Editor’s Note: This letter was sent to Jerry Foster, president of West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance.
I was stunned by the news about the North Post Road meeting from the article in the Packet of June 26. Hey residents, what town do you live in? And what town was the first in New Jersey to be cited by the League of American Bicyclists for being a bicycling friendly town in New Jersey? And what town has more bike lane mileage than any other town in the adjacent counties of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, or Hunterdon?
And where does North Post Road lead to? Does it lead to the train station? Do people ride bikes to the train station? Why do you think that occurs? If the demand for car-parking was less than the supply of parking spaces at the train station, do the residents think there would be as many people bicycling to the train station? Would you residents like it better if there were signs there like there are on South Street, Morristown, and Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown, that cyclists may use the full lane?
That is what I wish to do. Use the full lane. I wish to do that during rush hour when the commuters from West Windsor and Hamilton are trying to get to the train station. Let’s have our own version of Occupy Wall Street called Occupy North Post Road. Let’s have a Critical Mass Bike Ride when commuters will be most inconvenienced.
I ask the residents who spoke out against bike lanes at the meeting: how are bike lanes working in the rest of West Windsor? Has there been much confusion about where the bicycle rider is supposed to ride on the affected roadways? So why will there be a problem on North Post Road? Because the most vocal residents will lose a few feet, length-wise, off their front lawns? Are the residents so selfish that they are more concerned about not having as much grass to cut than they are about the welfare of the township of West Windsor?
Bike lanes have worked in West Windsor from day one. As you know, I was concerned about the so-called “missing bike lanes.” I applaud your efforts to have bike lanes where they are of the most critical importance: on the roads closest to the train station. I hope this is not the end of the road for bike lanes on North Post Road.
Daniel Rappoport
Princeton
