Bike JC Holiday Party/ LSP Fundraiser!
Public Event ? By Bike JC

[When]
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
[Time]
7:00pm in EST
[Description]
Come celebrate another year of biking, camaraderie, and survival with BIKE JC, on Tuesday evening, December 11.

Raise a glass, and in the process give a little to the restoration of Liberty State Park, which was hit hard by Sandy. A portion of proceeds go to Friends of Liberty State Park. We use the paths, let's help rebuild them--over beers.

BIKE JC officers will be there to answer questions, provide policy updates, and even--if stars, moon, and bike wheels align--buy a round.

http://www.facebook.com/events/450678074996587/

March 15, 2012 For Immediate Release Bike JC BikeJC.org Jersey City Cycling Community and City Council Members to Meet Next Week to Discuss Jersey City Cycling Policy Jersey City Council members Steven Fulop and Michele Massey will join Bike JC board and general members to discuss their views on safe street, smart streets, and bicycling in Jersey City, on Thursday, March 22, at the Hudson Pride Center, 32 Jones Street, Jersey City, from 8-10 pm. The public is welcome. Bike JC is a citizen-based advocacy organization that aims to make Jersey City streets welcoming for bicyclists, by supporting bike-friendly policies and bicycle education. Its signature initiative is the Jersey City Ward Tour, which takes 500 riders around the six wards of the city, as a show of bicycling enthusiasm and pride in our city. This year, the Third Annual Ward Tour will take place June 3. Bike JC brings together citizen cyclists, policy wonks, planners, parents, businesspeople, and commuters in working towards making city streets safe for all. The Bike JC board encourages anyone interested in smart streets, bicycling policy, bicycling, urban planning, or transit to join us on March 22, 8-10 pm, at the Hudson Pride Center, 32 Jones Street, First Floor, Jersey City, NJ. The Center is located two blocks from the Journal Square Transportation Center. For more information, contact Chris Englese, chris@bikejc.org
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We also biked, from HP up to Maxwell Place Park. Got there at 8:30, crowded but we had no problem finding a spot to spread a mat for 2 and enjoyed a fabulous show, able to sit the whole time with no one standing in front of us. The southernmost barge was right in front of us. leaving along 11th, we were able to pedal free of the crowd by the time we reached Willow and had a clear, nearly traffic free run down Jefferson.

Great experiences like tonight are a reason why we love living here, we only regret our kids are out of town. We did the same thing with them 2 years ago.

The bike came in handy again. Living in the Heights I wanted to see the Macy's fireworks. The cliff overlooking Hoboken was blocked by the over growth of vegetation from the trees so the only alternative was the north end piers in Hoboken. I biked down to the 13th St. pier and thanks to the bicycle I had a clear view of all 5 barges huddled around the Empire State Building I was front and center. This was a spectacular show it was as if it were shown just for us. I couldn't have had a better view anywhere else tonight. Oh yeah I forgot cars were backed up all over the place, have bike will travel !

Regional Group Greenlights Three Major Transportation Studies in Jersey City

"Another study begins right near Liberty State Park, at the beginning of the historic Morris Canal. It will prepare a plan for a bike and pedestrian greenway along the six miles the canal runs in Jersey City, between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers. Most of the canal right-of-way in the city has been filled, and most is also owned by public entities, making a greenway a relatively feasible project. Funding for this study comes as a separate grassroots group based in Western New Jersey is pushing to create a larger Morris Canal trail, which would run the entire 102-mile length of the former canal, from Jersey City out to Phillipsburg."


see link - http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... on-studies-in-jersey-city

Bike JC's Ward Tour 2011 is in the works and applications are being finalized. It will be longer, faster and louder so we will keep everyone posted. For more information, see www.BikeJC.org . Please sign up for our newsletter to receive updates in regards to events, group rides and all bike related news in Jersey City.


Also...

Do you like to fold your bike into metal origami? Do you experience a special frisson when walking through turnstiles with a bike on your shoulder? Or do you prefer not to? Tell us about it. If you own a folding bicycle or have even considered it, please take Bike JC's survey this week. (Survey closes April 18.) Results will be shared with regional transit agencies, including PATH and the Hudson TMA.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H3R77MB

I know Grove Street Bikes is going to be doing a few weekly rides soon.

In the meantime, is anyone interested in getting together for 15-25 mile rides? PM me.

I believe they've got another big organized ride in the works. My wife is involved with the JC Mom's group, and they were approached a few weeks ago by Bike JC to help out in organizing a separate children's ride. I don't know what came of it, if anything, but presumably the event is still being planned.

Edit: the Bike JC website mentions the 2011 Ward Tour is in the works.

It would be nice to hear more from Bike JC. It was such good idea from the start but seems to have come to a halt. I've been wanting to get involved a bit but the meetings are always posted the day of or the day before and i miss them.

Easy Riders JC is open for the 2011 season.

Hamilton Park Location - Advance reservation required

Liberty State Park - Opening April 23rd, 2011 (next to CRRNJ terminal)

up tp 1 hour - $10 (Liberty State Park only)
Up to 2 hours - $20
Up to 3 hours - $25
More then 3 hours (all day) - $30

All rentals come with helmet, lock, map and a Frequent Biker Card. Rent 10 times, 11th one is on us!

-All weekday adult bike rentals are 50% off
-Rent a bike for a week for only $50 (Monday-Friday)
-We also carry kids bicycles and tagalongs/baby seats.

For more information, please call 201.377.9771 or visit us at www.EasyRidersJC.com

Hamilton Park Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 10:00am - 9:00pm

Liberty State Park Hours (closed Monday):
Tuesday - Friday: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Saturday - Sunday: 10:00am - 8:00pm

Jersey City Independent: Park(ing) Day Events Scheduled for Jersey City and Hoboken Friday


Tomorrow is Park(ing) Day, that annual global event in which alternative-transportation advocates temporarily transform street parking spots into temporary public parks and other social spaces. The event, initially created by a San Francisco art and design collective in 2005, has grown tremendously over the past five years, with scores of temporary parks popping up in large cities all over the country.

Last year was the first time any Hudson County organization participated, with the county?s Division of Planning reclaiming a parking spot on Newark Avenue in front of the Brennan Court House. This year, there are two Park(ing) Day events in Hudson, one in Jersey City and one in Hoboken.

In Jersey City, the Hudson Transportation Management Association (TMA) will convert two parking spaces on Town Square Place (aka Pavonia Avenue) near the Newport PATH station into a park, with the help of the Actors Shakespeare Company of NJCU. The ?Shakespeare in the Park? event, which runs from 10 am to 4 pm, will include actors in Elizabethan costumes performing scenes from a number of the bard?s plays.

?We hope that a little drama and a rapier fight will bring some attention and give people the opportunity to think about the amount of land currently used for parking that could be devoted to other purposes such as parks,? Hudson TMA director Jay DiDomenico says, adding that the event is a ?perfect fit? with the TMA?s policy goals.

?Any effort to get people to consider using their cars less ? reducing vehicle miles traveled ? is within the scope of our work program,? he says. ?It?s all about congestion, our environment and health. We also support more open space, which is a priority for Hudson County.?

However, DiDomenico says Park(ing) Day shouldn?t be seen as an outright indictment of curbside parking.

?That is not the case,? he says. ?The Hudson TMA embraces this program because it is simply a fun way to get peoples? attention to think about how they travel and that there can be better choices to make. Who knows, possibly fewer cars in use can translate to better land use in our beautiful county.?

Meanwhile up in the Mile Square City, Hoboken officials have teamed up with local transportation consulting firm RBA Group to set up two temporary parks between 9 am and 3 pm.

?Ped Paradise? will be located on Newark Street between Washington and Court Streets, and it will include seating, reading materials, board games, hula-hooping and jump-roping (JenniHoops will be providing custom hula hoops).

Meanwhile on River Street between Hudson Place and Newark Street, ?Cycle Haven? will provide helmet fits and safety checks for cyclists of all ages and experience, in addition to a ?bling? station for anyone interested in custom-decorating a bike. No bike? No problem, as Jersey City?s Easy Riders JC will be on hand to provide free bike rentals for the day.

Easy Riders co-founder Damian Wieczorek says once RBA Group approached him, it was a no-brainer to participate. He says he hopes events like this continue to highlight the need for bicycle, pedestrian and mass-transit infrastructure and improvement in the area.

?Hudson County is one of the most densely populated counties in the nation. For that reason alone, we need to offer an alternative to cars as public transport is limited,? he says. ?The government is broke and should look into cheaper ways to provide an alternative to driving in an urban environment, while promoting more green space.?

In Jersey City, Wieczorek specifically points to the potential of the contested 6th Street Embankment as a spot for both bicycle lanes and open space, and potentially even a mass-transit extension.

While Hoboken?s official support of Park(ing) Day is just another reason that city is ?on the right track to become the most bike-friendly city in New Jersey,? according to Wieczorek, he says Jersey City is also ripe for transportation transformation, though he admits it ?has a lot of catching up to do.?

Still, pointing to the efforts of advocacy group Bike JC (of which he is a board member), and this year?s inaugural Ward Tour, which ?about 10″ different city agencies and departments worked on with advocates, he says there is certainly hope for Jersey City. But like many others who work for change in the city, he says a ?toxic environment? in City Hall continues to hold up reforms.

He pointed to a tale of two City Council meetings taking place last night as an example.

?Hoboken has an ordinance that is up for a vote that deals with the designation of bicycle lanes and with bicycle rules,? Wieczorek says. ?Prior to [the] Jersey City council meeting, there was a rally being held to recall the current administration. At least the organizers requested the attendees to bring their bikes.?

All Bike JC members are invited to our general meeting, Tuesday
evening, September 21, 8 pm, in the back room at Zeppelin Hall.
http://www.zeppelinhall.com/location/
If it's strikingly beautiful weather that evening, we may be at the
outdoor tables. Look for the bike helmets.

Agenda:

1. Updates on current tasks (10 minutes)
-Going nonprofit
-Revamping web site: primary communication mode, google group phase
out, new elements (maps, rides, events)

2. Updates on initiatives (20 minutes)
-Hoboken-Jersey City Connectivity study
-JSQ redevelopment plan. We wrote a letter to city planning. After a
conversation with planning there, we redrafted a statement that
Gustav read at the last city council meeting. It got picked up by the
Jersey Journal and the Jersey City Independent. See:
http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... -optimism-and-objections/
-Letters in support of regional initiatives, including bikeway on
Portal Bridge and three-foot passing law
-Spring exhibition

3. Long range planning (30 minutes)
-making bike-friendly elements Circulation Element of city Master Plan
into reality. See:
http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/hedc.aspx?id=1170?
-bike racks at Grove Street
-long range Ward Tour planning
-bikes on PATH, long range work on policy change

Please post and use this thread for all cycling news and updates in Jersey City.

To start off, here is a short article about cycling groups in Jersey City from LivingStrong.com


Cycling Groups in Jersey City
Overview

Cycling advocates in Jersey City have an ambitious plan: to turn the town from an asphalt jungle to the most bike-friendly city in the state. Efforts put forth by Bike JC, a local cycling advocacy organization, are supported by cycling-friendly merchants, environmental organizations and progressive city and county planners. Jersey City residents can also access the vibrant cycling culture of nearby New York City.

History

Jersey City's first cycling organization, the Bicycle Advocates of Jersey City, was formed in 1999 by local residents interested in making the city more bike-friendly. The group held a bike rally in support of the city's cycling plan, but became dormant soon after the event. Five years later, the East Coast Greenway Alliance spurred interest in connecting Jersey City to the Greenway, an off-road path for cyclists and pedestrians that will eventually connect cities from Florida to Maine. In 2009, Bike JC was formed to improve cycling safety and increase bicycle use in Jersey City.


Bike JC, Jersey City's only local cycling-specific advocacy group, works to improve cycling infrastructure and safety. The group also plans events to increase the profile of cycling in the city. The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition is a non-profit advocacy organization with a mandate to raise the profile of cycling at the local and state levels. Membership is open to the general public. WalkBikeJersey, is a source for information and critical analysis regarding walking and cycling in New Jersey. Transportation Alternatives founded in 1973 and based in New York City, is a hub for cycling and pedestrian advocacy. Transportation Alternatives plans events, conducts research and pushes for policy changes that will improve cycling and other "green" transportation options. Membership is open to the public.

Government Agencies and Non-Profits

The Division of City Planning prepares transportation plans, including cycling plans, for Jersey City. As part of the planning process, city staff organize public consultations. The Hudson Transportation Management Association, founded in 1994, works primarily to improve commuting options for Hudson County residents, thereby reducing car travel. It offers Savvy Cyclist classes and an Adult Bike Safety program for commuters and community members.

Private Sector Partners

As of 2010, there are two bicycle shops in Jersey City that are committed to helping Jersey City attain the designation of "most bike-friendly city in the state." Both are considered partners of Bike JC. Easy Riders JC is a bike rental and touring company offering waterfront tours within town and to New York City. Grove Street Bicycles offers bike sales and service. Its mandate is to "inspire our community to recognize the health and environmental benefits of riding bicycles for work and play."
Recreational Groups

Just outside of town, the New York City Cycle Club's 2,000-plus members are committed to "having as much fun as possible on a bicycle." Weekly and weekend rides, events and training programs are designed to help cyclists explore the tri-state area safely and socially. The Five Borough Bicycle Club bills itself as "New York's friendliest bike club" and offers group rides and other perks to members. The Staten Island Bicycling Association is another recreational cycling group that emphasizes fun rides over racing. Membership in all groups is open to the public.

Original Article