009-05-12T08:02:00.002-05:00

The WWBPA is accepting applications from high school seniors for students scholarships through May 15. High School students who are graduating in June 2009 who live in West Windsor Township are eligible to apply for cash scholarships awarded by the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance. Students: Please download at wwbpa.org with “STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP” in the subject line to:wwbikeped@gmail.com. The application deadline is May 15, 2009.

National Bike Month- Week 1

2009-05-09T18:09:00.015-05:00

Well, it was a wet first week for National Bike Month, but still the bike commuting stalwarts slogged through! Here's a recap of the week, with a special highlight of WWBPA member Whit Anderson.

Total miles biked (from those who reported in): 532 miles

Featured bike commuter: Whit Anderson (WWBPA member). Whit logged, or slogged, 50 miles for the week, biking every day on his 10 mile round trip. This week, Whit felt more like a drowned rat than a bike commuter. Whit, an Oceanographer (and luckily used to water) bikes every day to work, all year long to his job at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton Forrestal . To see Whit's commuting route from his home in Princeton Junction please visit this site www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/My-commute147827. Bikely is a cool interactive site that lets you map and follow a bike commute route.

Ken Carlson (WWBPA Trustee): 65 miles for the week. Bike commuted Wed-Friday, from his home near Rabbit Hill Road to Dey Road in Cranbury, usually a 9 mile route, but threw in some extra training miles. Didn't get rained on once (somehow)!!

Jessica and Deniz Dagci (WWBPA Friends): 64 miles (32 miles each). The Dagci's live on Washington Road in WW and commute by bike four days a week to Princeton (6 miles roundtrip), plus once a week an 8 mile trip to the grocery store. They live car-free. Way to go Dagci's!!

Bruce Ellsworth (WWBPA Member): 42 miles to work on two commutes

Bill Garrett: (WWBPA Friend): 74 miles (including 17 miles from Friday May 1). "My roundtrip distance is 16 miles. I ride through Mercer County Park for a ways. It’s nice to have to look out for deer and rabbits rather than cars and trucks. Last week, on my way home from work, I rode to my polling place to vote."

Kirill Karperson (WWBPA Friend): 14 miles. Bike commuted Friday from his home near McCaffery's to and from Carnegie Center. His route can be found here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=62+Saratoga+Dr+N,+Princeton+Junction,+NJ+08550&daddr=Lanwin+Blvd+to:Woodmere+Way+to:40.308527,-74.624248+to:210+Carnegie+Center,+Princeton,+NJ+08540&geocode=%3BFRauZgIdnp-N-w%3BFWnLZgIdMm6N-w%3B%3B&view=map&hl=en&gl=us&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=3&sz=16&via=1,2,3&sll=40.307709,-74.622145&sspn=0.012763,0.020556&ie=UTF8&ll=40.317297,-74.635105&spn=0.012761,0.020556&z=16

Matt Martin (WWBPA Member): 12 miles (three days of commuting). "My daily bike commute is shorter these days due to the fact that we moved to a house closer to the Princeton Junction train station (where I then take the train to Jersey City). I now have a daily bike commute of just 4 miles round trip. Also, I was glad to recently get one of those great bike lockers at the train station, which makes the biking experience even more enjoyable"

Dan Rappaport (WWBPA member): 9.5 miles on Friday

Paul Shapiro (WWBPA member): 64 miles. Two days of bike commuting. Paul lives in West Windsor and works in Philadelphia and several days a week parks at Cornwalis Heights off of Rt 95 and bikes 16 miles to work.

Ben Tufford (WWBPA Friend): 132 miles for the week (three days of commuting)

Henry Van Cotter: (WWBPA member): 65 miles. A wet week! Highpoint: Followed a great blue heron on tow of the mornings. Lowpoint: Car ran a stop sign and forced Van to maneuver into the opposing lane (luckily no cars were coming)

Jeanne Weinmann (WWBPA Friend): 30 miles for the week. Biked Monday-Wednesday, and Friday, to and from Community Middle School on a 6 mile round trip route.

Hopefully next week will be drier and we will get more reports from these bike commuters and others. Please spread the word! Let's see if we can beat last year's 1400 mile mark for May!

April Trail Work at Zaitz!

2009-05-08T20:13:00.005-05:00

WWBPA Student Advisor, Ryan Sleeper, led a volunteer crew at the Zaitz Preserve on a late April Saturday. There was a good turn out and the very able crew was able to split the work between trash clean up, raking of the trails, chainsawing down trees, and putting in two temporary "bridges" across the two small streams. Those who showed up to help out were of course Ryan, WWBPA Student Advisor, Caroline Kellner, Anne Kellner, Steve Kellner, Will Edmonds, Rachel Karp, Stacey Karp, Jessica Leung, Pritha Dasgupta, Jonathan Sun, and Eric and Andrea Sleeper. I walked the trails the other evening and they are much improved. Well done everyone!! Ken

Annual Meeting Thursday Feb. 12

2009-02-11T10:41:00.002-05:00

The WWBPA Annual Meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday Feb. 12 in Room A of the West Windsor Municipal Center. We will review 2008 accomplishments and seek input from members on goals and committees for 2009. Trustees will be elected and new student advisers will be appointed. All are welcome and refreshments will be served!

Warm December Day on the Millstone Trails

2008-12-28T21:19:00.004-05:00

We had a terrific turnout today for trail clearing on the Millstone trails. The weather was a balmy 65 degrees, and a crew of about 25 cleared both the east and west trails in no time! The crew included members of a local girl scout troop as well as members of the High School North Cross Country Running Team. We have closed out 2008 with several miles of cleared trails for everyone to enjoy. We look forward to new trails in the new year!

Women's Garden Cyclers Bike Tour film screening locally Friday Jan. 2

2008-12-21T13:29:00.018-05:00

Garden Cycles Bike Tour Presents: Faces from the New Farm

This short film, chronicling a cycling journey made last summer, will be shown locally at 4 p.m. on the opening day of the 2009 Princeton Environmental Film Festival, Friday January 2, at the Princeton Public Library. Lara Sheets, Liz Tylander, and Kat Shiffler made the 2,000 mile bicycle trip to explore the budding sustainable agriculture and local food movement. From the mid-Atlantic up into New England and Canada (including Princeton) they discover people and communities finding solutions to the environmental excesses of industrialized agriculture. More info on the film and the Women's Garden Cycles Bike Tour.

WWBPA Accepting Applications from High School Students for Appointment to its Advisory Board

2008-12-13T10:40:00.004-05:00

West Windsor high school students are eligible to apply for openings on the Advisory Board of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance.

Student advisers are asked to attend the WWBPA monthly meetings and contribute their time assisting in planning and volunteering at events, such as trail-building, the Pedals for Progress bike drive, and membership drives throughout the year. Student advisers are also encouraged to come up with creative ideas for engaging other students in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy in their schools and neighborhoods.

Applications will be reviewed by the WWBPA Board of Trustees; students selected will be appointed at the organization's annual meeting on February 12, 2009. Advisers will be asked to serve for a minimum term of one year.

The deadline for applications is: January 15, 2009.

Interested students should please complete the application, available online at www.wwbpa.org and return it by e-mail with "STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD APPLICATION" in the subject line to: wwbikeped@gmail.com.

WWBPA Walk to School Blog

2008-12-08T17:46:00.002-05:00

Check out the Hawk Walk blog about the event, with photos and resources. Thanks Chris for setting up this blog.

Cycling Cinema

2008-11-30T09:42:00.004-05:00

On this cold and sleety Sunday morning in New Jersey when non but the very brave and misguided are out cycling, 'tis the season to stay inside and watch some of these films found on the Cycling Films Big List featuring over 100 films from more that 23 countries.

Cold-Schmold! Kiosk moving at Zaitz!

2008-11-23T11:02:00.009-05:00

A group of intrepid and cold-resistant volunteers got together on a 35 degree Saturday morning on November 22nd to move the Kiosk built by Eagle Scout Matt Hasling from the Zaitz soccer field to its rightful place at the Zaitz Woods Nature Preserve. Moving the 200 or so pound kiosk was no mean feat. Luckily we were led by Kevin Appelget, who helped us defy gravity and a brisk wind as we dug out the kiosk from its original location, maneuvered it onto Kevin's trailer (the hardest part by far), and planted it fimly in its new resting place at the back of the Zaitz preserve parking lot.The kiosk will have trail maps and information on the local flora and fauna in the preserve.

Five of us later walked the trails and re-positioned trail posts to which trail markers will be added.

Volunteers today: Andrew Kully, Matt Halpin, Jerry Foster, Jenny Yu, Annie Sharfstein, Linda and Ashley Geevers, Silvia Ascarelli, Ron Slinn (on his birthday!), and yours truly (Ken Carlson).

View of slideshow of more photos from the trail.

Cranbury Road now has Share the Road signs and a new curb cut!

2008-10-21T22:18:00.007-05:00

Last week, the County installed ten Share the Road signs along the entire length of Cranbury Road. This was done at the recommendation of the WWBPA and in cooperation with the Alliance in order to increase the awareness of this road as a major bicycle route in town. The Alliance purchased the signs, and the County installed them. Perfect teamwork

Cranbury Road also has a new curb cut at the crosswalk at Van Nest Park. The Township installed the curb cut at the recommendation of the Alliance.

Zaitz Preserve Trail Walk and Improvements

2008-10-21T21:40:00.014-05:00

On the weekend of October 4th/5th, twenty five area residents came out to either walk the beautiful wooded trails of the Zaitz Nature Preserve or to work on trail improvements.

On Saturday, FOWWOS Trustee and naturalist, Kevin Appelget, led a trail walk where he pointed out the flora and fauna indigenous to the Preserve. Plainsboro resident and WWBPA member, Henry Van Cotter, an expert in flora
himself, gave us a wonderful education on the wide variety of mushrooms found in the Preserve.

On Sunday, a team of dedicated trail workers did some trail clearing and built a bridge to somewhere. Under Kevin Appelget's instruction, the team replaced a crude log bridge over an irrigation ditch at the beginning of the trail with a beautiful and very functional plank bridge (there was much hammering late into the afternoon). This new bridge will now open up the trail to many more potential trailwalkers. Enjoy!

Community Bike Ride!!

2008-09-30T21:30:00.009-05:00

On Sunday, September 21, about 85 adults and children participated in our second annual community ride. It was a lovely day, and everyone had a great time biking on the Trolley Line Trail, and then through local roads to our ultimate destination, McCaffrey's supermarket. We thank McCaffrey's for generously providing funding for refreshments. The idea for these rides is to encourage people in our community to ride their bikes to local destinations. We also took the opportunity to educate participants about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets and of following the rules of the road.

Our youngest participant was a four year old boy on training wheels, who slowly but very steadily with his patient Dad and two of our WWBPA volunteers, Daryl McMillan and Clive Jenner, made it to McCaffreys. Many thanks to our many volunteers who helped keep our riders safe. A special thanks to the Meersma/Stratton family (Kathy, Steve, Kim, and Brian) who came up with the idea for this ride and who did so much to make it a success!

Trail Clearing in the Rogers Preserve

2008-09-02T21:45:00.006-05:00

On Labor Day, six volunteers came out to do some late summer clearing on the trails in the Rogers Preserve. Joining us were WWBPA Members Jack and Holly Hayon, Roger Alig, Ron Slinn, Student Advisor Ryan Sleeper, and Trustee Ken Carlson. Much of the work involved using scythes and hoes to trim back the grass that had overgrown the trails., and raking away the debris. Ron, a forrester by profession, used his trusty chain saw as he continued his efforts to remove dead trees from the Preserve. This thinning of trees in the Preserve is important for the health of surrounding trees and also removes a potential fire hazard.

Please come out and

enjoy the Rogers Peserve trails this fall!

Volunteering! a video by Lauren Mandel

2008-08-21T13:01:00.005-05:00

Lauren Mandel, former WWBPA Student Advisor, produced a video about volunteering in West Windsor. This is the segment, filmed in December 2007, about the WWBPA. Thanks, Lauren!

Hightstown National Night Out

2008-08-07T17:57:00.005-05:00

On the evening of Tuesday, August 5th Hightstown held its 25th anniversary of the National Night Out Against Crime. Many showed up to join in on the festivities which included a waterslide, a DJ, free food, and various community organizations.

This was also a great opportunity to speak with the local police force, several of whom visited the Bike and Pedestrian Alliance booth. The Alliance was represented by Chris Scherer, Roger Alig, and both Eric and Ryan Sleeper. The booth was visited by many area residents and several left with helmets, lights, ankle bands, and vests. We also met representatives of other community organizations, including “Next Level Youth” (a youth recreational group based in Hightstown) and those organizing the “Hightstown Sprint Triathlon” scheduled for this September.

It was great to see the enthusiasm in those who came up to our booth, particularly concerned about bicycle safety. The Night Out was fun and well attended by a number of families from the area.

WWBPA starts new FACEBOOK group

2008-07-31T09:50:00.003-05:00

To expand our outreach efforts the WWBPA has a new FACEBOOK group. Check it out! If you already have a FACEBOOK account you can join right away, or if if not you can sign up and then join the group.

Read all about it: Navigating why we drive the way we do

2008-07-28T15:03:00.008-05:00

Ever wonder why we drive (and why the 'other guy' drives) the way we do?
You can listen to "Fresh Air" where author Tom Vanderbilt is interviewed about his new book Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us).

Vanderbilt looks at the sociology of driving — why roads are most congested on Saturdays, what percentage of traffic is drivers simply looking for parking, why new cars crash more often than old ones. The book is based on research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the world. Vanderbilt is a New-York based writer who covers topics such as design, technology, science, and culture for Wired, Slate, and The New York Times.

You can also check out recent related stories on the NPR site:

Portland, Oregon Rides, Bikes Around High Gas

Making Cities More Walkable

July 4th trail blazing!

2008-07-06T17:12:00.012-05:00

On July 4th, thirteen trail-blazing patriots worked hard on the new Zaitz Preserve Trails. Volunteers laid down a wood chip path from the parking lot along the perimeter of the corn field to the trail head. The path to the forest trails is now obvious, which is great. The group then turned their attention to clearing the trails in the forest, and to taking down a deer stand. There's a lot more to do, so stay tuned for more trailwork. Coming soon will be trail signs and an improved bridge. Stop by and enjoy the trails! And thanks to all the volunteers!

Education - More Hispanic Outreach

2008-06-24T13:22:00.010-05:00

On June 10, 2008 we had another session of our Hispanic Outreach Program. The program is to provide bicycle education and awareness to the local Hispanic population. This time we went over to East Windsor in the Twin Rivers Branch of the Mercer County Library. WWBPA Trustee and Secretary Silvia Ascarelli provides instruction on English as a Second Language at the library.

We started with a video (follow this link http://tinyurl.com/6z8jk9
and click on the videos for Ride Smart - It's Time to Start) geared towards the kids in the audience and then Chris Scherer continued with the discussion, both in Spanish and in English. Silvia Ascarelli, Kim Meersma, and Bob Stango were on hand to help with bike helmet fittings as well as helping to answer questions (click on the video below for a sample).

There was a good turnout mixed with kids and parents and after the session they were encouraged to browse through and help themselves to the materials that we had on hand including:

- Our bilingual bicycle/pedestrian map of West Windsor.

- Bilingual brochures and flyers from the US Department of Transportation about bicycle and pedestrian safety.

- Safety equipment, including helmets, front and rear lights, reflective ankle bands, bike vests and reflective tape.

We gave away approximately 20 helmets, several front and rear lights, many reflective ankle bands and some bike vests.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Written by: Bob Stango

Education at Maurice Hawk Literacy Festival

2008-06-24T10:43:00.012-05:00

Kids love to bike, so WWBPA's Chris Scherer had a rapt audience for his talk about bicycle safety at Maurice Hawk Elementary School's Literacy Festival held on April 30 and May 1st.

At the event, children and their parents learned about the importance of wearing a helmet, following the rules of the road, and how to ride safely at night. The kids enjoyed trying on helmets and taking a spin on the stationary bike. More than one parent came up to Chris after the talk to ask about buying a helmet.

As the mom of one of the children in the audience, I can attest to the fact that the kids learned something. During a recent ride, I saw my son hold two fingers up to his forehead to measure the gap between his eyebrows and his helmet. Chris had taught the kids the two-finger rule to test the helmet fit.

Special thanks goes to Chris Scherer for his hard work on preparing the talk and tailoring it to the K-3 level, and for his interactive and fun presentation. Abby Sorrell helped the talks go smoothly and made the children feel welcome. Joe Albanese was indispensable for his logistical support and technical expertise, and Mark Shallcross made wonderful visual aids. I'd also like to thank Halter's Cycles for lending us a stationary trainer and children's bicycle.

Thanks also to Principal Denise Mengani and Asst. Principal Patricia Buell for inviting the WWBPA to come and speak to the students of Maurice Hawk. And thank you to teacher Linda Bugher for organizing the event.

The Maurice Hawk Literacy Festival was an excellent way to reach our community with the WWBPA's message that bikes are fun, safe, healthy, and good for the environment. I hope we can do more such events in the future.

Written by: Catherine Zandonella

WWBPA Receives Proclamation

2008-06-24T06:31:00.020-05:00

WWBPA received a proclamation (and some nice words too from council members; click on proclamation below for details) for continuing efforts to improve local bike/ped conditions at the June 23 West Windsor Township Council meeting.

PHOTO - L-R: WWBPA Trustees Susan Conlon, Sandy Shapiro, Ken Carlson, Alison Miller, Michael Ogg (holding the proclamation), Daryl McMillan and Chris Scherer.

Photo by Curtis Hoberman.

Congratulations to our Scholarship Recipients

2008-06-19T08:19:00.002-05:00

The WWBPA awarded scholarships in the amount of $500 per student to graduating seniors Adam Schuit (WW-P High School North) and Annemarie Strange (WW-P High School South) for their commitment to the community and efforts to help make it more bike/ped friendly.

Bicycle Collection a Success

2008-06-19T08:12:00.006-05:00

Our bicycle collection last Saturday, June 14 was a success with donations of 71 bicycles and 1 sewing machine. Pedals for Progress will transport them to either Africa or Central America, where they will be put to good use. Thanks to all of our trustees and volunteers for coming out for the morning to make this possible.

~ Susan Conlon

National Trail Day- Zaitz Woodland Preserve

2008-06-15T22:04:00.006-05:00

On a very hot June 8th, the WWBPA and FOWWOS celebrated National Trails Day by sponsoring a walk in the newly opened trails of the Zaitz Woods Preserve. These trails take visitors through the woods of the 156-acre Park located on Southfield Road through a mixture of upland and wetland forest – something of a rarity in West Windsor and Mercer County. We were joined by 25 hardy local residents, who were undeterred by the 97 degree heat. Once inside the woods, the temperature dropped by about 10 degrees, and made for a pleasant walk on these beautiful trails.

While hiking , we discussed the coming improvements to the trail system, such as the development of new trails, creating signage for the trails, building bridges over wet areas, putting in place a kiosk with informational material, putting in place a bike rack at the parking lot, and building a path from the new parking lot to the trailhead.

Please feel free to explore the trails and stay tuned for trail clearing and trail building events in the near future.

West Windsor Walks- Bear Brook Road

2008-06-14T19:53:00.006-05:00

On May 13 during the evening rush hour, we held an educational walk of Bear Brook Road in an examination of pedestrian and bicycle conditions along this heavily traveled commuting route to the Princeton Junction Train Station. Participating in the walk were over thirty local residents,

including those living in the communities of Windsor Haven, the Estates at Princeton Junction, and the Mews at Princeton Junction, as well as Trustees and members of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA), Township Council members and the Mayor. This particular walk route was requested by Windsor Haven Board member and resident and WWBPA member, Dan Damon, in response to the dangerous conditions that residents along Bear Brook Road face when walking or bicycling to the train station.

In response to the pedestrian and bicycle unfriendly conditions that we observed, we came up with a series of recommendations which have been shared with the Township administration and will be presented to Township Council. The recommendations can be viewed on our web site http://www.wwbpa.org/.

Bike Commuting!!

2008-05-21T21:04:00.012-05:00

May is National Bike to work month, and the WWBPA is promoting biking to work and school. To this end, we have compiled bike commute trips and miles from our trustees, members, and friends.

Total bike commute miles for the month of May (that we know about) from people in our community of riders= 1414 miles! Assuming the average car gets 25 miles to the gallon (and that's generous), that's 57 gallons of gas. By biking and not burning 57 gallons of gas, we prevented 1131 pounds of CO2 from polluting the atmosphere!

From WWBPA member Henry Van Cotter: My miles for May biking to work in Plainsboro are 60 miles. Generally my monthly mileage is higher but I was out of town a lot this month. I commute from Aspen Drive near the Plainsboro-Cranberry border to FMC on Route 1 using different routes through Plainsboro depending on time-of-day and traffic and mood. Attached is a picture of my bike after I arrived at work this morning. I was puzzled as to why pedaling was so difficult this morning; lo and behold an orange from my lunch had come unsecured and got wedged between my rear tire and bike rack. The rear tire is cleaner now than ever.

From WWBPA member, Whit Anderson: My daily commute takes me from where Princeton-Highstown meets Clarksville (40.309, -74.616) to our Forrestal Campus (40.345, -74.616). I have a 7, 9 and 11 mile route. Which route I take is heavily weather dependent! I took several days off before and one after Memorial day, so it looks like it will be around 190 commuting miles for May.

From WWBPA member, Kevin Townsend: 216 miles for the week. I work in New Brunswick 2-3 days a week and have been commuting to work for about 7 years. I take different routes taking Washington/571 over Carnegie Lake and then predominately using 27 or towpath between 20 and 35 miles each way depending on how much time I have to commute, weather, etc. Shorter options are to return on train with bike (but have to take by 3:30p or after 7 pm unless have folding bike, morning requires after 9 am). Also biking to train station can be a 2-4 mile ride and then taking train without bike. Based on experience, I prefer for safe commuting to take busier, more direct roads with wide shoulders rather than less traveled roads with little or no shoulders as car and truck commuters react negatively to bikes in vehicle lanes, while seem to not mind and avoid those in shoulders. They also regularly clean the shoulders so less rock, glass, metal shards, etc. Biking to work is great workout and also very relaxing and now will save you lots of money in gas savings.

From resident Kirill Karpenson: I have been riding from home (near Rabbit Hill Road) to Carnegie Center, trying to do it 2 times a week. I have just started doing it in this season last week. My route is about 7.5 mi one way, so so far I have done that twice, so it's 30mi. Planning to one more ride tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Overall I hope to reach 75 mi mark in May. My route is Rabbit Hill Road -> Lanwin Blvd - New Edinburg Rd - S Mill Rd - Woodmere Way - Penn Lyle Rd - Lillie St - Scott Ave - Wallace Rd - cross the railroad under the Princeton Junction station - Vaughan Drive - Alexander Road - Roszel Rd.

From WWBPA member Ken Naglak: Seven bike commute days, 230 miles total. Of course there are a few added miles for Anchor House Training. Different routes almost ever day depending on my time and the weather.

From WWBPA member Matt Martin: I bike about 2 miles each way to Princeton Junction train station about 3x a week. Been doing that since mid-March. (So, not much total so far... about 100 miles.) I take Canal Point Blvd to Alexander Road to the station. It's not such a nice ride... there is no shoulder, sidewalks and cutouts are bumpy, crosswalks not that clearly marked. But, it's still more fun than driving a car. :)

From WWBPA member, Juan D. Cardenas: Biked 47 miles to work for the month.Route to Princeton Jct. train station is: Hendrickson Drive to footpath to Clarksville & 571 intersection,Clarksville Rd. to Harris to Lillie St. to Scott Ave. to Vaughn Dr. (this left onto Vaughn is dangerous as cars speed around the bends so one doesn't have much time; also cars exiting Train Station do not always stop at the Stop sign (a loud horn is necessary).

From WW resident and avid cyclist, Russ Buckley: I commuted to work via bicycle 7 times during the month of May, for a total of 100 miles if ridden directly, although I expand the route to get extra miles. My route includes Clarkville and Grovers Mill Rds, as well as many of the roads in Plainboro, where I work, with no significant problems. I wish the weather would allow me to get out more.

From WWBPA Secretary, Silvia Ascarell: I think I did 90 miles total (admit I did a bad job ofkeeping track early but rode to work three days in the final week of the month). I figure it saved me four gallons of gas, or about$16, and I was doing something I enjoyed.

My route: when I leave my neighborhood, I'm on Cranbury Neck Road for maybe 50 yards before turning right onto Millstone Road toward Plainsboro. Just before the schools, I turn left at the light ontoMaple, then it's right onto Edgemere. At the elementary school, I turn left on Parkway, which becomes Schalks Crossing. I follow it over the railway bridge for a couple more miles until the traffic light at Ridge Road and work. It's about 25 minutes,depending on the wind. I tend to leave (or aim to leave) around 6:30 a.m. I sometimes see mist rising off Grovers Mill Pond orMillstone Pond (in Plainsboro) and I'm always looking at the flowers and plants in front yards. A great wayto start my day. There's more traffic on the ride home, but drivers are courteous and I find the stress of my workday disappearing. I figure this ride takes no longer than driving because I'd be backed up at stop signs in my car. I usually see the odd cyclist at least one way each day.

From WWBPA Vice-President Chris Scherer: 6 days bike commuting in May, for a total of 240 miles (35 miles each way plus extra). I had five close calls this morning (two on Bakers Basin/Youngs Rd; two in Mercer County Park; one on Windsor Rd) - all captured on video (after tailgating me and passing within about two feet, one guy said, "Use a bike lane" and I would have, had there been one). I'll post them to the Bikeability map eventually. My route is the one with all the near misses.

From WWBPA President, Ken Carlson: My bike commute is 7 miles each way if I go directly, but my safest ride route is 9 miles. I have started to add more miles recently as I am training for the Anchor House ride. I biked to work only 5 times in May due to travel committments and rain. My commute takes me from Bennington Drive to the bikelanes on Southfield/Norstrand Rd (nice!), right on Cranbury Neck Road (NARROW!), right on John White Road (which is a nice road tho' no shoulder), left on Old Trenton Road (has wide shoulders most of the way) and Old Trenton to Main Street Cranbury. Biking through Main Street is beautiful, and I pass kids biking on the sidewalk (generally with helmets) on their way to school. I take Cranbury Road to Rt. 130, and cross 130 (carefully!) to Dey Road to where I work in the Cedar Brook Corporate Park. It takes 35 minutes generally, about twice as long as driving but I much prefer biking as it relieves stress and clears my head!

Please see this comment from Jeffrey Stevenson:

Hi. Please join the Bicycle to Work! LinkedIn networking group. Members pledge that they will try to ride their bicycle to work or on an errand at least once a week. Although the benefits should be obvious, let me outline them here. Right now people in the industrialized world are facing two very grave problems: obesity and a growing scarcity of oil. Compounding this problem is the new food shortage brought about, in part, by the conversion of food cropland to bio-fuel crop production. Most people feel powerless to help, but there is one thing that we can do. Ride our bicycles to work. If everyone would agree to ride their bikes to work one day per week we could cut oil consumption by as much as 10-15%. No one would argue that riding a bike burns more calories than driving the car. Although popular politically right now, most bio-fuels consume more energy than they produce. We would be much better to eat those bio-crops then use our own energy to transport us around. So spread the word. Make it a movement! Bicycle to work one day a week and do your part to cut back obesity and the overuse of oil and precious cropland. Just go to my profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreylstevenson and you can click on the group to be included. While you are there, don't forget to ask to link to my network of more than 9,000,000 like-minded professionals. I accept all invitations and look forward to meeting you.

What is your Walk Score?

2008-05-21T13:21:00.002-05:00

What is Walk Score?

This Web site is designed to assist homebuyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods.

Walk Score shows the user a map of what's nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Type in your address and you will get its score and a list of what's nearby.

Go to http://www.walkscore.com/ to find out your the Walk Score for your house.

It helps a prospective buyer/resident find a location by its walkablity, and maybe to plan features to add to a neighborhood to increase its score, i.e. walkability/livability.

Why? Because buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment.

~ Susan Conlon

West Windsor Walks: Bear Brook Road to Vaughn Drive Tuesday May 13

2008-05-07T08:26:00.002-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) has organized a series of walks in West Windsor Township to get input from residents who live in and travel through the township on desired and needed bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The next walk is Tuesday May 13, at 5:30 p.m. along Bear Brook Road to Vaughn Drive at the intersection with Alexander Road to examine the difficulties that pedestrians and bicyclists encounter on this route.

The walk will begin at the Estates of Princeton Junction, proceed along Bear Brook Road past the Windsor Haven Community and will end at the intersection of Bear Brook and Alexander Roads.

Local residents and township officials are invited to participate in this walk and to help brainstorm about potential improvements and come up with a set of recommendations.

Interested participants are invited to meet at 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Bear Brook Road and Winthrop Way (the closest street in the Estates of Princeton Junction to Alexander Road). Please park on Devonshire Drive (just off Winthrop Way).

WWBPA May Meeting: Thursday 8, 2008

2008-05-07T08:24:00.001-05:00

The monthly meeting of the WWBPA is Thursday May 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the West Windsor Township Municipal Building.

Global Volunteer Day

2008-05-07T08:22:00.001-05:00

Join us on Thursday, May 22, Global Volunteer Day, as we co-sponsor a volunteer event with The McGraw-Hill Companies to promote Safe Routes to School.

Annual Student Scholarships

2008-05-07T08:21:00.001-05:00

The deadline for the West Windsor/Plainsboro High School Scholarships is May 30. Download the Instructions and application forms today!

WWBPA March Meeting: Thursday 13, 2008

2008-03-09T09:14:00.002-05:00

The WWBPA will hold its meets monthly on Thursday March 13 in Room A of the Municipal Building on Clarksville and North Post Roads. Mayor Hsueh will speak at 7:00 p.m. and the regular portion of the meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Community Volunteers Presented with 2008 WWBPA Community Service Awards

2008-03-09T08:59:00.005-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) acknowledged three volunteers for their contributions to the organization's mission of promoting bicycling and walking in West Windsor with a presentation of Community Service Awards at its Annual Meeting on Thursday February 21, 2008.

WWBPA President Ken Carlson presented the first award to Roger Alig for his participation in building recreational trails in the township. Roger has been a dedicated volunteer and leader in developing new trails in the township and has left his stamp on the Millstone River Preserve Trail East (located off of Millstone Road), the Millstone Preserve Trail West (located off of Joanne Street) and the Rogers Preserve Trail (located off of Clarksville Road near Grovers Mill Pond.)

Susan Conlon, WWBPA 2nd Vice President, presented Giuliano Chicco with an award for his work in designing the organization’s Web site and for his continued management of content on the WWBPA Web site, www.wwbpa.org.

Chris Scherer, WWBPA 1st Vice President, presented the last award to Ben Tufford, for his important early contributions in developing the first bicycle and pedestrian map of West Windsor Township created by the WWBPA in 2007. Without Ben’s help and expertise, the map would not have been possible. A hard copy map is available free to members, and is available for a suggested $5 contribution to non-members. An online version of the map is available on the WWBPA Web site.

WANTED: Your Close Calls

2008-01-14T11:39:00.000-05:00

As cyclists and pedestrians, we risk our lives every day on the streets of New Jersey. Many of us have had near-misses and other altercations that left us rattled, angry, and feeling vulnerable. Some of us have suffered physical harm and incurred medical expenses because of hurried drivers. Typically, the only people who ever hear about these incidents are our friends, families and cycling buddies.

When these incidents go unreported, the media, the police and our elected officials are unaware of the extent of the problem. This needs to change.

Although the WWBPA has made much progress towards influencing local authorities to address gaps in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, we still have much work to do to address the behavior of people who use the roads…yes, bicyclists, pedestrians and, most importantly, motorists. Even the most bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly network of roads, trails and sidewalks is useless if our community does not use it properly.

We MUST address EDUCATION and ENFORCEMENT.

We’ve all witnessed some form of irresponsible behavior by motorists:

The California Stopper: He slows down at stop signs, but never quite stops. Instead, he creeps into the intersection and inevitably fails to see the pedestrian in the crosswalk or the bicyclist in the road.
The Multi-Tasker: She may be on her cell phone, yelling at her kids, doing her makeup, or reading a map, but she’s not paying attention to the environment outside her car. She never sees the bicyclist or pedestrian she’s overtaking.
The Speeder: He’s in a hurry and making up lost time at your expense. He darts in and out of traffic. He passes too close, brushing you with his mirror.
The Uninformed: She doesn't know the law. Bicyclists and pedestrians don't belong on the road and better hurry through crosswalks. She gets a little too close for comfort.

Now is your time to speak out. If you have had a near-miss incident, or other dangerous interaction with a vehicle while walking or riding your bike in or around West Windsor, please share your story by emailing me at chrisscherer@global.t-bird.edu.

In your comment, please include:

The date and time of the incident.
The nearest cross streets of your incident.
A short description of what happened (pictures are helpful, if available).
Where you live.

In a few weeks, I will draft a letter with all your comments attached and send it to the appropriate authorities. I will also document these incidents on our interactive Bikeability (www.mappler.com/wwbpabikeability) and Walkability (www.mappler.com/wwbpawalkability) maps on the web. If you’re interested in helping further with this effort, please let me know.

Thank you for taking time to make your voice heard…and make our community more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly.

Chris Scherer
Bicycle Commuter
chrisscherer@global.t-bird.edu

Leaves a Plenty

2007-12-23T17:14:00.000-05:00

A small but determined crew came out on December 22nd to clear leaves and autumn debris from the Rogers Preserve Trails. Roger Alig, Silvia Ascarelli, Sabina Carlson and Ken Carlson cleared the main trail between landing lane and Cranbury Road. A bit more clearing needs to be

done on the trails towards Grovers Mill Pond. Future work will include building steps at the Clarkville Road entrance and the placement of trail signs throughout the Preserve trails.

Earlier in the month, members of the Cross-Country Running team from High School North worked to clear the Perimeter trail on the Millstone Preserve West off of Joanne Street. Trail workers included Ryan Sleeper, Steve Au-Yeung, Sagar Velegala, Mohan Yenugadhati, Kelly Callahan, Ali Campiglia, Alyssa Christie and Trish Reilly. WWBPA member Eric Sleeper provided motivation, pizza and drinks. It's great to see the members of the Team working on the trails as they routinely train on the Millstone Preserve trails. Many thanks to Eric for setting this up.

Raking Leaves on the Millstone Trail

2007-11-18T15:16:00.000-05:00

Fifteen Energetic West Windsorites came out on a lovely fall day to rake leaves and clear the paths on the Millstone River Preserve Trails. Joining us were Frank Potter, Alison Miller, Helen and Christina Rancan and their friends, Shilesh, Punja, and Rhea, Stacey and Rachel Karp, Roger and Marsha Alig, Mark Shallcross, Andrea Mandel, Andy and Ben Pratt, and their friend Brandon. We made a lot of progress- clearing all the trails on Millstone Preserve East (the trails on the side with the parking lot), and about half of the trails on Millstone Preserve West off of Joanne Street. Thanks to all!! We will need to come back again in a month to remove more pesky leaves. Please feel free to grab a rake when visiting the trails. Happy Trails!!

Educational Walk of Cranbury-Wallace Rds and Rt. 571

2007-10-16T01:41:00.000-05:00

On October 9th, at 5:30, about 30 residents met at the Clock Tower at the PNC Bank on the corner of Wallace Road and Rt. 571 to observe the conditions for pedestrians and cyclists at this intersection. Joining the group, were four members of Township Council and the County Engineer, George Fallat. The group observed the commuting habits of residents as they walked to and from the train station. The group also interviewed a number of residents about their

experiences commuting everyday by foot or bike. It was clear that conditions for pedestrians and cyclists at this intersection are dangerous: there is only 1 crosswalk at this intersection and it is in very poor condition: it lacks curb cuts, has a sidewalk on only one side, and has a non-functioning pedestrian-activated signal. There are no crosswalks across Wallace or Cranbury Roads, lighting is very poor, and motorists have little regard for pedestrians. We watched in horror in two separate incidents where pedestrians were nearly struck by cars. Observations were recorded, and a series of recommendations are being drafted and will be presented to Township Council in the coming weeks.

West Windsor Walks: Route 571 at Cranbury/Wallace Roads Tuesday Oct. 9 at 5:30 p.m.

2007-10-07T12:21:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance Sponsors Walk to Raise Awareness of Pedestrian and Bicycle Access and Safety at the intersection of Princeton-Hightstown Road (Route 571) and Cranbury-Wallace Roads in West Windsor Township on Tuesday, October 9 at 5:30 p.m.

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) has organized a series of walks in West Windsor Township to get input from residents who live in and travel through the township on desired and needed bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

The intention of organizing this walk is to examine the difficulties that pedestrians and bicyclists encounter navigating through the intersection of Princeton-Hightstown Road and Cranbury-Wallace Roads in downtown Princeton Junction.

"This intersection is a short distance away from one of the busiest train stations in the country," says WWBPA President Ken Carlson. "It is used by many pedestrians and cyclists on their way to and from the station despite that it is one of the more dangerous and difficult intersections for pedestrians and cyclists in the township to navigate, lacking sufficient crosswalks, curb cuts, and lighting."

The jurisdiction of the intersection is shared between the township, the county and the state. "This intersection will be undergoing some re-configuration during the construction of the new Rite Aid complex on the southeast corner," adds Carlson. "These improvements may provide an opportunity for officials to come together to pursue implementing additional bicycle and pedestrian improvements."

Local residents, township, county and state officials are invited to participate in this walk and to help brainstorm about potential improvements and come up with a set of recommendations.

Interested participants are invited to meet at 5:30 p.m. at the clock tower at the PNC Bank on the southwest corner of the intersection. The rain date for the walk is Tuesday October 16th.

Bicycle Education and Awareness - Round 2

2007-10-03T16:31:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) held a very successful Hispanic Outreach Program at the Hightstown Memorial Branch of Mercer County Library on Tuesday, October 2, the eve of International Walk to School Day. The Program is aimed at providing bicycle education and awareness to the local Hispanic population. Victor Fernandez, who teaches an ESL class at the library, hosted the session and ensured a large turnout by posting flyers and inviting his entire class. Nearly 40 people attended.

(above: attentive students with a variety of 'study' aids)

Research indicates that male Hispanics are overrepresented in bicycle crashes and Hispanic bicyclists 21-29 years old are overrepresented in bicycle related fatalities. As a result, the focus of the presentation was on the importance of abiding by NJ Traffic Laws, understanding the ‘Rules of the Road’ and the importance of wearing helmets. Each person signed an affirmation stating (in English and Spanish): “As a bicyclist, I agree to obey all traffic laws and wear a helmet.”

Members Chris Scherer and Lenora Kandiner conducted the interactive session in English and Spanish. The class had a lot of great questions which helped to ensure a good understanding of the content and the key messages: bicyclists are “granted all the rights and subject to all of the duties of the motor vehicle driver” and wear a helmet (NJ law requires children 17 and under to wear helmets).

(above: explaining how bicyclist behavior and wearing a helmet can prevent accidents)

(below: Lenora helps with proper helmet fit)

The WWBPA donated the following items to people who attended the session:

- 50 reflective ankle bands
- 40 copies of our bilingual bike/ped map of West Windsor, which contains information about NJ Traffic Laws and bike/ped safety
- 35 bicycle helmets
- five front and rear bicycle light sets
- reflective tape for use on bicycles and helmets
- numerous copies of bilingual brochures and flyers from the US Department of Transportation about bicycle and pedestrian safety
- several copies of Bicycle Safer Journey, an interactive CD that offers a virtual journey designed to increase awareness of bicycle safety

We ran out of a few supplies, but were able to get names of people who did not get each item. Victor will distribute the remaining supplies after we drop them off at the library.

(above: those reflective ankle, er, wrist bands really do work)

Linda Cholewiak, branch manager at the library, generously donated $50 on behalf of the Hightstown Library Association. The WWBPA will use the donation to offset the cost of the various supplies given to program participants.

(above: 35 more people with the knowledge and equipment to ride safely)
Posted by: Chris Scherer

New Online Version of WWBPA Bike/Ped Map

2007-10-02T07:23:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) is pleased to announce an online version of its recently released print format English/Spanish bicycle and pedestrian map. The map identifies safe bicycle/pedestrian routes and provides educational and safety information including New Jersey laws.

WWBPA Vice-President Chris Scherer and WWBPA member Dr. Wansoo Im set up the maps on Mappler, an interactive mapping application designed to encourage Public Participation GIS (PPGIS), software that allows the public to annotate the maps. Mappler is hosted by Vertices, LLC, which generously offered to host the online maps.

The WWBPA is a not for profit, 501(c)3 member supported organization promoting bicycling and walking in West Windsor Township and neighboring communities, emphasizing access, education, mobility, and safety. "Being able to create and share a map of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in our community is a huge milestone in fulfilling our mission and vision,” says Chris Scherer. “We're very grateful to Dr. Im for providing a tool that allows the community to actively participate in the evolution of the map."

There are two versions of the map, “Bicycle Roadways” and “Pedestrian Sidewalks and Trails” linked to the WWBPA Web site.

The Web-based program allows the public to participate in further development of the map. WWBPA members and others in the community can register as users to provide map updates. Registered users will have the opportunity to find locations on the map, plot the points and share comments, pictures and even videos about the locations. For example, users will have the ability to do the following:
* Highlight areas of concern (intersections requiring improvements to crosswalks, lighting or signs; gaps in sidewalks; dangerous road conditions; etc.)
* Identify bike/pedestrian improvements to local infrastructure (bike lanes, sidewalks and trails)
* Note points of interest such as historical sites, natural features, restaurants, etc.

“Connecting people and connecting communities using interactive mapping technology has become my mission; evolving technology has enhanced this mission by enabling us to communicate and share our experience and knowledge much more efficiently and effectively, and at an affordable cost,” adds Dr. Im. “The support of dedicated organizations and community participation is essential for this mission to succeed. It has been a pleasure working with the WWBPA and its members to develop access to the maps. I look forward to continuing to work together to achieve our organizations’ goals.”

To encourage public participation to update the maps and identify areas in need of improvement, the WWBPA invites the public to attend a demonstration of the online bicycle and pedestrian maps on Thursday, October 11 at 6:30 p.m. (preceding its regularly scheduled monthly meeting, which starts at 7:30 p.m.) at the West Windsor Municipal Center in room A.

The hard-copy bilingual bicycle/pedestrian map is available at the West Windsor Community Farmers' Market, Saturdays 9:00 am to 1:00 pm on October 6 and October 20. It is free to members and available to the public with a $5 donation. Copies of the map are also available by contacting the organization at wwbikeped@gmail.com or by telephone at (609) 954-6584.

Emack and Bolio Ride

2007-09-30T16:18:00.001-05:00

We had a great turnout on Saturday for our Community Bike Ride from Community Park to Emack and Bolio's ice cream shop in the Southfield shopping center. About fifty cyclists participated in a fun family event that combined biking on the new Trolley Line Trail with eating ice cream for a good cause! Riders as young as 6 years old made the round trip, and a team of WW Bicycle and Pedestrian volunteers helped keep everyone safe. Thanks to all the volunteers, thanks to Emack and Bolio for contributing a portion of their profits to the Alliance, and many thanks to WWBPA members Kathy Stratton and Kim Meersma for coming up with the original idea and for the whole Meersma-Stratton family for all their help in the event. And thanks to all the riders who made this event so fun! We will definitely do this again next year!

Take a Round Trip Saturday September 29

2007-09-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

Take a round-trip bike ride along part of the PSE&G right of way from Community Park to the Emack and Bolio's Ice Cream shop in the Southfiled Retail Center on Princeton-Hightstown Road. This route demonstrates the new cycling connectivity on this trail and residential streets between Community Park and the shopping center.

The route is 4 miles each way on flat terrain, and individual or groups of riders of all ages who can complete the course are welcome. Participants may purchase refreshments at the mid-point of the ride at Emack and Bolio, who will contribute a percentage of proceeds to the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA). The WWBPA is a not for profit corporation established in January 2006 and its goal is to promote bicycling and walking in West Windsor Township and neighboring communities, emphasizing access, education, mobility, and safety.

Participants should meet at the Waterworks complex in Community Park, located off of Bernt Midland Drive at Princeton-Hightstown Road (Route 571) on Saturday, September 29 at 2:00 p.m. A rain date is scheduled for the next day, Sunday September 30 at 2:00 p.m.

Explore Wild West Windsor: Trail Day Saturday September 15

2007-09-01T08:14:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance and Friends of West Windsor Open Space host West Windsor Trail Day to encourage residents to explore recreational trails along the Millstone River and Bear Brook on September 15th at 1PM.

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance and Friends of West Windsor Open Space are sponsoring West Windsor Trail Day to encourage people to explore the beautiful recreational trails in the Millstone River and Rogers Preserves. Both local organizations have been dedicated to creating new recreational trails in West Windsor Township, opening up beautiful preserved open space for passive recreation along natural trail routes.

Interested participants are invited to meet on Saturday September 15th at 1:00 p.m. at the Millstone River Preserve parking area and trailhead located off of Millstone Road near the Millstone River in West Windsor Township; additional parking will be available along Joanne Street. The walk will take about 1.5 hours, and will begin and end at the trail head, as participants will explore approximately three miles of trails within the Millstone and Rogers Preserve. The rain date is scheduled for Sunday September 16th at 1:00 p.m. Participants are encouraged to wear a hat, shoes with socks, and ideally long pants and long sleeve t-shirts.

For more information please go to the WWBPA Web site or email the Alliance at wwbikeped@gmail.com

Bicycle Education and Awareness

2007-07-25T12:15:00.000-05:00

After much anticipation and preparation, we finally held the first two sessions of our Hispanic Outreach Program, aimed at providing bicycle education and awareness to the local Hispanic population. The first was Sunday, July 22 at the St. Anthony of Padua Church in Hightstown. The second was at the Hightstown Memorial Branch of Mercer County Library on Monday, July 23.

Dr. David Abalos (above, at left, helping to fit a helmet) helped coordinate both sessions with the help of Linda Cholewiak, branch manager at the library, and Victor Fernandez, who also works at the library. The sessions were well attended, with nearly 15 people at the church and 20 children (including a few parents) at the library. Although the actual presentation is in English and Spanish, I gave the first session in Spanish and the second in English.

The children were especially great students and asked lots of good questions.

We spent a lot of time discussing the importance of wearing helmets and ensuring they are worn properly. Like any good teacher, I made sure we had a test - 'proper helmet fit' - which they passed with flying colors. (Victor above, at left, helping a student to fit a helmet)

They even got to practice before class let out.

Practice makes perfect.

More than one student got a light 'tunk' on the head to demonstrate the cushioning provided by a properly worn helmet.

After each session, participants were encouraged to browse through and help themselves to a variety of materials including:

- Our recently released bilingual bicycle/pedestrian map of West Windsor.

- Bilingual brochures and flyers from the US Department of Transportation about bicycle and pedestrian safety.

- Bicycle Safer Journey: an interactive CD that offers a virtual journey designed to increase our awareness of bicycle safety.

- Safety equipment, including helmets, front and rear lights, reflective ankle bands and reflective tape.
Each attendee received a copy of our map and we gave away approximately 30 helmets, several lights and ankle bands. A few people generously paid for their helmets.

Dr. Abalos donated a couple dozen toddler helmets, many of which are available for later sessions, and many are now protecting our neighbors in Hightstown. Linda was able to donate $50 on behalf of the library to offset the cost of the helmets given by the WWBPA. We cannot thank both of them enough.

We even had an opportunity to install lights and affix reflective tape to our new friend Henry's bike. Keep an eye out for him! He should be very visible now with front and rear lights, red and white reflective tape and dual ankle bands (Henry already had a helmet).

A few of the kids were spotted with helmets on at the computer terminals in the library. We're thrilled they're wearing them!

Chris Scherer

June 7th Trailbuilding

2007-07-15T16:49:00.001-05:00

On July 7th, 10 volunteers came out to make further improvements to the newest Millstone River trail located off of Joanne Street. The group installed ten signs that will help walkers navigate the trails and spent most of their time lining the two entrances of the trail (both located off of Joanne Street) with weed block fabric and mulch (provided by the township). We also did some trail maintenance as well along some of the trails.

The volunteers were Roger Alig, Ace Miller, Robyn Miller, and Alison Miller (all unrelated remarkably), WW-P Track Team member John Squeri, his Mom Francine, and their friend Karen, Laxma Kolla, Ken Carlson, Ted Ross, and Eric Sleeper. Thanks to all the volunteers. Thanks to Heidi Kleinman for bringing extra weed block! Please everyone, enjoy these new trails. They are gorgeous.

New Section of Trolley Line Trail Open!

2007-06-23T11:27:00.000-05:00

The newest section of the Trolley Line Trail is now officially open. This new section starts at

Rabbit Hill Road, near Cranbury Road, and follows the PSE&G power lines into Community Park. The paved macadam path crosses Bear Brook, by way of a beautiful single span bridge, offering great views of the brook and Grovers Mill Pond in the distance. The path was surfaced on Thursday, but was already being used a lot by local pedestrians and cyclists.

Please be careful where the trail comes out on Rabbit Hill Road. The road is not yet striped to warn motorists about cyclists and pedestrians, and cars tend to speed on this section of the road. There is not much of a shoulder where the path comes out on the road, but further down the road there is a decent shoulder which is slated to be converted to bikelanes in 2007-2008. There is a sidewalk, but it is not yet connected to the path. Please be careful, but enjoy!

Bike Drive a Success

2007-06-17T10:32:00.000-05:00

We had blue skies and perfect weather for our third bike drive for Pedals for Progress and in 3 hours we collected 73 bicycles and more than $800 in donations yesterday morning at the West Winds or Community Farmers' Market, on Vaughn Drive off Alexander Road in the parking lot of the Princeton Junction Train Station. We received bikes in all shapes and sizes, and they will be shipped to a ‘second life’ in Jamaica, where P4P partner agencies will distribute the bikes at low cost to poor working adults. The bikes provide reliable transportation for the recipients, who use them for commuting to school and work, taking produce to market, or accessing heath care and other services.

Thanks to our 21 volunteers, including West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance trustees and members, our student advisory board members and other youth volunteers from our community. Thanks to the WW Farmers' Market board, especially Mireille Delman and Beth Feehan, for working with us and providing a convenient space for us and hosting the drive. And thanks to everyone who donated bicycles and a cash donation (towards shipment cost) to help out this worthy cause.

We also signed up 12 new members to the WWBPA, sold our new bike/ped maps, and a few t-shirts too. More photos:

Pedals for Progress Bike Drive Saturday June 16

2007-06-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

Anyone with an adult or child's bicycle in repairable condition is urged to donate his or her bike to Pedals for Progress for this worthy cause. Bikes can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturday June 16, RAIN OR SHINE, at the West Windsor Community Farmers' Market, on Vaughn Drive off Alexander Road in the parking lot of the Princeton Junction Train Station.

Every year, affluent Americans buy 22 million new bicycles and discard millions of old ones, abandoning many more unused in basements, sheds, and garages; most end-up in our already overburdened landfills. Meanwhile, less fortunate people overseas need cheap, non-polluting transportation to access health care, jobs, markets, and schools.

Pedals for Progress, a New Jersey-based nonprofit, collects over 11,000 bicycles annually and has shipped more than 95,000 bicycles to developing countries in Latin American, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. Partner agencies in these countries train community members to recondition the bikes and distribute them at low cost to poor working adults. The bikes provide reliable transportation for the recipients, who use them for commuting to school and work, taking produce to market, or accessing heath care and other services.

Pedals for Progress cannot accept “bikes for parts” or disassembled bikes. It costs $28 to collect, process, ship, rebuild and distribute each bicycle. A donation toward shipping costs is necessary (suggested minimum $10 per bike). All cash and material donations are fully tax deductible and a receipt will be available at the collection site. PfP also accepts working portable sewing machines.

The drive is sponsored by the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance. Members and volunteers will help donors unload their bicycles and prepare them for shipping. We collected 105 bicycles (and one portable sewing machine too) along with $1,082 to fund shipment to their destination in Guatemala in 2006. The year before, at this location 130 bicycles were collected and were shipped to a "second life" in Uganda.

Thanks in advance for your support of this good cause!

Life in the Fast Lane

2007-06-02T07:04:00.000-05:00

Here's to our neighbors in Trenton, in the Mill Hill Section, on their creative idea to "bring home" to the road to emphasize their desire for traffic calming in their neighborhood. Last week they set up a "living room" on the street, complete with a with a sofa, coffee table, bookcase and a running television. Not so average was the location -- on Market Street, between Jackson and Mercer streets, in the Mill Hill neighborhood where, according to residents, motorists habitually speed and run red traffic lights. The "living room" was the most recent and probably more dramatic effort by the Old Mill Hill Society to call attention to the traffic violations they say put neighborhood residents at risk every day. Residents hanging out in the "living room" yesterday passed out flyers to motorists stopped at the light asking them to, "slow down and stop at the red lights, please." A few honked their horns in support."
Read the complete article online.

National Bike to Work Week

2007-05-15T19:53:00.000-05:00

This week is national bike to work week and we're encouraging residents to bike to work , and let us know their bike commuting destinations, their mileage, and their experiences. Below is what we've heard from area bike commuters. Total mileage for the week was 363 miles. Please send in your bike commuting info and stories. Food for thought: for every gallon of gasoline that is consumed, approximately 24 pounds of global warming pollutants are released into the air. By biking 363 miles and not driving, we released approximately 430 less pounds of global warming pollutants into the air (assuming gas mileage of 20 mpg).

Bike-Ped Alliance member Alan Mann
"I live in Princeton and work at the university. Although my round trip distance is only 8 miles, I try to do this every day, winter and summer regardless of the weather. I calculate that in a given year, my commuting mileage is about 1600 miles, but if I factor in the use of my bicycle for shopping and other short trips, the yearly total is closer to 2200 miles. In the approximately five years I have lived in the Princeton area and commuted by bike, I have been involved in very few dangerous situations. For me, the most serious problem is being 'doored' by drivers opening their doors directly in front of me. This is especially true on Nassau street where it is necessary to ride close to the parked cars."

Bike-Ped Alliance member Sylvia Ascarelli.
"I biked five days, 10 miles roundtrip, so 50 miles. It was also the first time I've been cut off by a schoolbus (impatient to make a right turn -- as if we don'thave to slow down and stop for them!). And if anyonereading the blog has any influence with Amtrak orMiddlesex County, it would be great if they could clear the crud off the Amtrak bridge on Schalks Crossing (Co. Rd. 683) and then repave it properly.(I've called Plainsboro and haven't had any luck getting someone from Middlesex County roads on thep hone)"

West Windsor resident Kevin Townsend
"I usually ride 50 to 70 round trip (1.5-2 hrs each way) 3 days a week ( e.g. 130, 27 or the canal towpath), 150-200 commuting each week. I have adapted using trucking routes with wide and continuous shoulders as safer and faster than less traveled roads which tend to have no or less than 2 ft shoulders. I also take back roads occaisionally for longer rides, but usually researve those for the weekends.

Bike-Ped Alliance Member- Ken Naglak
Ken has an 11 mile commute to his work in Jamesburg. On Tuesday he took the long way and biked 35 miles (to get in extra training miles for the Anchor House Ride for Runaways). Ken often bikes to work.

Bike-Ped Alliance Member- Dan Rappaport
Dan lives in Princeton and works at Forrestal, a 5.5 mile commute. For the week, Dan biked 23 miles in ntotal, including getting caught in a bad rainstorm on Wednesday (weather being one of those hard to control variables of bike commuting- always an adventure!).

Bike-Ped Alliance Trustee-Daryl McMillan
Daryl bike commutes to his work in Plainsboro, a round trip of 10 miles, and he's aiming for bike commuting twice a week. He's got one day in this week so far. He's training for the Anchor House Ride for the Runaways, and is trying to put on as many miles as he can.

Bike-Ped Alliance Vice-President Chris Scherer
Chris rides from his home in Lambertville to his work on Rt. 571 in East Windsor, a distance of 25 miles. He bikes through West Windsor of course, on his route, and was up to last year, a resident of Millstone Road so he knows the local roads very well. Like Kevin above, Chris is a hard core bike commuter, making multiple trips a week, and rides throughout the winter. Chris biked 35 miles on Monday to work and part of the way back, but unfortunately is not feeling well which curtailed his riding.

Bike-Ped Alliance President Ken Carlson
I work at BMS in Pennington and usually bike 2 days a week to work although this year I am trying for 3 days a week. This week I have biked Monday and Tuesday. It's 15 miles each way, and takes about an hour. I cross Route 1 at Washington Road, which is ironically the safest way to cross Route 1 in town. The best part of my ride is biking on Pretty Brook Road in Princeton and Bayberry Road in Hopewell. The worst part is biking on Pennington Rocky Hill road near work where there is no shoulder and the cars are traveling at 40-50mph. This early in the season, I could clearly feel that I wasn't as fresh on day two (climbing hills especially) as I was on day one!

2007 Bike Film Festival May 16-21 in NYC

2007-05-15T19:05:00.000-05:00

Check out the festival news of films, music and events this week, as the 2007 Bike Festival traveling the world rolls into NYC.

West Windsor Walks: Cranbury and Clarksville Roads

2007-05-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

On Thursday May 10 the WWBPA organized another "West Windsor Walks" and we walked from Van Nest Park on Cranbury Road around Grovers Mill Pond over to Clarksville Road to scope out the need for bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

WWBPA will take all of the great comments and observations given by neighborhood residents who participated to help generate a list of recommendations for future improvements, which will be posted soon. Also, please add your comments here.

~ Susan Conlon

The bridge is in place!!

2007-05-05T13:49:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, the bridge over bear Brook was put in its rightful place on Friday May 4th. Here's the bridge as it looks on May 5th. It's a beautiful single span bridge, supported by concrete abutments on either side. It's not open yet, but it's worth going down to take a look at it. Next

steps are the macadam path and then it's ready to go! Congratulations to Mayor Hsueh and township engineer Jim Parvesse for driving this project, and thanks to all the bike-ped advocates who helped to convinced PSE&G to allow this path to happen.

Walk of Canal Pt. Blvd.

2007-04-29T07:46:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, April 17th, twenty-one West Windsor residents braved the weather and took part in an educational walk of Canal Pointe Boulevard in the vicinity of Princeton Market Fair to
examine conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists along this busy roadway. Participating in the
walk were seven residents who live in the communities along Canal Pointe Blvd, several elected officials, and Trustees and members of the WWBPA. The group met at Market Fair, and went on a 40 minute walk along Canal Pointe Boulevard between the Marriot Residence Inn and Meadow Road, crossing the roadway several times and generally observing the pedestrian and bicycle conditions firsthand.

In the picture above, it can be seen that there are no crosswalks at Heritage Drive where many Canal Pointe residents cross.

The group agreed that Canal Pointe Boulevard has serious flaws regarding safety and mobility for pedestrians and cyclists and is in need of immediate short-term amelioration as well as long-term reconstruction. Conditions for pedestrians crossing Canal Pointe Boulevard are dangerous and in fact represent a real lost opportunity, since the neighborhoods along Canal Pointe Boulevard contain a high density of residents living near significant retail and business centers, yet there is a clear lack of safe pedestrian crossings and bicycle facilities.

In the picture shown on the left, the sole existing crosswalk between Farber Rd and Alexander Rd at Mayfair Drive is inadequate- no curb cuts, no paved connection to existing sidewalks, no pedestrian refuge islands, and a lack of signage warning motorists of pedestrians.

The group fully endorses the recommendations from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan developed for West Windsor by the Transportation Planners Orth-Rodgers and the Mayor’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force, for placing Canal Pointe Boulevard on a “road diet”. Such a road diet would reduce the automobile travel lanes from two in each direction to one in each direction with a middle turning lane, would include a grass median (which would put the “boulevard” back into Canal Pointe Boulevard), and would include high visibility pedestrian crossings and bicycle lanes, all of which would result in reduced automobile travel speeds, safer pedestrian crossings, and safe bicycle facilities. The Township has budgeted a traffic analysis of Canal Pt. Blvd this year.

In the picture above, the abysmal conditions for pedestrians can be seen at the intersection of Meadow Road and Canal POinte Blvd. There is a complete lack of crosswalks at this busy intersection. The picture below shows what pedestrians must do to cross Canal Pointe, no curb cuts, no crosswalk, no pedestrian refuge island to stop halfway. The last picture shows the lack of crosswalks at Heritage Drive to enable pedestrians to cross Heritage Drive. There are no such crosswalks at any of the exisiting intersections, such as Carillon Blvd, the entrances to Market Fair, Mayfair Drive, or Heritage.

Due to the dangerous current conditions, we urge the Township administration and the Township Council to take the appropriate actions to make Canal Pointe Boulevard a bicycle and pedestrian safe roadway. We owe it to the thousands of residents who reside in the communities along Canal Pointe Boulevard. This is especially true in light of the current discussion of “smart growth” development in the redevelopment area- we have attractive high density housing along Canal Pointe Boulevard; now let’s be smart and provide pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between this housing and nearby retail and business centers. A letter to the Mayor outlining our observations and recommendations can be found on the WWBPA web site http://www.princetononline.org/wwbpa/

Walk participants: Abbi and Hillary Allen, Ted and Susan Strempack, Matt Martin, Dan Fabrizio, Ralph and Lois Gerstein, Diane Ciccone, Daryl McMillan, Sandy and Rachel Shapiro, Susan Conlon, Alison Miller, Newell Benedict, Franc Gambatese, Heidi Kleinman, Linda Geevers, Chuck Chang, Anne Marie Strange, Ken Carlson.

Refining the newest Trails on the Millstone

2007-04-28T09:32:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, April 22nd, a group of 20 volunteers continued the trailbuilding on the newest recreational trails in the Millstone River Preserve located at the end of Joanne Street. After being faced with a flooded trail head (from the nor'easter), the group created an alternative trail entrance on the preserved Gunther property (an open lot where the Gunther house once stood). The volunteers included seven members of the WW-P HS North cross country running team (Colin Chudzik, Tyler Corkedale, John Lipuma, Anthony Lee, John Squeir, Dustin Dochef, and Ryan Sleeper), Eric Sleeper, Ace Miller, Sylvia Ascarelli, Heidi Kleinman, Ted Ross, Frank Potter, Robyn Miller, Rachel and Stacy Karp, Kevin Appleget, Roger Alig, Ken Carlson, and Dave Norman. The cross country running team uses the Millstone Trails all the time for their training, so they had a vested interest in refining these trails. The trail network is now complete, and include a new spur trail with a beautiful view of Bear Brook, a great spot for birdwatching. Future trail amenities will include trail markers and benches. Many thanks to all the volunteers!

WWBPA offers Scholarships to WW-P High School Seniors

2007-04-03T06:32:00.000-05:00

WW-P High School Senior Scholarships

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School seniors are eligible to apply for $100 cash scholarships from the WWBPA. The scholarships will be awarded to one student from High School North and one from High School South.

Applicants should submit a brief essay (not more than 250 words) describing activities that they have undertaken that have helped promote biking and walking in our community and/or describing their vision for improved bicycle and pedestrian mobility and safety in our community.

Please include name, address, telephone #, email address and which school you attend.

Applications should be submitted to:

wwbikeped@gmail.com by May 5, 2007.

Another round of trailbuilding on the Millstone

2007-03-31T23:05:00.000-05:00

A team of seven volunteers worked again on the new trails on the Millstone River Preserve located off of the end of Joanne Street. The volunteers were Kevin Appelget, Andrew Kully, Eric Sleeper, Ryan Sleeper, Chuck Chang, Dave Norman, and Ken Carlson. Interesting note- Ryan is a member of the WWP HS North Cross Country running team and says that the team has enjoyed running on the Millstone Preserve Trails.

The group of volunteers was able to complete the perimeter trail, so now residents can enter the trailhead and walk the completed trail network. Future work will include refinements to the existing trails, the addition of spur trails to Bear Brook and the Millstone River, removal of no longer used hunters' deer blinds, and the placement of trail signs. We will also look to install a small kiosk with a map of the this part of the Preserve. Thanks to all the volunteers!

Trailbuilding on the Millstone

2007-03-25T20:35:00.000-05:00

On Saturday March 24th, 16 volunteers welcomed Spring by blazing new trails along the Millstone River. The diligent trailbuilders, joined by three energetic children, worked for several hours raking, chain sawing, and cutting back branches and brambles, creating the new trails. The trails offer lovely views of the Millstone River, a variety of trees, and pass through a Tolkiensque section of twisted vines and trees- a veritable Mirkwood. The trails are located on preserved land that is bordered by Joanne Street, the Millstone River, Bear Brook, and the NE Corridor Rail line. To access the trails, please park at the Millstone Preserve parking lot on Millstone Rd, and walk the short distance down Millstone Rd. to Joanne St., and then down to the end of Joanne Street.

The preserved land, formerly known as the Astura and Gunther properties, is now part of the Millstone River Preserve. Once one more parcel along Millstone Road is preserved, there will be continuous preserved land and trails along the Millstone River from Grovers Mill Pond to the train tracks. We will be meeting again the coming weeks to build more trails on this part of the Preserve.

Our volunteer crew consisted of Dave, Katherine, Matthew and Andrew Osborn, Tim Cresson, Robin Miller, Roger Alig, Ace Miller, Frank Potter, Laxma and Sula Kolla, Newell Benedict, Ham Pkardooni, Ted Ross, Ron Slinn, and Ken Carlson. Many thanks to Kevin Appelget for helping to lay out the trail network.

Clarksville Rd Study

2007-03-18T10:48:00.000-05:00

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Committee has selected Clarksville Rd. for a traffic calming study. I attended the kick-off meeting on March 15th as an invited participant

Who was there: four planners from the DVRPC, Jim Parvesse, Pat Ward, Chief Pica and one of his officers, George Fallat and Greg Sandusky and Matt Lawson from the County, someone representing the BRT, someone from NJ Transit, the person in charge of transportation for WW-P Schools.
What is being done: The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission has selected Clarksville Rd. for one of two Traffic Calming Studies for 2007 (they do one in NJ and one in PA) from a list of potential candidates (which are nominated by the 9 counties in the DVRPC's region). They chose the Clarksville Rd. corridor for a number of reasons- The county has had Clarksville Rd on its list for the last two years. They chose it because it's vicinity to the train station, the fact that there are two schools located on the corridor, and the recent articles relating to the pedestrian accident (which they didn't seem to know a lot about).
The original limit of the study was Clarksville Rd from Rt 571 up to but not including the bridge over the NE corridor train tracks. We convinced them right away to increase the limits of the study to include the bridge and up to the entrances of the JCC and the Axelrod Apt complex. The output from this study will a Traffic Calming Study Report, which should be completed by the end of summer, including existing conditions and major deficiencies of the corridor, recommendations for the corridor and recommendations for funding ( e.g., Safe Routes to School- which the DVPRC administers)
We discussed the existing conditions. We spent a lot of time on the future Avalon Watch improvements and the reasons for these improvements. I asked that the county consider leaving room for bikelanes when they make their road improvements.
We also spent a lot of time on the bridge over the NE corridor tracks (as we were convincing them to increase the study area). The bridge is a clear pinch point for pedestrian and bicylilsts. Turns out the bridge is not an orpahn bridge but is owned by the county and the county has no plans to replace it. The county is open to the idea of cantilevering a bike-ped addition. A "parallel structure" would be possible.
I argued strongly for bikelanes to be included on the entire length of Clarksville Rd. The DVRPC seems entirely in support of bikelanes. We also spent a lot of time on pedestrian conditions around high school south (a major focus of mine). We talked about pedestrian improvements to the Penn Lyle and Clarksville intersection as well as the Clarksville and Rt 571 intersection, as well as general traffic calming along the road.
I asked about widening Clarksville Rd between Everett and Everett Drives to allow for bikelanes. The county and township are interestingly waiting for a developer to come along and develop the land across from the firehouse and pay for the widening. It's not cheap apparently.
Next steps- the DVRPC will be gathering data and doing field studies. and then there will be another meeting. I told them about the WWBPA and what we've been trying to do. I gave them our web site and will send them information re our role in Avalon Watch, etc. I invited them to our next meeting. They recommended that we write a position paper on what we'd like to see on Clarksville Rd. They handed out a recent publication of theirs called "taming Traffic" about recent contect-sensitive solutions in the DVRPC region. Let me know if you're interested in seeing it. Let me know your thoughts about what you'd like to see on Clarksville Rd. We have a great chance to improve this important road in our town.

Respectfully, Ken

Trail Building Day Saturday March 24

2007-03-11T12:25:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle Pedestrian Alliance and Friends of West Windsor Open Space are hosting a trailbuilding day on Saturday March 24th (the rain date is Sunday March 25th). Come out to help build a new trail through beautiful wooded preserved land along the Millstone River on the first weekend of Spring. Meet at 1 p.m. at the Millstone Preserve parking lot located off of Millstone Road and head out to nearby Joanne Street for the location where the trailing-building will start. Kids of all age are welcome. Please bring along:
working gloves
a hat
water to drink
and one or more of the following:
rakes
shears or loppers
hoe
shovel
We are also looking for a few people with chain saws. Please e-mail me if you have a chain saw. Please RSVP if you can to wwbikeped@gmail.com. Looking forward to seeing you there! If the weather is questionable, please look for an e-mail announcement or notice here the morning of the 24th.

~ Susan Conlon

March Meeting & Updates

2007-03-05T08:11:00.000-05:00

The next meeting of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance is this Thursday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m., in room D (downstairs) of the Municipal Building at Clarksville Road. All are welcome.
Also on Thursday night, the Township Administration will present its Capital Budget projects relating to bicycle and pedestrian projects to he Township Council at 7 p.m. in Room A of the Municipal Building. We have met with the township about the their items included and will be making public comments (see our web site for more information). Through our lobbying efforts (and the efforts of others) we are glad to say that the township has increased its funding for bikelanes and sidewalks, although we are still working to maintain the township's focus on specific bike-ped priorities.
Good news! The State has approved the granting of a mid-block pedestrian crossing at Clarksville Road at the Avalon Watch apartment complex. Work on the improvements should be starting this year. We will continue to lobby the County and the State for a similar approval for a mid-block pedestrian crossing at Sherbrooke Drive and Rt. 571.
~ Susan Conlon

West Windsor Redevelopment Community Plan

2007-02-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

West Windsor Township and Hillier Architecture will conduct a series of community workshops to engage residents, business owners, government agencies, and other stakeholders in the development of a plan to enhance the designated 350-acre area surrounding the Princeton Junction Station.
The dates for the workshops are:
Thursday Feb. 22 - 7:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday March 17 - 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Thursday April 19 - 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
More information, including meeting locations and option to register (suggested, not required)is available at http://www.wwallaboard.org/

Susan

Thank You to Our Members

2007-01-28T22:18:00.000-05:00

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, we would like to thank our membership for their support and encouragement in our first year. We would also like to thank the members of our Advisory Board for helping us build an effective grass-roots 501(c)(3) organization focused on our mission of promoting bicycling and walking in West Windsor Township and neighboring communities.

Our primary focus in 2006 was advocacy on bicycle and pedestrian issues, with a focus on access, mobility and safety. Through a series of “West Windsor Walks,” we brought many dangerous bicycle and pedestrian conditions to light, yielding much-needed results. The roadway on the dangerous “S” curve on Alexander Road near the D&R Canal now has improved lane striping and overhead lighting, interim steps while we continue to advocate for the inclusion of sidewalks and bikelanes at this location. We were also able to obtain approval from the County and the State for a mid-block crosswalk at the dangerous pedestrian crossing on Clarksville Road linking the Avalon Watch apartment complex on one side of the roadway with the Village Shoppes and commuters’ bus stop on the other side.

There are many other dangerous pedestrian and bicycle conditions in our township, and we intend to continue to work to find solutions to make West Windsor Township a more bicycle and pedestrian friendly community. In 2007 we will also develop and produce a bicycle and pedestrian map of the township and once again sponsor events like National Trails Day in June, the Pedals for Progress bicycle collection in June, and a Walk to School Day in October.

We have also just published our Annual Report, available on our web site We encourage members and interested newcomers to participate in the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance; to offer input on improving bicycle and pedestrian access, mobility and safety; and to get involved with our efforts.

We invite members and non-members to our first annual membership meeting on Thursday, February 8th at 7:30 PM at the Senior Center in the West Windsor Township Municipal Center. To learn more about the WWBPA, please visit our Web site or e-mail us at wwbikeped@gmail.com

We look forward to a productive year ahead. Please join us!

The Officers of the Board
Ken Carlson, Meg Chicco, Susan Conlon, Chris Scherer, Sandy Shapiro

Annual Membership Meeting Thursday February 8

2007-01-28T15:28:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) will hold its
Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday February 8 at 7:30 p.m. The
meeting will cover a review of the organization's recently published
Annual Report, which highlights the inception of the organization, and
successful advocacy initiatives and events in 2006. Goals and
initiatives for the organization in 2007 will also be covered.
Trustees will also be elected at this meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Senior Center in the West Windsor
Township Municipal Complex on Clarksville Road. For more information
and copy of the 2006 Annual Report please go to the WWBPA Web site.

WWBPA Meeting Thursday January 11 @ 7:30 p.m.

2007-01-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

The West WIndsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance meets Thursday, January 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Room A in the township municipal building. All are welcome to attend.

2007 Bicycle Film Festival

2007-01-10T10:39:00.000-05:00

The Bicycle Film Festival is now accepting film, video submissions.
Deadline for entries is February 17th 2007.

Over 35,000 people attended the Bicycle Film Festival in 2006 in New York, LA, Minneapolis, Chicago, London, SF, Sydney, Tokyo, and Milano.

Go to the Bicycle Film Festival site for more info and entry form;
The dates for the festival for 2007, including New York City screeings, will be posted on the site in early February.

West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance

2007-01-07T19:32:00.000-05:00

New Year of Trail building on the Rogers Preserve

A group of volunteers made a lot of progress today working on existing and new trails at the Rogers Preserve (located off of Clarksville Road with entrances on Landing Lane and Cranbury Rd.). Among the volunteers were Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS) Trustee and arborist Ron Slin, FOWWOS and WWBPA Trustee Ken Carlson, WWBPA and FOWWOS member Roger Alig, WWBPA member, Ace Miller, and WWBPA member and Girl Scout leader, Carey Bloom and seven girls from Girl Scout Troop 600.

The group made significant improvements to the existing trail that runs from Cranbury Road to the sidewalk between Sherbrooke Dr. and Landing Lane, including raking the trail, lining the trail with deadfall, and picking up litter. Ron, Ken, Roger, and Ace taught the girl scouts the basics of trailbuilding and then they were off blazing a new trail. The girls developed an awesome trail that connects the first trail we worked on today to the trail that leads to Grovers Mill Pond. Girl Scout Troop 600 has taken on trailbuilding and trail maintenance on the Rogers Preserve Trails this year to earn their Girl Scout Bronze Award.

Hikers can now walk on the Rogers Preserve Trails from Grovers Mill pond to Cranbury Road, cross Cranbury Road (carefully), walk down Stobbe La and Joanne St. down Millstone Road and wind up on the Millstone River Trail. They then can take the Millstone River Trail to its end on Melville Rd, walk down Yeger Road to Cranbury Rd and then on to Clarksville Rd, and back to the Rogers Preserve for a great trail circuit- all in West Windsor!

Students: Opportunitiy to be on our Advisory Board

2006-12-13T10:24:00.000-05:00

The WWBPA wants to encourage communication of youth concerns about bike and pedestrian access and safety, and is accepting applications from students interested in serving on our Advisory Board.

The WWBPA seeks to appoint two students to the board, each for a one-year term. This community service opportunity is intended to provide students with a hands-on local leadership service role and give a voice to youth concerns in the community.

The term of service will begin in February 2007 for one year and end in February 2008. Applicants may be asked to meet with WWBPA trustees for a brief interview. A decision on the appointments will be announced in late January, 2007.

An application can be dowloaded at our Web site: http://www.princetononline.org/wwbpa

Please submit completed applications by January 7, 2007.

Susan

Funding to Improve Alexander Road "S" Curve

2006-11-25T09:01:00.000-05:00

West Windsor Township received a grant from the state for $190,000 to go towards improvements at the Alexander Road "S" curve, reports the Princeton Packet:

11/24/2006
West Windsor and Plainsboro receive road improvement grants
By: Molly Petrilla , Staff Writer
West Windsor and Plainsboro both received sizeable grants from the state last week to help improve two notoriously shoddy roads.
Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) announced she secured a total of $1.4 million from the state for aid in transportation projects. Of that, $260,000 will go toward Plainsboro Road and $190,000 to Alexander Road's S-curve.
West Windsor Township Engineer Jim Parvesse said the grant money will be used to help pay for various improvements to Alexander Road between Canal Pointe Boulevard and the Princeton Township border.
He said these improvements will cost about $280,000 and include surface reconstruction, better drainage, more signs and increased bicycle and pedestrian accessibility.
Already, better lighting has been installed on the curve and it has been re-striped, he said.
According to Mr. Parvesse, the rest of the improvements are likely to be completed by next fall.
In Plainsboro, the grant money will go toward fixing Plainsboro Road between Dye Road and Enterprise Drive, Community Development Director Ernie Freeman said.
According to Mr. Freeman, the stretch of road is in "really bad shape" and will be resurfaced and re-striped.
He said work will likely begin in the spring.

~ Susan

Pedestrian Improvements on Clarksville Road

2006-11-24T21:02:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of recent activity by the WWBPA to draw attention to the dangerous conditions that exist on Clarksville Road for pedestrians who attempt to cross this road between the Avalon Watch Apartment complex and the Village Shoppes shopping center. This dangerous situation has been crying out for years for pedestrian improvements and the WWBPA took an aggressive approach in the last few months to get local officials to realize the potential for a pedestrian fatality on this road. We led a walk on the evening of November 9th during rush hour with trustees and members of the Alliance, local residents, two West Windsor Council members, and two Mercer County Engineers. It was clear to all from this walk how dangerous it was for pedestrians to cross Clarksville Road, particularly residents who have children to be picked up at the day care center and residents who are dropped off from the NJ transit #976 bus from the Princeton Junction train station.

From this walk, a series of recommendations were put forth and endorsed by all who attended. The recommendations were included in a letter to Mayor Hsueh (see http://www.princetonol.com/groups/wwbpa/docs/Avalon_Watch_Letter.pdf) and include a crosswalk with pedestrian-activated lights, a pedestrian refuge island, and the installation of street lights. These recommendations were presented to the West Windsor Township Council on November 13th.

Unbeknownst to us, two hours earlier, two township residents were struck by a car as they were attempting to cross Clarksville Road in the exact location of the proposed crosswalk as they were returning from picking up their granddaughter from the daycare center (See Packet article http://www.princetonol.com/groups/wwbpa/docs/PACKET2006-11-21.pdf). Fortunately there were no fatalities in this tragic accident, but clearly the accident underscores the need for the very improvements we had been advocating. The WWBPA sent letters to the editor regarding the accident and the dire need for the improvements (see http://www.princetonol.com/groups/wwbpa/docs/Avalon_Watch-Letter_to_Editor.pdf).

The WWBPA is currently working with the Township and the County to make these improvements a reality. The first thing to be done is to get street lights installed where pedestrians are crossing. This will be done by the township. The rest of the improvements are in the domain of the County. The County must first get approval from the State for a mid-block crossing. The WWBPA will do all it can to continue to advocate for these needed improvements and to make sure they are completed on a rapid timeline to ensure the safety of pedestrians in this part of the township.

Ken

West Windsor Walks - Clarksville Road at Avalon Watch

2006-11-09T07:36:00.000-05:00

The WWBPA has organized a walk tonight to focus on the on the crosswalk and sidewalk conditions on Clarksville Road at Avalon Watch and the Village Shoppes. Residents have been invited, along with county and local officials, to examine the existing conditions and brainstorm on potential improvements. Anyone interested in attending the 6 p.m. walk should meet at the Village Shoppes center on Clarksville Road. The WWBPA monthly meeting will follow at 7:30 p.m. in Room A at the West Windsor Municipal Center, Clarksville Road. Everyone is welcome to attend.
~ Susan

Pedestrian Improvements Needed in Princeton Junction

2006-10-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance sponsored two organized walks in October in Princeton Junction along Princeton-Hightstown Road (Route 571) to examine the difficulties pedestrian commuters encounter when trying to walk to the Princeton Junction Train Station during rush hour. Alliance trustees and members were joined by residents and two members of town council.

A list of specific recommendations were generated from these walks to address the obvious and serious gaps in pedestrian access and safety on the east side of the Train Station. The recommendations focus on the painting of crosswalks where none currently exist (e.g., on Wallace and Cranbury Roads at their intersection with Rt. 571), improving existing crosswalks by the installation of pedestrian-activated crossing signals (e.g., Sherbrooke Drive and Rt. 571), adding segments of sidewalks to complete “missing links”, repairing existing sidewalks in disrepair, and improving lighting. A complete and detailed list of the recommendations is posted on our Web site at http://www.princetononline.org/wwbpa.

We understand that the mayor, township council members and staff have the difficult challenge of trying to balance cost and timelines for many township projects. We also understand that planned improvements to pedestrian access and safety are coming to the Princeton Junction area with the planned improvements to County Rt. 571 as well as with the proposed Redevelopment of the Princeton Junction Train Station area. However, the timelines for these projects are years away from being realized which leaves these dangerous conditions unremedied for the present. The suggested improvements we have outlined are practical, not overly burdensome financially, and could be implemented in an expedited manner.

We have thus recommended to the West Windsor Township administration that these proposed improvements be reviewed for inclusion in the 2007 Capital Budget, and then implemented as soon as possible to ensure the safety of pedestrians in Princeton Junction.

Ken Carlson
President
West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance

Trailbuilding on the Rogers Preserve

2006-10-17T20:19:00.000-05:00

On Sunday October 15th, eleven volunteers worked together to expand the trail network on the Rogers Preserve near Grovers Mill Pond. A new trail was cleared from the sidewalk between Landing Lane and Berskhire Drive to Cranbury Road and winding through a beautiful hardwood forest, crossing a stream and ending at the guardrail along Cranbury Road near the bridge over Bear Brook. Further trail work is needed to refine the trail, but it is now possible to walk the Rogers Trail, cross Cranbury Road, walk down Stobbe Lane and JoAnn Street and then proceed down the Millstone River Trail. If you add a walk of the Arboretum trails to the beginning of this tour, you will have a memorable one hour trail walk in the middle of our town. Many thanks to our hardy trail builders:

Bike-Ped Alliance members Roger Alig, Ace Miller, Art Pope and his children Alex and Charles and their friend Jonathan, Steve Meersma and his children Kim and Brian and their friend Charles, and yours truly.

West Windsor Walks

2006-10-17T07:47:00.000-05:00

In the second of our series of "West Windsor Walks", on Tuesday October 10 at 7:30 a.m., WWBPA members treked from the corner of Sherbrooke Drive at Route 571 crossing 571, and then continued on the south-side of Route 571 to the intersection of Wallace Road and then walked up Wallace to the entrance of the Princeton Junction Train Station.

We observed the conditions and collected input for some recommendations for improvements:

Princeton Hightstown Road (Route 571):
• Pedestrian activated signal crossing at intersection of Sherbrooke Dr and Princeton Hightstown Rd.
• Construction of missing sidewalk link in front of Sovereign Bank
• Striping of sidewalk lines on asphalt in front of Gloria Nilson Realtors
• Striping on crosswalk on Cranbury Road at Princeton-Hightstown Rd. (no crosswalk currently exists)
• Equip intersection with functional pedestrian activated traffic signal

Wallace Road:
• Striping crosswalk on Wallace Road at intersection with Princeton-Highstown Road (no crosswalk currently exists). This is a dangerous pedestrian crossing. There should be a no right turn on red for cars on the bridge over the NE Corrisor train tracks heading east
• Improve sidewalk on west side of Wallace Rd from Princeton Hightstown Rd to train station entrance, including the driveway entrance to the school bus parking lot which is in serious disrepair and unsafe for pedestrians
• Fix missing curb-cuts on sidewalk on Wallace Road and at the intersection of Wallace and Princeton-Hightstown Rd.
• Additional lighting along Wallace Rd and at intersection with Princeton-Hightstown Rd.

The next walk in the series will focus on the challenge of crosssing Clarksville Rd to Avalon Watch on Thursday November 9, starting at 6 p.m. at the Village Shoppes on Clarksville Road.

...Susan

more photos:

pedestrians avoid crossing at the intersection, and take the side with no sidewalk, and then cross Wallace mid-block:

existing sidewalks on Wallace Road in need of repair:

PSE&G Trail

2006-10-10T19:02:00.000-05:00

This Sunday I had the absolute pleasure of biking on the recently completed first segment of the PSE&G Bike Trail. This segment of the trail starts at Penn Lyle Road and ends (for now) on South Mill Road. I stopped to take photographs at where the trail crosses Woodmere Road. I'm happy to say that the trail is already being extensively used, as can be seen by these photographs of a father and daughter biking on the trail and of a jogger. I saw others on the trail as well, including a family of five bicycling (with helmets!).

The trail, when completed will start from Penn Lyle Road and extend through Community Park to end at Rabbit Hill Road, as it follows under the PSE&G Power Lines (which is on land that long ago supported a trolly line that bisected West Windsor). It's expeceted to be completed by late fall. Kudos to the Mayor and his staff, particularly Sam Surtees and Jim Parvesse, for having the vision and persistence to make this trail happen. Credit also to Pete Weale and Ham Pakradooni, the fomer a member of the Recreational Trails and Bikeways Committee of FOWWOS, and the latter a member of the Mayor's Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force, two groups I had the pleasure of co-chairing with Ken Naglak. Pete and Ham made many calls to PSE&G officials to help to convince PES&G to allow for this right of way. It is personally very gratifying to
see this trail, as it was the idea of this trail that first sparked Ken's and my interest in bicycle/pedestrian advocacy. We were pleased to find out when we inquired that the township was already working toward this, and we used our groups to help lobby for the trail. I look forward to the completion of the trail as it is currently envisioned, and look forward to extending the trail into Plainsboro and to developing connecting trails to create an exciting recreational trail network in our town.

Walk at Hawk Event

2006-10-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

The International Walk To School event at Maurice Hawk on October 4th was a big success. It was something to see- 850 students walking in the streets around Hawk on a beautiful October day. Barry Keppard of the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association did much of the planning for the event, with the help of WWBPA Vice-President, Susan Conlon. Kudos to Barry and his staff at the GMTMA. And certainly many thanks to Principal Denise Mengani, who can be seen talking to Hawk students before the walk and also posing with Barry below. Many thanks also to WWBPA Trustees, Alison Miller, Janet Greenman, Daryl McMillan, and WWBPA member, Kathy Stratton for volunteering on the day of the event. Please see Susan's previous blog entry for a link to the Trenton Times article on the Event. We hope to include more of West Windsor's schools for next year's International Walk to School Day.

Walk to Hawk

2006-10-05T13:49:00.001-05:00

The Walk at Hawk event yesterday for International Walk to School Day was a success.
Read about it in today’s Trenton Times.... and thanks to Barry Keppard for connecting GMTMA with WWBPA to organize the event, and the volunteers who came out and walked the routes.
~ Susan

New Trail Connecting Canal Pointe Blvd. with Nassau Park

2006-09-26T21:27:00.000-05:00

We (WWBPA) have been considering a new pedestrian/bicycle trail in West Windsor to link Canal Pointe Blvd. with Nassau Park. This trail would allow residents of WW to access employment and retail centers in Nassau Park on foot or by bicycle, thereby avoiding US route 1.

This weekend (9/23/06), I got on my bicycle to explore the possibility of such a trail. I admit that, though I have lived within 1 mile of this location for 8 years, I could not picture what lay between Canal Point/Wheeler Way and the Nassau Park business/retail park. I was surprised to find that the answer is: ~150 yards of brush and drainage.

I rode my bicycle to the south end of Canal Pointe Blvd. onto Wheeler Way past the Princeton Country Club. There is a small park at the end of Wheeler Way, bordered by brush and a stream leading to the canal. I rode through the country club, crossing the bridge onto the D&R canal trail, traveling to Quaker road and back into Nassau Park. I rode to the pavilion behind Panera, and that led me onto the berm of the retention basin. As I traveled around the retention basin, I could see through the woods and brush to the golf course, with the realization that the separation between the park on Wheeler Way and Nassau Park is ~150 yards.

It seems that the distance between the two is quite minimal, and the issues to be addressed are: 1) Who claims rights to this property? 2) Are there DEP/wetlands considerations for this property? 3) A bridge (~20 foot span) would needed to cross the stream, requiring a source of funding. Given the obvious benefits in avoiding traffic in Nassau Park on a weekend, and the difficulty of weekday North/South travel for commuters, I believe such a trail warrants further exploration.

Walking the Walk & Talking the Walk

2006-09-07T13:26:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who turned out on a cold and rainy evening for our walk along the "S" curve on Alexander Road by the D&R Canal last Tuesday night. About twenty residents of West Windsor and Princeton walked along the roadway and brainstormed about potential improvements.

The Princeton Packet featured an article about our efforts to raise awareness about this walk and how we want the planned improvements to include bicycle and pedestrian access – right now there isn’t any! As a follow-up we discussed having a joint-township meeting with residents...date to be scheduled for this fall, and word will go out.

I would like to suggest continuing the blacktop off-road lane that ends at the Princeton Township border into West Windsor for shared use by bikers and pedestrians, on the south-side from the canal to Canal Point Blvd. Additional overhead lighting is alos need.

Please add your comments, impressions and suggestions. ~ Susan

p.s. the recently re-stripped lanes are visible -- this improvement is a great first step:

BEFORE RECENT LANE RE-STRIPPING (photo taken August 6, 2006)

and now AFTER RECENT LANE RE-STRIPPING (photo taken Sept. 5 2006)

Cyclist struck by SUV on Rt. 571

2006-08-21T07:31:00.000-05:00

West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance

A bicyclist was critically injured on Friday evening at Route 571 (Princeton- Hightstown Road) and Rabbit Hill Road after being struck by one of two sport utility vehicles that collided. I came upon this accident 5 minutes after it happened. The cyclist was lying on the ground and not moving, a policeman had just arrived and was assessing the whole chaotic scene- an SUV on its side with a woman trapped in the driver's side, the inert cyclist, a traffic tie-up at the intersection. It was surreal. The cyclist was a 46 year old man from Keansburg and appeared to be riding a small kid's bike. There is an indication that the cyclist was not biking at the time, but stationary at the intersection on Rabbit Hill Road waiting to cross Rt. 571. After the accident he and his bike were about 30 feet from the intersection. We didn't see any evidence of a helmet, which may account for the massive head injuries. He was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time- he was basically struck by an out of control SUV. A helmet though would have clearly helped mitigate some of his injuries.

From my perspective, this accident points to several things that need to be improved for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians in this part of town:

-One- the traffic light at this intersection should be changed such that cars on Rt. 571 should only be allowed to make a left turn onto Lanwyn Blvd or Rabbit Hill Road when the left-turn arrow is green. The time with the green arrow could be made longer, and then replaced with a red arrow. Far too many accidents have been caused by improper sight distances when cars are attempting those left turns at busy times of the day. We've all had near misses here and I've sadly had friends who have gotten into accidents doing just this.

-Two, EVERYONE in the township should be wearing a bicycle helmet when the cycle. Again, a bicycle helmet would have helped mitigate head trauma to this cyclist. One element here is clearly education. But I also wonder if we should work on an ordinance to this effect, making it against West Windsor law to bicycle without a helmet for residents of any age.

-Three, whether or not the cyclist was biking along Rt. 571, it is important to educate area cyclists not to bike on Rt. 571 from the East Windsor border to the NE train tracks. It's far too dangerous. As an avid cyclist, I never bicycle on this stretch. But we need to provide a safe east-west route for cyclists. One solution is sidewalks along the entire length of Rt. 571. This is feasible and should be a goal (we have rated sidewalks on 571 very high in our sidewalk analysis). Far too many cyclists bike on this busy dangerous road. WWBPA Trusteee Sandy Shapiro feels that 571 should not be such a fast road and should not be 4 lanes without shoulders. She has made that point at the Central Jersey Transportation Forum, but it is clear that reducing 571 to two travel lanes (and a middle turning lane) with bikelanes would take a lot of effort and political will. There has been talk at the forum to improve bike/ped lanes for the whole stretch, but Sandy feels the imp rovements will not be adequate. The other option is to encourage cyclists to bike on Cranbury Road as an alternate route. Granted, this is not the safest road to bike on, yet it is far safer than Rt. 571. I, and many other cyclists, use this road as a cycling route. To make Cranbury Road safer, "share the road signs" should be installed on this road as we have been advocating for, and the speed limit should be lowered from the Plainsboro border to Grovers' Mill Pond.

Until we make additional efforts to improve our roads, there will sadly be more serious injuries and fatalities in our town. Let's work together for solutions and implement improvements rapidly.

Ken

West Windsor Walks

2006-08-20T11:19:00.000-05:00

The WWBPA is organizing a series of walks in West Windsor Township to get feedback from people about desired and needed improvements to provide better and safer bike and pedestrian access in our neighborhoods and connection our communities, and making some progress on improvements.

The first one is scheduled for Tuesday Sept. 5, at 6:00 p.m. Meet at the Turning Basin Park in Princeton on Alexander Road, and we will walk to look at the conditions of the road at the "S" curve. This is segment of road is known as one of the most dangerous areas in the township and while plans are underway for long-term improvements, I have requested some interim remedies that might help make the road environment better now, like striping the white lines that outline the lanes and new yellow stiping for the center -- both are faded. Some overhead lighting to improve nighttime visabiltiy and a lower speed limit might also be a good start.

West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance

2006-08-09T10:54:00.000-05:00

The WWBPA meets Thursday August 10th at the West Windsor Municipal Center on Clarksville Road at 7:30 p.m.

Check out the NY City StreetsBlog: http://www.streetsblog.org/, thanks Barry!

Central Jersey Transportation Forum 7/20/06

2006-07-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

I attended this morning's Central Jersey Transportation Forum (CJTF). A report on the NJ DOT regional growth strategy will be on the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, DVRPC, Web site at some point; there's nothing urgently happening, the complete report will have more than my notes can possibly provide. Of interest, though, is that the report emphasizes the need to have more residential building in the region. The number of jobs in the region cannot be filled with the exisiting population and leads to more cars on the road as people commute greater distances to jobs.

Work moves ahead for the Route 1 bridge over the Millstone River, with 2007 the target date for awarding final design, 2007-8 for utility and right-of-way work. It would take at least a year to build, even using the "hyper-build" process. The bridge is 100% state funded. Funding for the rest of the Penns Neck Area project presents greater challenges due to its cost. The preliminary designing has been funded. While Marvin Reed (former mayor of Princeton Borough, now on its Planning Board) emphasized the need to build the entire package, it seems that the parts (cut, overpass south of Harrison, and Vaughn Drive) of the preferred alignment D.2.A might be completed separately, since each was designed to be a stand-alone feature, though when combined would work better. I asked about the Bike/Ped study that is to be part of the project; Danielle from the NJDOT will e-mail me information on its status; I'll pass it along when I get it.

There was also discussion about the widening of the Turnpike between 8A and 6. They're using projections out to 2032 when planning for increased lanes and toll booths. I questioned what the impact of new technologies might be to paying one's tolls, since more people are now using EZ Pass. Surely in 25 years there will be better ways, possibly imbedded in the cars, that might obviate having the extra--or any--toll booths.

Walkability Checklist

2006-07-24T14:39:00.000-05:00

Download and complete a Walkability Checklist from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

For other resources to make our communities more bicycle and pedestrian friendly go to Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. The site includes pages for

walkinginfo.org
bicycling info.org
saferoutes.org
pedbikeimages.org
walktoschool.org
iwalktoschool.org

Add AmericaWalks.org to this list of pedestrian advocacy resources. ~ Susan Conlon

Bikeability Checklist

2006-07-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

Download and complete a Bikeability Checklist from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Bike/walk to the community pool!

2006-07-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

Let's try to encourage more people to bicycle or walk to the community pool.

Central Jersey Transportation Forum Meeting

2006-07-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

The Central Jersey Transportation Forum will meet on Thursday morning July 20 at the Sarnoff Corporation on Route 1 at Fisher Place. Details are on the agenda. The meeting is open to the public.

WWBPA Meeting Thursday July 13th at 7:30 p.m.

2006-07-12T08:24:00.000-05:00

The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance will meet on Thursday July 13th at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building on Clarksville Road in West Windsor Township.

Over 100 bikes Collected at the Pedals for Progress Bike Drive

2006-06-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

On behalf of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance we would like to thank everyone for donating to the Pedals for Progress Bike Drive at the West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market at the Princeton Junction Train Station yesterday morning. We collected 105 bicycles (and one portable sewing machine too) along with $1,082 to fund shipment to their destination in Guatemala.

Every year, affluent Americans buy 22 million new bicycles and discard millions of old ones, abandoning many more unused in basements, sheds, and garages; most end-up in our already overburdened landfills. Meanwhile, less fortunate people overseas need cheap, non-polluting transportation to access health care, jobs, markets, and schools.

Pedals for Progress, a New Jersey-based nonprofit, works to foster environmentally sound transportation policies that encourage widespread use of bicycles worldwide along with raising the North American public’s awareness of and providing a channel for responding to the transportation needs of the poor in developing countries. To date PfP has received, processed and donated close to 99,000 bicycles, 500 used sewing machines and $8 million in new spare parts to partner charities in 28 countries.

We would like to also thank our volunteers for donating their time and for their hard work in collecting, preparing and loading the bikes for shipment, including students Mira Bhatia, Sabina Carlson, Mary Conlon, Libby Engel, Gretchen Kieling, Haena Lee, Liz Perez, Roman Soiko, and Nick Wuensch; and adults: Samita Bhatia, Meg and Guiliano Chicco, Steve Decter, Dan Gerstenhaber, Daryl McMillan, Alison Miller, Chris Scherer, and PfP founder Dave Schweidenback. Dave was really great, demonstrating that his comittment for his organization is from bottom to top, by driving and packing the truck, and spending time sharing his stories about his travels to Africa and Central America and we all got a better idea of how the bikes make their way to a "second life" around the world.

We are also grateful to the West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market board members Mireille Delman and Beth Feehan for supporting Pedals for Progress’ mission by hosting the drive at the market again this year and for their cooperation in providing us with such an ideal space to sponsor this event for the community.

If anyone wanted to donate a bicycle but was not able to that day, please visit the Pedals for Progress Web site to locate upcoming collections sites and dates around the state, or we will be happy to accept it next year when we organize a collection again. To find out how you can help the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance and our advocacy and efforts for better bike and pedestrian access, mobility and safety in West Windsor and our neighboring communities, and to find out how you can get involved, please go to our Web site.

Thanks again,

Ken Carlson, President, West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance
Susan Conlon, 2nd Vice-President, West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance

Trails in West Windsor

2006-06-09T10:17:00.000-05:00

Walking the Rogers Preserve Trails Saturday June 3.

Pedals for Progress Bike Drive Saturday June 17

2006-06-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Anyone with an adult or child's bicycle in repairable condition is urged to donate his or her bike to Pedals for Progress for this worthy cause. Bikes can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturday June 17, RAIN OR SHINE, at the West Windsor Community Farmers' Market, on Vaughn Drive off Alexander Road in the parking lot of the Princeton Junction Train Station.

Pedals for Progress collects over 11,000 bicycles annually and has shipped more than 95,000 bicycles to developing countries in Latin American, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. Partner agencies in these countries train community members to recondition the bikes and distribute them at low cost to poor working adults. The bikes provide reliable transportation for the recipients, who use them for commuting to school and work, taking produce to market, or accessing heath care and other services. Pedals for Progress cannot accept “bikes for parts” or disassembled bikes. It costs $28 to collect, process, ship, rebuild and distribute each bicycle. A donation toward shipping costs is necessary (suggested minimum $10 per bike). All cash and material donations are fully tax deductible and a receipt will be available at the collection site. PfP also accepts working portable sewing machines.

The drive is sponsored by the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance. Members and volunteers will help donors unload their bicycles and prepare them for shipping. Last year at the drive in this location 130 bicycles were collected and were shipped to a "second life" in Uganda.

To volunteer to help with the collection or find out more about donating a bike, please contact Susan Conlon by telephone at (609) 936-1916 or by email at susieoco@aol.com; or Ken Carlson by telephone at (609) 275-6355 or email at kecarlson@comcast.net.

Ken's Bike Commute

2006-06-06T14:05:00.000-05:00

West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance

As promised, here's my bike commute: I live off of Rabbit Hill Road and commute to Bristol-Myers Squibb just outside of Pennington. It's a 15 mile commute and generally takes me 1 hour (driving takes me 1/2 hour). I bike commute 1-2 times a week and hopefully will start biking 4-5 days soon. Here's my route:Rabbit Hill Road- Left on Cranbury Road- Right on Princeton Hightstown Road -Cross Route 1 at Washington Road Circle- Washington Road into Princeton- Left on Hodge Rd- Right on Lafeyette Rd- Left on Cleveland- Right on the Great Road- Left on Pretty Brook- Left on Province Line Road- Right on Cleveland Road- Left on Carter Road- Right on Bayberry Road- Left on Pennington-Rocky Hill Road- Right into the Bristol Myers Squibb campus.

The best part: Biking on Bayberry Road which has a bridge out and is closed to cars. The worst part: Crossing Route 1 at the Washington Road Circle (the safest way to cross Route 1 in West Windsor sadly).

We clearly need that dedicated bike/ped bridge over Route 1. Please add your name to the petition to the NJDOT for this bridge. http://www.petitiononline.com/rt1brdg/petition.html

Cheers everyone. Ken

Congratulations on the New Blog!

2006-06-06T12:50:00.000-05:00

I'm Ken Carlson, president of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance. Thanks Susan for setting up this blog. I think it will be a great way for residents in our community (and those in neighboring communities) to share ideas, concerns, and experiences, and to communicate about bicycle and pedestrian issues. One excellent use for this blog is to post bike commute routes and to share bike commuting experiences. I will post my bike commute shortly. Cheers!