Ride bicycle on the street?

As an aside from the thread about the new bike shop, is anyone else afraid to bicycle on the streets in this area?  If so, where do you go to ride?  I've been up and down the road from the dog park to Washington Rock enough.  

If you do ride on the streets, what precautions if any do you take to make yourself more visible to cars?  I have a flag, white light in front, red light in back and reflector strip on the back of my seat, but I'm still frightened.  Are there any streets in Maplewood that are safer than others for non-motorized traffic?


mulemom said:

As an aside from the thread about the new bike shop, is anyone else afraid to bicycle on the streets in this area?  If so, where do you go to ride?  I've been up and down the road from the dog park to Washington Rock enough.  

If you do ride on the streets, what precautions if any do you take to make yourself more visible to cars?  I have a flag, white light in front, red light in back and reflector strip on the back of my seat, but I'm still frightened.  Are there any streets in Maplewood that are safer than others for non-motorized traffic?

 Yeah, I won't ride in the street. My husband is more intrepid. We ride together at Liberty State Park, Loantaka Park, Sandy Hook, and of course, at Washington Rock, but that's a little boring.


Bike riders are s'posed to ride on the streets, not on sidewalks. Driving your bike to a destination and riding on a bike path is fine.

Wearing reflective gear is advisable. lights are even better. Both together, are the best.


When you are on your bike, you do not have right of way at a crosswalk. Pedestrians do. You don't.

--- hope this helps.



Formerlyjerseyjack said:


When you are on your bike, you do not have right of way at a crosswalk. Pedestrians do. You don't.

--- hope this helps.

 Even in the case of crosswalks with traffic lights?


the_18th_letter said:

 Even in the case of crosswalks with traffic lights?

 At a crosswalk with traffic lights, you have the same rights and limitations as a motor vehicle. If you are "walking" the bike, that is different.


New Jersey presents challenges to bike riders, but, overall, we live in a great place for cycling!  There is an extensive network of 25 MPH residential streets and 35 MPH roads connecting Maplewood to neighboring towns/counties.  The major threat to bike safety is cars (duh).  The problem is that very few motorists actually obey the law by adhering to posted speed limits and coming to a full stop at stop signs.  It is our driving culture, but it is WRONG and it is DANGEROUS.  In addition, NJ doesn't have a "4 foot" rule, like many other states, requiring a 4 foot right of way around cyclists.

Take my story as an example of the good and bad side of cycling in NJ:  I am an experienced cyclist.  I used to ride daily, including commuting to work by bike, in all 4 seasons, no matter what the weather.  I am in my 50's and have ridden all my life (got my first bike on my 7th birthday and haven't looked back).  I used to be a bike messenger in the city and I even drove a "Pedicab", carrying tourists around in the city.   The GOOD:  As a result of my conditioning (full disclosure:  I also play soccer once or twice per week) I eat whatever I want and don't gain weight, people generally say I look 10 years younger than I am, my BP is usually around 110 over 60 (even though I put salt on everything), and I am super energetic.  The BAD:  Last Summer, I was struck by a car that ran a stop sign and "T-Boned" me, giving me severe head and neck injuries, from which I am still recovering.  I recently had surgery on my spine, from which I am recovering.  I can't wait to return to cycling.  I haven't given it a second thought about IF I will return.  It's simply a matter of WHEN.  However, when I return to the "mean streets" of NJ, I will be even more vigilant than I was in the past.  My assumption will no longer be that a car at a stop sign will stop.  Any car that has not stopped yet, I will assume will roll through the stop sign and hit me.  That means that I will be stopping a lot--A LOT.  My advice to you is to do the same.   Since stopping that much on a bike is super annoying, I suggest you bike in off-peak hours.  It's amazing how few cars there are on the roads in the most densely populated state in the nation, especially if you bike at 7:00 AM on a Sunday morning.

Consider advocating for cyclists in Maplewood and NJ.  One thing you can do is to join the NJ Bike and Walk Coalition (NJBWC).  They are advocacy group fighting for the rights of cyclists in the state.  They are trying to get the 4 foot rule passed.  They also support the development of greenways.  The are also helping to raise funds to build "bike depots" at train stations--safe  areas for bike storage while you are at work or shopping in town.

As far as biking Maplewood goes, I like to wind my way from the Tuscan School area to Seton Hall on residential streets.  Then, I head down the hill through the Montrose area up the hill to Wyoming Avenue, staying on 25 MPH residential streets (NOT S. O. Ave.!).  Wyoming Avenue has a generous shoulder, and is fine to cycle on, but it is CRAZY getting across S. O. Avenue.  Experienced cyclists hold the lane and continue through the light, like a car.  If that scares you, just use the pedestrian crossings and walk your bike across S.O. Ave..  Use the sidewalk to get down Wyoming Avenue a little way before remounting and continuing.  Once you get to Millburn, make a left on Glen Avenue, which turns into Ridgewood Road.  Then, you can cut through town and you're back in the Tuscan School neighborhood.  There are many variations of this loop.  You may not want to bike this whole route, or you may want to drop in and explore some of the back streets in town, or extend your tour to do more cycling in Short Hills, Chatham, Summit, etc..  

Share the road and enjoy it more!  


Yes, this is true, though in NJ this particular rule is governed by local ordinance, not state law. 
I do ride on multi use paths but sometimes don't have the time to load up the trike and haul it somewhere, so was wondering if there were any safe local trips.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

Bike riders are s'posed to ride on the streets, not on sidewalks. Driving your bike to a destination and riding on a bike path is fine.


 

Thanks 1984 for your great reply, and I'm sorry to hear about your accident.  Hope you recover fully and quickly!

Stopping often is definitely good advice, and not a hassle for me since I ride a recumbent trike  smile

Thanks also for the route plan - I will try parts of it, not fit enough right now to do the whole thing in one go.  Hills are problematic too - often the fitness app in my phone will auto pause the workout while I'm climbing, because it thinks I've stopped moving.


marylago said:

 Yeah, I won't ride in the street. My husband is more intrepid. We ride together at Liberty State Park, Loantaka Park, Sandy Hook, and of course, at Washington Rock, but that's a little boring.

 Thanks!  Haven't tried Loantaka or Liberty yet, will do!  Washington Rock is my go-to for a quick ride when I don't have time to drive half an hour or more to a trail, but yeah, it does get old pretty soon.


I agree that cars are the most dangerous threat to cyclists.  Drivers in NJ can be a-holes and rarely come to full stops at stop signs and speed on a regular basis.  However, I see many cyclists disobeying stop signs, red lights, and not giving right of way to pedestrians.  If we ALL could obey traffic laws, it would be a much safer place for cyclists. 


yahooyahoo:  couldn't agree more -- we need to work on this problem as a society.  "A rising tide lifts all boats."  If we make this a national priority, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers will all benefit.  Last year, the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) estimated that there were 6,590 pedestrians fatalities in the USA.  The number of fatalities has been rising over the past 10 years as more people drive SUV's (more deadly than cars) and possibly because more people are using cell phones while driving (article here).  The number of cyclists killed in 2018 in traffic accidents was 857, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)  (article here).  This number has also been rising over the past 10 years.  I couldn't find the national number of pedestrians killed by bicyclists, however the average in NYC has been 1 pedestrian killed by a cyclist each year over the last 7 years (article here).  There has been an average of 138 pedestrians killed by cars each year in NYC in the same period, according to the same article.  I like biking in the city, but I have to agree that there are a lot of careless bikers there.  I have found a lot of the electric bicyclist delivery guys are reckless, riding around 30 mph in the bike lane and passing without warning.  With all that said, I'd like my children and grandchildren to grow up in a world where people respect the road and the people on it.  That's going to require a culture shift.  When I went to court to attend the trial of the motorist who hit me, I witnessed case after case of drivers charged with DWI.  I was sickened by both the sheer number of perpetrators and the trivial sentences handed down.  Navigating a lethal weapon through crowded streets while drunk is like firing a gun into a crowd.  You may or may not hit someone, but you are definitely endangering their lives.  We need to get serious about the safety of everyone on the roads.  People are dying and it is within our power as a society to make this problem go away.


To me, visibility (conspicuocity is the term used by N.H.T.S.A.) is the issue. If the driver or pedestrian can't see you, an accident is more likely to happen. This is especially true in twilight and night time riding. I seldom see riders before 9 a.m.

I have seen bicyclists wearing black and with no illumination. I have seen riders with rear lights and no front, white lights and vice versa. 



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