In NJ Town, Demonstrating the Benefits of Bike Lanes

Collings Avenue: A street that could use a bike lane. Photo: Joe Bonaparte.

Back in May, Stella Bonaparte launched a group called Collingswood Streets and began studying bike lane options for downtown Collingswood, NJ, a borough outside Camden. Now she’s shared her excellent work on the Livable Streets Community. As she explains in the study:

Collingswood’s downtown has returned from near abandonment to become a fashionable local destination in recent years…  As an older town, built to the human scale, Collingswood began as very walkable and bikeable; however, the heavy amount of motor vehicle traffic it receives has diminished this amenity. As a result, the town is exploring adjustments to the physical streetscape in order to improve conditions for people using non-motorized and motorized forms of transportation.

Here’s the full Bike Lane Feasibility Study and accompanying Bicycle Parking Recommendations.

Stella sees her work as a first step. “I hope that this will open a dialogue about the many options that are open to the municipality,” she told us, “and build some momentum among citizens around advocacy for bike lanes and other bike and pedestrian projects.” She says the study has been well received by town commissioner Joan Leonard and local planners. Stella intends to continue her research at Rutgers this spring, examining public support and funding for the bike plan.

In other news, we have a useful new feature for everyone who uses Livable Streets Groups. Admins now have the ability to make wiki pages within their group viewable only by members of the group — a feature that some users had requested to discuss internal matters. To privatize the page, click the “Make Private” button, which now appears in the top right corner of each wiki page. The change can also be easily reversed.