The city is terrified of implementing real bike and pedestrian infrastructure despite having such a low car ownership rate. It’s infuriating and I don’t even bike.

I never see anyone use the bike lanes we have

Because they end after 2 blocks

Not true.. I see people drive and park on them all the time

I mean, don’t forget that the Essex-Hudson Greenway is still on the table. That project is suppose to include biking lanes, which will connect major cities/towns. And while we’re at it, the Newark Light Rail needed to be connected to the Hudson Bergen Light rail long ago 🤧

Newark has a major issue prioritizing cars in its urban planning. This is especially prevalent with new downtown developments. Crazy to think once upon a time Bloomfield Avenue, among other avenues in this city, had streetcars running down them.

Bare in mind, that outside of the #7 Subway line, those streetcars ran in mixed traffic.

That is going to be an extremely difficult sell. Duplicates existing PATH and #1 bus service, plus there are two condemned moveable bridges that will have to be rebuilt along the way. I also suspect you'd have build an underground portion as the line enters the more built up portion of the Ironbound. Infamously the ex-CNJ Row between Newark and Jersey City was dubbed the most expensive rail line.

and when it tried the community effectively killed them. The Forest Hills bike lanes are sad to see with them being relegated to space for double parking.

Adam St bike lane is useless especially closer to Ferry st which is probably the most pedestrian heavy intersection in the city outside of Broad and Market. Pretty sad

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeability_(spatial_and_transport_planning)

^That's why.

A few disconnected, 5 block bike lanes with no physical protection do not promote cycling. Then people park in the unused lanes, essentially rendering what little bike lane there is moot...and people use your argument.

Yeah totally agree. This city makes it dangerous for pedestrians, where they only allow crosswalks on once side of an intersection. This city has low car ridership and needs to cater to pedestrians instead of vroom vroom cars.

I understand your perspective, and any big infrastructure project like this would be a tough idea to sell. But it wouldn’t be due to existing services, like PATH and NJT bus services already being in place. It would be simply: cost. Such a project would be a billion or two, maybe more? But. In my very humble opinion, the cost would be very much worth that multi billion dollar investment price tag, because the growth that Newark, Hoboken, and Jersey City has experienced over the past five years is crazy. Interconnecting Northern NJ’s biggest growing cities will not only strengthen and further solidifies the NJ economy, but offer new opportunity for economic development and investment.

The HBLR is very expansive, and is way more intimate with the Jersey City and Hoboken streetscape than the PATH. Yes there’s bus service, but solidifying successful and over capacitated bus lines with a light rail line is very different, and offers new transit and economic opportunities that the bus can’t bring to the table. It’s the “next logical step” if you will, for the economy and regions maturity. I believe the NLR being connected to the HBLR system would be beneficial in many ways. I believe it can awaken a lot of new economic opportunities for economic investment and job growth, offer much needed investment opportunities for real estate investment and development, and the two systems being interconnected is another option for people to move around Northern NJ. Remember, the more mobility options an individual has at their disposal in their city, the better.

I also believe this interconnected system should finally pressure NJT to wake up, and to add more much needed light rail stops for Newark and for the HBLR to be further expanded well into Fort Lee. Such a system I know for a fact would be much welcomed and appreciated between Hoboken and Fort Lee, as it is very car dependent and congested. This won’t be cheap of course. There will be long environmental and community reviews/studies, infrastructure hurdles to jump, cost overruns, inevitable deadline delays, and lots of property to be attained for construction that I’m sure will be a headache. But the economic implications in my opinion are just too good to ignore, and simply justify the cost and its construction given the regions growth. It’s way too good of an opportunity.

Side note: I would love as much of this idea to be separated from traffic, or buried underground to maximize transit performance to maintain this being a viable transit option over the car, as possible lol.

While connecting the two makes sense in general terms and in an ideal world we would. In world where they are funding priorities and there are many places with inadequate transit, it makes very little sense. To a state legislator or administrator overseeing grant money at the Federal Transit Administration it wouldn't make any sense. I think they would wisely argue, why not, for less money fund improvements to PATH service or improved bus service between the two cities and focus on transit expansion to the areas that are currently lacking? HBLR Northern Branch extension, NLR to Paterson, Hawthorne/Paterson to Hackensack rail, Union County BRT, Bergen County BRT? At the end of the day, there is a glut of need and not a lot of money, why duplicate existing service with something that costs a ton of money, when you can just improve the existing services, and use the money you save to improve transit to areas that are not well served?

Because they are effectively useless.

The scooters should have been the impetus for Newark to make moves on bike lanes. Sidewalks are becoming increasingly dangerous for pedestrians with scooters zipping around. And I don't blame anyone for riding bikes or scooters on sidewalks; drivers in Newark are openly hostile to bikes and scooters and traffic enforcement is literally nonexistent.

Traffic enforcement is sorely needed in Newark. Drivers constantly run red lights and drive insanely fast on Broad endangering pedestrians because drivers know they will never get a ticket.

Any day of the week at night you can see people doing 50-ish down Broad Street. No effort to change it at all. Hell, there are people who fly down Commerce Court.

Yes and no. Many of the streetcar lines entered the subway at various points so they missed the downtown traffic.

What's your point, though?

I ride my bike sometimes... on the sidewalk. I'm not getting killed in one of those bike lanes.

The one on University is my favorite. The speed bump doesn't extend into it, which I guess makes sense, so cars swerve into it to avoid the speed bump.

I have to assume that the leadership of the city just doesn't care. It is sad.

Cars are king, pretty much anywhere, and the leadership of the city rides around in them, and parks illegally all over the place, breaks traffic laws, etc. I’m generally supportive, but that is a bad look, and I think it extends to all sorts of transportation policy here.

The story in this town seems to be that you only use transit until you manage to get a car.

I use sidewalks for both walking and scootering. Haven’t really seen it be a problem. Ideally, there would be a safe place to ride them. That is not the sidewalk, but since there isn’t…

I’ve never come even close to being hit by a scooter.

My point is that the city should add bike lanes so scooters don't need to ride on the sidewalks because the roads are not safe. The scooters have a warning written on them that says "Do not operate on sidewalks."

I am glad you haven't come close to being hit by a scooter, but I have and I am not alone. I have actually seen pedestrians and scooters crash near Tubman Square, and it is not pretty.

It is sad. Leadership says they support and represent to city, but they put convenience of a few (drivers) ahead of the safety of many (pedestrians and transit users).

To be fair, it's a lot of drivers. But no one's safety should ever be placed above someone else's, especially not when we're talking about supporting something that's also destroying the environment and health, etc.

People leaving sports games in this town appear to think they don't have to follow traffic laws at all. That's absolutely a group we should not be catering to.

I agree with you, but there are basically no protected bike lanes in this city (except the lanes in North Newark, basically RIP). Until there are...

I'm not putting my life in danger over a terms of service violation, so... I don't know if you've seen a car and scooter collision, but that's way less pretty.

This is exactly why I am saying the city needs to build protected bike lanes...

You never actually used the word protected before that, but I think we’re on the same page at this point. People mention building bike lanes all the time, but don’t seem to think they need to be protected.