Editor's Note: This is a reprint of a story that ran June 28, 2017. We decided to run it again after we saw a woman riding a bicycle on the Main Avenue sidewalk in Ocean Grove this morning almost collide with a woman who was walking along the sidewalk in front of her. Neptune Township, where Ocean Grove is located, prohibits bicycle-riding on the sidewalk.
Maybe you know the feeling. You're on the sidewalk, chatting with a friend or walking along with your 'buds or Bluetooth in, when a bicycle races by or cuts you off--on the sidewalk--close enough for you to imagine yourself creamed on the pavement, and you wonder, "What if I stepped a little to the left? Would I have been knocked down? Hurt? Killed?"
Think you're overreacting to something that probably happens thousands of times a day all over the world? You're not. Some people would say that what happened to you shouldn't happen at all.
"Except for very young cyclists under parental supervision, sidewalks are not for bicycling," the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) says on its "Biking in New Jersey" web site.
The notion is backed up by the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center, which says in its latest bicycle activities survey: "Bicycles are vehicles and belong in the street."
Bicycles might not run on gasoline and weigh as much as a young hippo, like motor vehicles, but bicycling in New Jersey falls under Title 39 of the state's motor vehicles and traffic laws. Under Title 39, bicyclists must obey all state and local driving laws, and their vehicles, like cars, are required to have equipment that enables them to be seen and heard: a headlight and an "audible device, other than a siren or a whistle, that can be heard at least 100 feet away." Cyclists are supposed to use those accessories, too, though many, like the gentleman cycling against Main Avenue traffic on a recent afternoon, eschew technology for shouting vernacular when somebody steps in their path.
What Title 39 doesn't do is prevent bicycles from going where motor vehicles are forbidden to go: on sidewalks.
It's a matter of basic safety. Riding bikes on sidewalks, "like wrong-way driving, can lead to crashes, since it places bicyclists in situations where others do not expect them," the NJDOT says in"Biking in New Jersey."
But the practice isn't prohibited by state law. It's been up to municipalities to keep bicycles off the walkways. When they do, the local law can apply only to specific areas, not to every sidewalk in town.
Locally, Belmar, Neptune, and Asbury Park prohibit adults from riding bicycles on all their sidewalks. (In Belmar, only children age 7 or younger can ride on the sidewalks; in Asbury Park, the age is 12 or under.)
Meanwhile, Spring Lake and Bradley Beach prohibit bicycles from sidewalks only in certain parts of town. In Spring Lake, bicycles aren't allowed on sidewalks on the main street, Third Avenue, between Washington and Passaic avenues between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. In Bradley Beach, "no person shall ride on a bicycle or similar machine on any of the sidewalks of Main Street in the borough" unless the person is a child riding a bicycle or other pedaled vehicle made for small children, according to the borough code.
Some municipalities, like Avon and Belmar, also go so far as to write the state requirements for headlights and bells into their local laws, and more: they require bicycles to be registered, licensed and inspected, and they impose penalties for violations. In Avon, violations carry fines of up to $50 per offense and confiscation of the bicycle for up to 30 days. If the offender is a minor, the parent or guardian is reprimanded in writing in addition to being fined and temporarily bereft of the bike.
You would think that all the rules and regulations would enable people to know their actual place on the road, and foster a sense of security. But despite the regulations and safety precautions, when it comes right down to it, adults might take their bikes for a spin on the sidewalk because they're afraid to ride on the street. In the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center's "Bicycle Activities and Attitudes Survey Fall 2016," 18 percent of respondents said they didn't ride a bicycle at all because they were "frightened by traffic" in their area. And, fear of traffic is so prevalent that one of the Frequently Asked Questions on the NJDOT's "Biking in New Jersey" site is, "Isn't riding on the road unsafe?"
Statistics show that riding a bicycle on the road is about as safe as driving or riding in a car, says the NJDOT, which offers this advice: "Practice your bike-riding skills and make sure you know the rules of the road so you can ride with confidence."
For more information about the dos and don'ts of bike-riding, see the NJDOT's web site, www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/bike/faqs.htm.
To read more about the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center's 2016 bicycle activities survey, go to njbikeped.org and click on "New Jersey Bicycle Activities and Attitudes Survey (2016)," under "Recent Reports."
Maybe you know the feeling. You're on the sidewalk, chatting with a friend or walking along with your 'buds or Bluetooth in, when a bicycle races by or cuts you off--on the sidewalk--close enough for you to imagine yourself creamed on the pavement, and you wonder, "What if I stepped a little to the left? Would I have been knocked down? Hurt? Killed?"
Think you're overreacting to something that probably happens thousands of times a day all over the world? You're not. Some people would say that what happened to you shouldn't happen at all.
"Except for very young cyclists under parental supervision, sidewalks are not for bicycling," the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) says on its "Biking in New Jersey" web site.
The notion is backed up by the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center, which says in its latest bicycle activities survey: "Bicycles are vehicles and belong in the street."
Bicycles might not run on gasoline and weigh as much as a young hippo, like motor vehicles, but bicycling in New Jersey falls under Title 39 of the state's motor vehicles and traffic laws. Under Title 39, bicyclists must obey all state and local driving laws, and their vehicles, like cars, are required to have equipment that enables them to be seen and heard: a headlight and an "audible device, other than a siren or a whistle, that can be heard at least 100 feet away." Cyclists are supposed to use those accessories, too, though many, like the gentleman cycling against Main Avenue traffic on a recent afternoon, eschew technology for shouting vernacular when somebody steps in their path.
What Title 39 doesn't do is prevent bicycles from going where motor vehicles are forbidden to go: on sidewalks.
It's a matter of basic safety. Riding bikes on sidewalks, "like wrong-way driving, can lead to crashes, since it places bicyclists in situations where others do not expect them," the NJDOT says in"Biking in New Jersey."
But the practice isn't prohibited by state law. It's been up to municipalities to keep bicycles off the walkways. When they do, the local law can apply only to specific areas, not to every sidewalk in town.
Locally, Belmar, Neptune, and Asbury Park prohibit adults from riding bicycles on all their sidewalks. (In Belmar, only children age 7 or younger can ride on the sidewalks; in Asbury Park, the age is 12 or under.)
Meanwhile, Spring Lake and Bradley Beach prohibit bicycles from sidewalks only in certain parts of town. In Spring Lake, bicycles aren't allowed on sidewalks on the main street, Third Avenue, between Washington and Passaic avenues between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. In Bradley Beach, "no person shall ride on a bicycle or similar machine on any of the sidewalks of Main Street in the borough" unless the person is a child riding a bicycle or other pedaled vehicle made for small children, according to the borough code.
Some municipalities, like Avon and Belmar, also go so far as to write the state requirements for headlights and bells into their local laws, and more: they require bicycles to be registered, licensed and inspected, and they impose penalties for violations. In Avon, violations carry fines of up to $50 per offense and confiscation of the bicycle for up to 30 days. If the offender is a minor, the parent or guardian is reprimanded in writing in addition to being fined and temporarily bereft of the bike.
You would think that all the rules and regulations would enable people to know their actual place on the road, and foster a sense of security. But despite the regulations and safety precautions, when it comes right down to it, adults might take their bikes for a spin on the sidewalk because they're afraid to ride on the street. In the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center's "Bicycle Activities and Attitudes Survey Fall 2016," 18 percent of respondents said they didn't ride a bicycle at all because they were "frightened by traffic" in their area. And, fear of traffic is so prevalent that one of the Frequently Asked Questions on the NJDOT's "Biking in New Jersey" site is, "Isn't riding on the road unsafe?"
Statistics show that riding a bicycle on the road is about as safe as driving or riding in a car, says the NJDOT, which offers this advice: "Practice your bike-riding skills and make sure you know the rules of the road so you can ride with confidence."
For more information about the dos and don'ts of bike-riding, see the NJDOT's web site, www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/bike/faqs.htm.
To read more about the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center's 2016 bicycle activities survey, go to njbikeped.org and click on "New Jersey Bicycle Activities and Attitudes Survey (2016)," under "Recent Reports."
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