It’s finally official. Morristown has a bike plan.
On Thursday the planning board voted unanimously to approve the 90-page document, culminating efforts stretching back to 2007.
The plan aims to get cyclists off sidewalks by creating shared street lanes via re-striping and signs. It also calls for bike safety education programs, and for studies about widening or narrowing certain roadways.
It amounts to a policy statement, said Phil Abramson of Jonathan Rose Companies, the town’s planning firm.
“This provides guidance to the town engineer when they’re resurfacing roads… It ties in with the town’s Complete Streets policy, for the bicycle part. It says, ‘This is what we will try to do,'” Phil said.
“This is so exciting,” said Kendra Arnold of Bike and Walk Morristown.
Improving the town’s biking infrastructure will benefit local businesses, said Cyndi Steiner, executive director of the New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition.
“When people bike through town, they’re more likely to stop and spend money,” said Cyndi. Morristown is among the state’s most progressive municipalities when it comes to cycling issues, “running right behind” Montclair, she said.
The plan incorporates elements from the town’s environmental commission and the state Department of Transportation. Its biggest advocate, Stefan Armington, who got things rolling as an environmental commissioner in 2007, could not attend Thursday’s meeting.
Mayor Tim Dougherty praised the work by Stefan, who now serves as the town council’s liaison to the planning board.
The bike plan is one component of the town’s zoning master plan, which is being overhauled this year. That process will heat up next month.
A public kickoff is scheduled for April 22, with an open house at the Hyatt Morristown from 5:30 pm to 8 pm. On April 23 and 24, daytime sessions will be held at 18 North Park Place. The series winds down on April 25 with a presentation at the Hyatt, again from 5:30 pm to 8 pm.
