As we promised last week, here are some of the findings from this year’s Bike to Work Week event.
We asked our riders where do they usually ride and interesting to find out that while fitness and recreation seems to be the most popular reason for biking, commuting to work was the second most popular reason. Here is the breakdown:
58.71% of the total participants listed Commuting to Work, 72% percent of the total participants also listed Fitness and Recreation, 48% percent of the participants also listed Social Activities among other rides, and 43% also listed Errands and Shopping.
We asked our Bike to Work registrants about their concerns and suggestions for what type of improvements are needed:
What most influences your decision to ride your bicycle for any given trip?
What is your primary concern when deciding to ride your bike?
We also asked our Bike to Work registrants if there was a specific improvement they would like to see. Some of the specific concerns are listed below:
| Alexander Road could be made safer for bicyclists. |
| Alexander Road is terrifying! Even this morning a vehicle tried to run me off the road! Not to mention the dangerous pot holes. Also the light at Alexander/Bear Brooke/Vaughn remains dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians as motorists continue to turn right on red and make left turns into folks in the crosswalk! |
| More bike lanes/sharrows or signage to make drivers pay attention to cyclists. |
| Pass a 3-foot law for cars passing bikes that doesn’t penalize drivers for crossing the center line. |
| Make Rt. 206 bike friendly between Trenton and Princeton. |
| Improved sight-lines on Scudders Mill – Rt 1 overpass from the multi-use path especially the N bound U-turn lane. |
| Upgrade towpath or bike lane connections through Ewing and Trenton. |
| Widen Lower Harrison St Princeton between Lake Carnegie and Rt 1. |
| Some kind of bicycle accommodation along Route 27Employer entrance gates should be made bike friendly. |
| Safer intersection at Ingleside and Washington-Crossing Pennington Road (traffic light). |
| Improved road conditions! Even where there are specific bike lanes the road conditions are poor due to potholes debris in bike lane etc. |
| In Plainsboro addition of a bike/ped path on the Schalks Crossing bridge over the railroad tracks separated from traffic by a concrete barrier. The bridge would need to be widened. A nearby example in Plainsboro of a “good” bridge is the Scudders Mill bridge over the railroad tracks. |
| Improvement of CR518 between Hopewell Borough and Montgomery Township. |
| Finish the paths to nowhere. |
| Bike lanes on Alexander Road. |
| Safe way to cross Route 1. |
| Showers at work!!! |
| Just one?! Shower at work. Bike lanes on urban arterials. |
As we can see there is more work to do to make our communities more bike-friendly and for bike commuters to feel safe. Clearly marked bike lanes, signage and feeling safe are the biggest concerns cited by our riders.
Even so, people enjoy riding their bikes and find a way to get on their bike. These are just a few of the comments that riders have shared after completing their Bike to Work Week rides:
Great challenge. I need to do it more often!
Great to be able to bike to the train station. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
It was great to see so many people biking.
My family bikes everywhere work school grocery shopping for fun… Thanks for organizing this program to raise awareness for bicycling!
I ride to work each day of the year even in snow. If too icy I walk the bike. It is the only way to go!
I saw a number of new commuters out this week hope to see them after this week as well.
I usually live in Sweden and always bike to work every part of the year. So I do the same here. I wouldn’t feel good otherwise.
And finally an exciting encounter with nature, but that didn’t stop this rider from enjoying the ride and the great weather
I got goosed by a goose! A momma goose hissed and honked at me when I rode a bunch of big and little geese. Then she flapped her wings and flew right into my bike helmet. After that a tree was blocking the path. But the weather was perfect all week and the flowers were beginning to bloom and the air smelled like new flowers.
As always, let us know what you think, contact us if you have a story you would like to share, or if you have anything to add to these findings.