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Box truck driver hits pedestrian on Newark Ave.; critical condition
#61
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The driver of a box truck told police he didn't see the pedestrian before hitting him at the corner of Newark and Tonnelle in Little India.

Pedestrian left in critical condition

Posted on: 2017/1/11 21:15
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#62
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Quote:

dtjcview wrote:

Aren't school buses the solution to that?


Maybe for kids who live far away from their schools. A better solution is kids walking or biking or using existing mass transit, all things that I did as a kid in both NYC and the burbs.

Today we have a vicious cycle: Parents say it's too dangerous or time-consuming for kids to bike or walk everywhere, so they drive the kids to school, creating more car traffic, which makes it even more dangerous and time-consuming for everyone.

One study found that 22% of morning rush-hour traffic is parents driving kids to school.

Posted on: 2016/9/23 21:56
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#63
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Quote:

dtjcview wrote:

Closing off the local streets adjacent to schools during school hours would be a great start.


That could work. I think some NYC schools get to use a closed-off block as their recess playground.

Make sure to keep it closed well after school ends, to limit unnecessary SUV parent pickups of said children.

Posted on: 2016/9/23 17:57
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#64
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Quote:

manu wrote:

That was exactly my point.
Big carfree cities are not realistic. However, carfree neighborhood/area should be created and mass transportation infrastructure should be developed to decrease the reliance on cars.


Agree in full. The ped plaza (and before that, turning Newark Ave. into a fire road through Grove Plaza) is a good start on making the densest areas car-free, at least at some hours.

Neighborhood streets in Amsterdam and other cities in northern Europe, while they do allow cars, often have segments carved out of them that are totally car-free. These serve as short-cuts for bikes and peds. I would welcome that solution for, say, Downtown JC, rather than trying to make whole streets or neighborhoods completely car-free, at least in the near future.

But hey, if you can get my Hamilton Park neighborhood to be completely car-free, I ain't mad at ya!

Posted on: 2016/9/23 15:34
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#65
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OK, any further comments about which European places are, or are not, completely car-free are dilatory strawmanning.

VERY few places in the world, mostly very small ones, are completely car-free. That's beside the point.

The point is that many cities and towns, large and small, treat cars as a tertiary mode, with bikes, walking, light rail, and other mass transit dominating. Amsterdam is the best big city, but others are also great. Driving laws and enforcement are tough. Separated bike paths abound on bigger arterial roads, while smaller residential streets are relentlessly traffic-calmed, with speed tables and bumpouts at every crosswalk, textured surfaces, deliberately narrow lanes, etc. So you can own a car, and you can drive, but you will drive slower and, within a neighborhood, probably make a couple more turns.

A typical two-way arterial boulevard in Amsterdam has one narrow lane in each direction for cars, a tram track in each direction with boarding islands, two wide cycle tracks a few feet away from the car lanes, and two sidewalks outside that. Many of those streets, 40 years ago, were four- or six-lane monstrosities catering solely to the car. They changed. We must too.

Posted on: 2016/9/22 19:49
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#66
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I'm fine with making the use of existing parking more effective, including Candice's efforts and what OneSkirt said. Those moves tend to help people who actually live and work here, and to meet the reasonable expectations people had when they moved in.

Just don't try making more of it. More parking spaces, more problems, ultimately. Especially for drivers.

Posted on: 2016/9/22 19:21
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#67
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Quote:

Sutherland wrote:
That's actually a very interesting proposition. Personally, I would prefer not to drive at all. I worked in Manhattan for 22 years after college. If I didn't absolutely have to have a car I wouldn't. I lived in my brownstone for the first three years without a car. Then circumstances changed and I absolutely had to have a car. Then, since I had a car I started using it more. I hate nothing more than sitting in traffic or even driving to work on a daily basis. The lack of parking only exacerbates my sentiments and frustration with the entire issue.


Let's accept that you can't live without a car. Then your focus should STILL be on reducing car ownership and driving by OTHERS who have more options. You don't do that by building more parking. You do it by enabling biking and walking with better street engineering and enforcement. By demanding better mass transit, etc.?even if you, personally, never use it.

I just got back from 10 days in the bike paradises of Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Guess what? There are still a lot of cars there. Some of them parked on streets or in little bays just off the streets. But there are so many other options, the cars and drivers aren't making EACH OTHER miserable.

In fact, just yesterday, the makers of the Waze driving app rated Amsterdam the best city in the world TO DRIVE IN. Just let that sink in for a second.

Driving and car ownership in cities is inherently very flawed, at best. And one of the worst things about it is OTHER CARS AND DRIVERS. Reduce those numbers, and even as a driver, you'll be happier.

Posted on: 2016/9/22 18:14
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#68
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Any drivers arguing for more parking to reduce competition for it, wherever and however cleverly it's obtained, are only hurting themselves.

Sure, there are ways to increase parking space in Hamilton Park and in JC. But there's NO way to increase DRIVING space. The latter is finite. And the former feeds it.

So when you make more room for car storage, you get more cars in storage. Guess what happens when you try to drive? Those cars come out of their brandy new garages and get right in front of you, and you sit in traffic.

Posted on: 2016/9/22 17:37
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#69
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Quote:

Sutherland wrote:
... The parking issue in the Hamilton Park area has changed detrimentally in the last 3 years.


Yes, of course, the road congestion and parking competition didn't make themselves felt all at once, the minute the population trend turned around. It took time for old housing to be renovated, new housing to be built, the city's reputation to change, etc.

Now the water that was filling the tub is starting to slop over the sides.

Posted on: 2016/9/21 16:42
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Re: Parking Issues Around Hamilton Park
#70
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Quote:

Sutherland wrote:
...Certainly 20 years ago, JC was a city as it is now. However, parking was not an issue when I moved here as it is now. The only issue is the excessive and poorly planned development.


No, it wasn't a city as it is now. It was a city in highly unusual circumstances, namely, it was just starting to recover from a major cratering of its population. The highest population of JC was in like the 30s or 40s; it's just getting back to its former level now, albeit with larger housing spaces than the tenements of yore.

In the meantime, as with many US cities in the midst of the Great White Flight to suburbia, it was relatively easy to get around by car in JC. The streetcar and bus system was gutted, further investments in transit weren't made, but it didn't really matter.

Now those chickens are coming home to roost. The US is realizing that city living is far more efficient and economically and socially dynamic than endless suburban sprawl, and our population is returning to its former levels and will soon surpass them.

What's missing is, as others have said, major reinvestments in transit, alternative transportation such as biking and walking, and other techniques that modern cities around the world have been and are continuing to adopt. That's what's needed here, not some magic parking bullet.

Yes, parking (and driving) privately owned passenger cars in a modern city is inherently flawed, and it was always an accident that it worked here as long as it did. All that is over.

Posted on: 2016/9/21 16:08
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Re: Crash on Jersey Ave, Friday Night Aug 5
#71
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On the street design side, Bike JC is about to renew our campaign for Grand Street, including protected bike lanes and various traffic calming methods. We'll be collecting petition signatures, engaging a consultant to produce design renderings, and drumming up public support.

I hope you'll join us and support this and similar initiatives. Bike JC will be talking and listening about this plan (and other bike matters) at our upcoming open meeting, Thursday, 8 p.m. at the Team Walker Learning Center, 373 Communipaw Ave. at Halladay Street. All are welcome.

Posted on: 2016/9/19 19:08
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Re: Crash on Jersey Ave, Friday Night Aug 5
#72
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Quote:

T-Bird wrote:
Uh, quite true. I don't disagree with anything you've said, other than the likelihood of it coming to pass. Saying enforcement is too expensive so it shouldn't be the answer is wide of the mark. Nothing you are proposing will be done over night - in the mean time, people will continue to die because of the indifference of those who are tasked with setting policy and enforcing the law. Daily I see people traveling in excess of 50 mph on Grand - and not just in the wide parts. Sure, they get a head of steam up west of Jersey, but if the lights at Jersey and Grove are in their favor they just continue to barrel along. Frequent enforcement and stiff fines are needed - not saying it will completely change behavior but it is insane how little effort is made to bring any of this under control.

Don't get me wrong - I cycle daily, including on Grand. I fully support what you are after and have worked in parallel in the past to try to achieve these types of things. In the meantime, four or five people have died on Grand street in the past seven years. You can't just throw up your hands and say enforcement is expensive and give up.


The original comment was absolutist: "Only three things are going to bring this stuff under control: enforcement, enforcement, and more enforcement."

Not true.

And some of the solutions I proposed can be done quickly and inexpensively; in fact, that's increasingly the model today. Speed humps and tables, corner bumpouts, etc. can be done as pilots and emergency measures, providing both testing and public awareness and acceptance for more permanent installations.

Also, I never "threw up my hands" and said give up on enforcement. We should have more of that too, and right quick.

Posted on: 2016/9/15 20:23
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Re: Crash on Jersey Ave, Friday Night Aug 5
#73
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Quote:

La_Verdad wrote:
The speed limit is 25. Nothing should flip at 25. Or 30. Similarly, I happened upon a serious collision at Marin and Grand Tuesday evening - a car traveling eastbound on Grand had broadsided some sort of mini vanSuv-let that left so much damage that the car had to be going 45, at a minimum.

Only three things are going to bring this stuff under control: enforcement, enforcement, and more enforcement.


Not true. Enforcement helps, but it is costly and has to be kept up consistently, basically forever.

Our streets?especially wide "arterial" racetracks like Grand, need substantial redesign to physically force drivers to slow down.

"Road diets" have been repeatedly proven to do this, shrinking the width and number of traffic lanes, and usually using the saved space for bike lanes, pedestrian islands, and other safe, green features. One example can be seen on Hoboken's Observer Highway, where car space was reduced.

The nonprofit advocacy group Bike JC, of which I am a board member, is campaigning for exactly that on Grand Street. Please join us in supporting this much-needed change to our streets.

Posted on: 2016/9/15 14:58
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Re: Your Home's "Walk Score"
#74
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Yyyyyyup. Bike-friendliness increases value too, e.g., homes near a separated bike track sell for more, retail businesses along protected bike lanes on average see a healthy increase in sales.

The article speculates that the rise of Uber et al, and self-driving cars, will soon cancel out the perceived benefits of walk-friendliness.

I don't buy it. Being able to walk or bike most everywhere you want to go (even if you use mass transit or Uber for the hardest trips) is more than the solution to a math problem about transportation. It's a whole 'nother way of living, one with all kinds of side benefits. Once you've done it for a while, you don't usually want to stop. I know I don't.

Posted on: 2016/8/11 18:01
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Re: Firefighters battle 3-alarm blaze in Downtown JC
#75
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Grove Street Bikes tweeted that their shop is closed until further notice due to the fire.

Posted on: 2016/8/10 16:22
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Re: Monty's Public House
#76
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Maybe they switched away from "Monty's" because of the Monty Hall WFMU performance venue?

Posted on: 2016/8/9 18:33
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Re: Citi Bike
#77
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>>...imagine the outrage if CitiBike starts taking over what some neighbors and businesses consider to be "prime spots".

We don't even have to imagine, since they've been through dozens of dock-siting controversies in NYC and in the initial JC rollout:

In a park? Ruining the view.
Historic district? George Washington never rode one (but 1000 modern parked cars are fine).
Heavy foot traffic? It'll be in the way.
Light foot traffic? Too far out of the way.
On a county road? City doesn't have jurisdiction.

Etc.

My personal favorite was the parents at a NYC school who basically said their children would be kidnapped and murdered by the undesirable element a dock would attract to the area.

Anyway, the initial position of a new dock is often already an obvious compromise based on known objections, and then some get moved later, for reasons good and less good. You'll get the ideal locations when we have the ideal civic culture.

Posted on: 2016/8/4 13:51
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Re: BIKE LANES in Jersey City
#78
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Grand Street would be a GREAT place for Jersey City's first protected bike lane. Bike JC is campaigning for exactly that (#GrandStreetVision), though ultimately it's only one place PBLs are needed.

The city has been exploring grants for a better bike lane network, and has asked us (Bike JC) for ideas, which we appreciate, but however it's done and funded it needs to happen. We all need to make that clear to everyone in charge, especially anyone who still opposes it.

Hoboken has a protected bikeway on Observer Highway and sounds like they are willing to build more; Newark has one on Mount Prospect Ave. and has firm plans for several more as part of a comprehensive bike network in the Ironbound neighborhood. This is what modern cities do, and we need to do it too, period.

Expect to hear more about this very soon.

You haven't heard about a lot of Citi Bike riders getting killed or injured for the simple reason that bike shares, in every single place they operates, have a great safety record. The short-term rental structure and the bikes (especially the heavy, stable, upright bikes that Citi Bike uses) promote slow, workaday journeys, to work, to the market, to school ... That's why, e.g., despite tens of millons of trips, it was only recently that the U.S. saw its first fatality on a bike share bike (in Chicago).

Posted on: 2016/7/21 15:10
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
#79
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Grove Street Bikes has resumed doing rides every Sunday morning, usually moderately fast (15-22 mph) road rides to the GWB and back, and sometimes beyond. No drop.

They meet 7:30 a.m. at their shop at 365 Grove St. (please note the shop is not open at this time), and leave at 8. They say they are now doing it every Sunday except for holidays and bad weather.

Just show up with your bike!

Grove St. Bikes, and the Bike JC nonprofit advocacy group, which I'm a part of, both also do occasional slow cruises, light-up rides, family-oriented rides, etc., but I don't think that's what you're talking about!

Posted on: 2016/7/19 17:22
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Re: What location was your bike stolen from (time, type of lock, etc)?
#80
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JCPD East District (Downtown plateau) just issued a warning that bike thefts are increasing, including thefts of bikes locked inside parking garages. They're urging cyclists to use bigger, better locks and/or keep bikes inside their homes when possible.

Posted on: 2016/6/30 17:13
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#81
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Quote:

Monroe wrote:
What was the final tally of participating riders?


Dunno yet.

We had 2,185 sign up online, breaking last year's record of 2,068. We're sure it would have been more like 2,300 or 2,400, but the bad forecast dampened the rush we always get in the last couple of days.

The number of people who actually biked is always harder to figure. As one measure, we count bibs distributed?last year we handed out about 1,640?and we are doing that now. I'm sure that will be lower this year due to the weather.

And of course some of those who started bailed out quickly in the early rain and went home or went straight to the festival; others probably snuck in without bibs on the west side once the rain stopped. So any final numbers are likely to be somewhat, er, subjective!

My guess is that by next year, this and most other big outdoor events will have drones over them, shooting photos and videos and automatically assessing crowd numbers with some app or other ... but I need a nap before I think about that!

Posted on: 2016/6/9 15:31
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#82
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Just wanted to take a minute out of my post-tour recovery to thank everyone involved in the Tour & Fest, from city agencies including the Office of Cultural Affairs and JCPD to our sponsors, vendors, bands, community groups; our amazing volunteers and my fellow board members; and of course all of you who rolled and rocked on Sunday.

Also, thank you for all the comments and hella thoughtful critiques in this thread, mostly regarding weather. Without getting into detail, we are already talking about the same things, and I guarantee you that as we plan future tours, we will take all the ideas here very seriously.


Posted on: 2016/6/9 14:14
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#83
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Oops, last post didn't have the right registration link.

REGISTER HERE

Posted on: 2016/5/31 14:10
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#84
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Lotttttttttts of fun food options Sunday at our Finish Line Festival in Liberty State Park:

Rosie's Eatery -- Taco
Mayon Grill -- Filipino BBQ
Angry Crab -- Seafood
Green Radish -- Veg/vegan
Pizza Vita -- Pizza
The Cow & The Curd -- Cheese treats
Bread & Spoon -- Sandwich & salad
Milk Sugar Love -- Ice cream
Whos Gluten Free -- Cookies
Lizzmonade -- Lemonade
Hi-FiBar -- Granola

Come down to LSP 1?6 p.m. and enjoy (even if you're not riding in the bike tour)! The NERDS play at 3:30.

Last few days left to register for the tour: REGISTER HERE

Posted on: 2016/5/31 13:34
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#85
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Confirmed band lineup for the Finish Line Festival:

1:00 (as riders return): The Penniless Loafers -- "indieskarock"

Following: Beninghove's Hangmen -- "creeptastic surf noir"

3:30: The NERDS -- NJ's favorite crowd-pleasing ?ber-cover band with a side of costumed comedy

The festival, in Liberty State Park 1?6 p.m., is free and open to everyone, even if you're not riding in the Jersey City Ward Tour that will finish there!

There will be a beer garden by Raval, a Gastro Alley with lots of food trucks and vendors, the Horizon Wellness Village with health-related offerings, and an expo of community groups.

Bike around to it with Bike JC, or just come independently and enjoy it!

Posted on: 2016/5/25 20:31
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Re: Yvonne Outdoes Herself - Transgender Bathroom Editorial
#86
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I am just impressed that somehow Jersey City's parking supply has finally entered this conversation.

Posted on: 2016/5/23 18:03
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Re: Fulop proposes giant, regressive gas tax increase
#87
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Yes, gas taxes are to some degree inherently regressive in a vacuum, affecting particularly the working poor living far from mass transit, and also adding yet another expense for the cash-poor middle class.

There are many potential remedies for that; for one, instead of "balancing" them with tax breaks for the rich, you can make some other tax more progressive instead.

Gas taxes also should go partially toward building, expanding, maintaining, and fare-subsidizing mass transit, biking, walking, etc., and not just to roads, to give at least some drivers (greener, cheaper, more sustainable) alternatives. That's politically daunting, perhaps impossible, and maybe there can't be a direct link, but then those other modes must be funded some other way.

But when I think about gas taxes and gas price fluctuations, I mainly think about how reliably they affect the rates of violent road death and grievous injury, air pollution death and disability, asthma, etc., etc.?all by making driving more or less attractive. That's the most important effect of gas taxes.

When gas pump prices are lower, all those disasters are more frequent?and all of them disproportionately afflict low-income people, whether they drive, or work, or not. And all this destruction inflicts huge, cascading costs throughout society and government.

So keeping gas taxes lower in the U.S., and in NJ, than practically anywhere else is hardly a progressive victory. Raise them.




Posted on: 2016/5/23 17:41
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#88
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Quote:

JC_rider wrote:
It would be more successful if it can flow better from start to end. I recall 3-4 stops and lots of waiting each time last year.


I generally agree. We at Bike JC would love to make the tour roll more continuously; that would require one of two things:

1. Exclude more of the slower people. That way we wouldn't have to keep stopping the front line to let the back catch up and keep the tour compact so the police can re-open the roads right behind us. But we don't want to do that, because we want the tour to stay very inclusive and attract newer cyclists.

OR

2. Get the whole route closed to motor traffic, or maybe half at a time, for, say, three hours, instead of the current rolling closures. That way it won't matter if the line strings out a loooong way, and everyone can just roll at their own paces. It might even be easier for drivers because it will be very visible and predictable. But that would take significantly more staffing by police, crossing guards, and us. We have suggested it; if the tour keeps growing maybe that will happen. Numbers justify many things, so please bring a friend!

Till then, if you're a fast rider, please know that there will be several deliberate stops this year and every year. Please think of it as a social ride/party/parade, a demonstration of biking's growing popularity in JC, and a demonstration of why we need to enable more of it in the near future.

Are you a very strong rider of road bikes, fixies, etc.? Why not slow your natural roll by riding the tour on a fat bike or beach cruiser, or pulling a trailer with a little boom box in it. We hear they're legal now! Also: There's a bit less waiting if you start well back in the pack and just stay with the riders around you. That way it's the front that waits for you.


Posted on: 2016/5/21 22:13
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#89
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Over a thousand riders already registered for the Jersey City Ward Tour; now ahead of our record-setting pace from last year!

Join us June 5! REGISTER HERE NOW!

Posted on: 2016/5/20 16:47
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Re: Bike JC's 7th Annual Ward Tour & Festival June 5
#90
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All Ward Tour volunteers: Please attend our volunteer meeting TONIGHT (Wed. May 18), 7:30, City Hall, 280 Grove St., 2nd Floor Council Chambers.

We'll plan assignments for the big day (June 5) and also will have promotional posters for you to hang in your neighborhoods in the meantime if you can.

Posted on: 2016/5/18 17:16
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