Downtown H.P. still a no-mans-land for bicycles

Albert Valeri, a frequent bicyclist in the New Brunswick/Highland Park area, was ticketed this summer on the New Brunswick side of the Albany Street Bridge for riding on the sidewalk.

The ticket was soon dismissed by the city prosecutor, though; it turns out the New Brunswick ordinance that prohibited sidewalk riding was deleted last year, during a regulation overhaul.

In New Brunswick, there is talk of reinstating the sidewalk ban. But Highland Park has no ordinance governing where cyclists should ride, according to a borough patrolman who requested anonymity.

Despite several e-mails and telephone messages, Lieutenant Gary Panichella, the borough's traffic safety officer, could not be reached for comment.

The most recent Highland Park Master Plan, released by the borough in 2003, recognizes the popularity and civic benefits of both bike and pedestrian transport. The borough's goals propose directing bicycle traffic onto Magnolia Street as an alternative to Raritan Avenue. A network of more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly routes would avoid the state and county highways when possible.

Kristin Hunter Thompson, who usually commutes to work on the Rutgers University Cook campus by bicycle, admits to often riding on the sidewalk, “because it scares me to ride in the street here.”

Ms. Thompson recently moved to HP from Portland, Oregon. While she is “still getting used to the way people drive around here” her husband rides in the street to the New Brunswick train station every morning.

“I think it’s better to ride in the street but drivers need to be more aware of bikers,” Thompson stated.

Mendez Dominguez also commutes by bicycle between Highland Park and New Brunswick; this reporter stopped him as he rode in the street.

“There can be problems sometimes with the drivers, but generally they give me space without any problems,” Dominguez said in his native Spanish.

Chris Gerber, a car commuter between New Brunswick and Saiff Drugs on Raritan Avenue, would prefer if bikes were all in the street.

“Sometimes it’s more dangerous on the sidewalk and they shoot out suddenly; they should be following the signals like the cars,” Gerber said.

Darcie Cimarusti, a pedestrian who identified herself as "a Highland Park mom," said she has “definitely had to stop and get out of the way of bicyles” on the sidewalk.

“It seems much more unsafe for walkers than anybody” when bikes are present on the sidewalk, Cimarusti says.

p>John Leggett, a retired Rutgers University professor, frequently walks around the borough and says he's never been bothered by sidewalk cycling. But Leggett agrees that the sidewalks should be for pedestrians, with bike lanes provided on both sides of the automotive traffic.

“I used to live in Davis, California, where I taught before coming to Rutgers. That was a city of 75,000 people, there were bike lanes everywhere and it worked great,” Leggett concluded.

Ana Leonatarakis, owner of a commercial building on Raritan Avenue, says there is “normally no issue. It is only recently, with all the renovations they're doing, that traffic gets congested. It's more dangerous.”

 

Leonatarakis referred to the borough's Streetscape construction, installing new sidewalks, curbs, and amenities along three blocks of the downtown. The streetscape improvements come during the same weeks as the New Jersey Department of Transportation's extensive re-paving and painting work along the length of Raritan Avenue and Lincoln Highway through Highland Park.

The three-block streetscape project, which is primarily financed through grants and a long-term community development loan to the Highland Park Business Improvement District, has a total cost of $2,165,095.

Neither project, renovating the roadway or the sidewalks, appears to include any bicycle lanes -- although this sampling of commuters and pedestrians in Highland Park would consider them a welcome improvement.

[Construction of the sidewalks and amenities began in mid-August 2011, and appears to be about half finished. Borough Councilmember Padraic Millet declined to provide an update on the project or any estimate for its completion. - Ed.]