Over the past two weeks, several active members of Hoboken’s bicycle community have met twice to establish some base concerns and agenda items to discuss with the new city administration and council.  This first new step, not at all comprehensive or all-inclusive, has been our attempt to better organize and assemble the disparate biking enthusiasts under one umbrella organization; namely, Bike Hoboken.  So, if you have been reading our posts and wondering what’s up, here’s the scoop:

• The city has installed Class II bike lanes along both Madison and Grand Streets this spring
• Anecdotally, ridership has increased slightly in the city, cars are slowing down on striped streets; however, no data exists to support this and double parking in the bike lanes is a serious concern
• The “finishing touches” for Grand and Madison are to be put in place shortly
• Sharrows along the cross-streets, per the preliminary bike plan, are to follow
• Bike Hoboken members have begun to develop a list of agenda items we wish to bring up to the city.  The organizational categories established include Education/Outreach, Infrastructure, Funding/Grants, Business Development/Services, and Policy/Enforcement
• Next steps include prioritization of categorical items, outreach to other bicycle advocacy organizations/agencies at the county and state level, and finally meetings with appropriate city representatives

At this stage, we are trying to assemble everyone interested in the continued expansion and progress of making Hoboken a bicycle friendly city to join this group, sign-up for our emails, attend future meetings, and hopefully volunteer for an item that is particularly dear to your heart.  We have already made huge strides in Hoboken - we’re setting an example for many other cities in New Jersey and beyond - but we have a lot more to do, and you valuable input and participation is most important!

Our next meeting is Thursday, July 23 at 7pm.  If you are interested in attending, please email us.  Cheers!

 NOTE: THE FOLLOWING POSTS WERE RELOCATED FROM THE HOME PAGE WHERE THEY WERE ACCIDENTALLY ADDED.  SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION!

Originally Posted on May 15, 2009

Grand Street Gets its Stripes!

As reported on Hoboken411 today!

Just in time for Bike Month, new bike lanes are being installed along Grand Street this week!  The new lane striping stretches from 9th Street all the way to 3rd Street at the moment, eventually heading all the way down to Newark Street.  Now there are bike lanes heading uptown (along Madison Avenue) and downtown (along Grand Street).  The bike lanes are designed to provide space along excessively wide streets for bicyclists while simultaneously slowing down cars (the narrower lane for cars makes drivers slow down but does not reduce roadway capacity).  Bike lanes are placed on the left side of the street because bikers are three times less likely to be “doored” (a car door opens up unexpectedly) riding on the passenger side of parked cars.  So get out on your bikes this weekend and take a cruise around your Hoboken streets!  Enjoy!

Originally Posted on Friday, April 17, 2009

Bike lanes are going in!  Come ride with us Tomorrow!

In case you haven’t noticed, the pilot bike lanes along Madison and Grand Streets have gradually begun being painted over the past weeks.  The dashed lines are preliminary guides, which are then covered with the solid white lanes with bike/man/arrow pavement markings.  Finished lanes are in along Madison from Observer Highway to Seventh Street.  The rest of Madison and then Grand will go in over the next weeks, weather permitting. 

Hoboken411 and HobokenNow both reported on the new bike lanes today.  Also, to celebrate the new shared use of our public space (a.k.a. our streets), we are going to ride along the new bike lanes and then continue around Hoboken tomorrow, Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 3:30PM.  Follow this link for Bike Ride details. 

Originally Posted in November 2008

Share the road signs installed

Hoboken411 spotted one of the “Share The Road” signs that are going up around town. They were installed as a result of legislation passed by the city council in October. Bike lanes and “sharrows” are still expected to be painted soon.

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Originally Posted on October 2, 2008

Bike lanes coming to Hoboken!

On October 1, 2008, the Hoboken City Council unanimously (9-0) passed an ordinance to create bicycle lanes on the left hand side of Madison and Grand streets. “Sharrows” are also planned for Bloomfield, Garden, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th, 12th and 13th streets.