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Credit: Nick Romanenko
Bicycle paths, such as the one above on
the Cook/Douglass campus, are good for
recreation and travel within Rutgers’
campuses, but navigating downtown New
Brunswick on two wheels is less than
leisurely. Rutgers and Middlesex County
officials are working to change that by
adding bicycle lanes along heavily
traveled roads.
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The urban bicyclist has a long list of nemeses: potholes, poorly timed traffic signals, shards of glass, harried commuters and “doorers” – those parked drivers who swing open their car doors and threaten to send cyclists hurtling toward the pavement.
That’s what happens when bicyclists, parked cars and harried drivers have to divvy up limited street space. “These are major issues you have to work around as a biker,” said Keri Tyler, a project coordinator at the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center and an avid street cyclist. “Plus, drivers are in a cocoon. They’re distracted and they pay attention to other cars – not bikers.”
Officials from Rutgers and Middlesex County are taking steps to remedy those side effects. Last week, they took the first steps to gauge what the public wants in a bikeway that connects the College Avenue and Cook/Douglass campuses and makes it easier to navigate the streets of downtown New Brunswick on two wheels.
For the New Brunswick campus, additional bike routes could provide a valuable alternative to crowded buses and congested downtown roads, problems that are expected to continue as the state Department of Transportation proceeds with the widening of Route 18 from Route 1 to the Amtrak rail bridge. That project, which will also add walkways and bike paths, wraps up in 2009.
“There is a great demand for bicycling routes downtown that would provide safer and more appealing options for travelers,” said Jack Molenaar, director of parking and transportation services at Rutgers. “The existing roads are used by many cyclists, but they are very crowded and weren’t designed for cycling.”
The quest for bike paths dates back more than 20 years on the Banks, driven by students and faculty looking for healthy, inexpensive and environmentally friendly ways to travel between campuses. Over time, the university improved bicycle access within campuses, but getting to and from those separated by major highways or busy urban streets still posed a challenge.
“While the campuses are generally bike-friendly, it’s the city streets that connect the campus that need a lot of attention,” said Frank Wong, executive director of the Office of University Planning and Development. “It’s a complex process because there are multiple stakeholders.”
In a 2002 study, planning firms French & Parello and the RBA Group identified nine possible corridors that could serve as main cycling routes connecting disparate ends of New Brunswick: Albany Street/Route 27/French Street, Livingston Avenue, Commercial Avenue, Neilson Street, George Street, College Avenue, Easton Avenue, and Suydam Street/Courtland Street. A potential route could be comprised of more than one of these streets. The plans would link to existing and planned bike paths on the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses and between the College Avenue and Busch and Livingston campuses.
The firms, along with Rutgers and Middlesex County officials, held a focus group last week for members of the university community and a public information session for Middlesex County residents. Attendees filled out feedback forms and indicated which of the nine potential corridors they would prefer. The firms presented two maps illustrating the proposed bikeways and potential accommodations, such as road widening or eliminating parking. One map presented an “optimal scheme” that would create designated bike lanes on busy streets. An alternative scheme proposed shared lanes, areas between parking and travel lanes that can be shared between bikes and other vehicles.
“There are many levels of experience and comfort levels,” said Denise Chaplick, a senior planner with the RBA Group. “Some people are very apprehensive of riding in traffic. By providing an exclusive bike lane with stripes and a logo, we’re providing more comfort for more riders.” Chaplick added that shared lanes are one foot narrower than exclusive bike lanes.
Andrea Kuhar, a Douglass College junior, is one of those inexperienced bikers. “I never rode a bike at school until this semester,” Kuhar said. She joined a “bike library” on campus where, for $20 a month, members swap bicycles and parts for building bicycles. Kuhar built a “cruiser,” a heavy bike that’s unattractive but well-suited for making the daily trip down George Street from Douglass campus to her classes on College Avenue.
“It’s great for transportation,” Kuhar said. “I always take George Street, which is really dangerous actually.” Still, it takes a fraction of the time it would take using the campus bus system. “It takes 10 minutes. Some people take Suydam Street and go down Hamilton to avoid the traffic, but that adds a lot of time.”
Suydam Street is one of the few streets in New Brunswick that is well-suited for the addition of bike lanes, Chaplick said. While only sections of some roads, like College Avenue or Neilson Street, would easily accommodate bike lanes, all of Suydam Street could welcome bikers and automobile drivers. Suydam Street provides a direct connection between the College Avenue and Cook/Douglass campuses.
“What makes a street suitable are factors like road width, volume, whether parking is present, and others,” Chaplick said.
In order to create harmony between cyclists and drivers on Easton Avenue, street parking would have to be eliminated. George Street would have to be widened to do the same. “This is not necessarily what is going to happen in reality,” Chaplick said. “Removing parking is probably not an option.”
There has been some progress. Among the recent improvements, upgrades to Route 18 between the John Lynch Bridge and Hoes Lane included a two-mile bicycle path over the John Lynch Bridge that linked to College Avenue and Busch campus bikeways. The path, opened last year, is 10-feet-wide, allowing enough room for walkers and cyclists to make the journey. It features lighting and security phones.
-Pam Orel contributed to this article.
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