Funding is up in the air, and on-the-ground solutions are limited.
But an updated bicycle plan was presented to the Morristown Planning Board on Thursday night– just to get the wheels turning.
Morristown’s congested streets leave scant room for bike lanes, so the proposal is heavy on lane-sharing strategies and educating cyclists and motorists to make room for each other.
“Community outreach will teach cyclists and drivers they have the right to use the roadway, and they have responsibilities on the roadway,” said board member Stefan Armington, who presented the plan. He helped craft the initial document starting in 2007 as a member of the town environmental commission.
Stefan and fellow cyclists are hoping the expanded bike plan will be incorporated into the town’s zoning master plan, so that cycling issues are factored into planning decisions. The board referred the matter to its long-range planning committee, which meets in January.
Mayor Tim Dougherty’s administration has applied for a state Department of Transportation grant to help fund proposed lane-share markings, signs and education campaigns.
Another DOT grant paid for a Hamilton consulting firm, Michael J. Baker Inc., to prepare the updated bike plan earlier this year.
The plan calls for lanes greater than 14 feet wide to have graphical “share the road” signs spaced 1,000 feet apart. For narrower roads, signs would remind motorists that bicycles may occupy full lanes.
Longterm goals include further study of such major thoroughfares as Speedwell, Ridgedale, Lafayette and Madison avenues; portions of South and James streets; and the streets ringing the Morristown Green, for possible lane width reductions, removal of parking and other traffic flow measures.
Another longterm goal is connecting off-road trails between Morristown and Morris Township. Ideally, these might include portions of Patriots Path, the Traction Line and the path bordering Lake Pocahontas.
Short-term, the plan calls for creation of a bicycle advocacy board and more data analysis of Morristown bicycle traffic, along with the signage and lane markings. Here is the complete document.
Only a handful of cyclists attended the presentation. There was stiff competition across town–Marty Epstein of Marty’s Reliable Cycle was announcing a Gran Fondo cycling event that he is co-sponsoring next summer in Morristown. He aims to attract thousands of cyclists to a three-day extravaganza.
Still, a couple of people came out to praise the bike plan. Massoud Messroub serves on trail and environmental committees in Morris Township and welcomed the possibility of linking more trails with Morristown.
Carolle Huber of Grow It Green Morristown was hopeful, too.
“My family always enjoys taking bicycles on vacations, and it’s nice to be in towns with special bike lanes,” she said. “It would be so nice if Morristown could be like that.”
One of the biggest challenges for bike planners will be convincing cyclists to abandon town sidewalks–where cycling actually is illegal–to pedal in the streets. More than half of 23 Morristown accidents between bicycles and cars since 2002 involved cyclists biking from sidewalks into traffic, according to a recent study.
“Clearly for everyone, except the most experienced riders, data shows a lot of accidents result from riding on the sidewalk,” Stefan said.
