By Donald Gilpin

May was Bike Month, with National Ride a Bike Day, Bike to School Day, and Bike to Work Day and Week; Monday, June 3 was World Bicycle Day; and Princeton continues to celebrating all forms of biking, with many different organizations and individuals working to make cycling increasingly accessible and safe in the town.

“Biking is a great way to get around,” notes Sustainable Princeton on its website. “It’s lower impact than running, faster than walking, and more exciting (and climate-friendly) than sitting in a car. More and more people are catching onto this, using bikes to commute to work, run errands, and exercise.”

“The biking community is growing, and I think it will continue to grow, and that’s a good thing,” said Sustainable Princeton Executive Director Christine Symington, who does not have a car and gets around by bike.

She continued, “What the town has done so far to make it safer and easier to bike is great. I really have to give credit to folks in town who prioritize biking and making the town safer to bike in. They deserve a lot of credit for pushing the town to be more bike-friendly.”

Since 2013 Princeton has been designated by the League of American Bicyclists as one New Jersey’s bike-friendly communities, of which there are now six. In 2020, Princeton moved up in bike-friendly status from the bronze to the silver level. The town’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (PBAC) is currently working on Princeton’s renewal application, which is due later this month.

“In addition to bicycle infrastructure and engineering, the award recognizes the policy and planning which informs Council decisions,” wrote PBAC Chair Laurie Harmon in an email. She emphasized the priorities of education, encouragement (mainstreaming bicycling culture), equity, and accessibility.

Some municipal policies that have contributed to Princeton’s distinction as a cycling town include Complete Streets (2012, updated 2019), the Bicycle Mobility Plan (2017), Climate Action Plan (2019), the Bicycle Parking Ordinance (2020), and the Vision Zero Resolution (2020), said Harmon.

Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, who is the Council liaison to the PBAC, pointed out plans and goals that are helping Princeton to build up its bike infrastructure incrementally. “We can’t do it all at the same time because it’s so expensive,” she said. “That means in some places putting bike lanes, another place making it a bike boulevard, and also looking at traffic calming measures.”

Princeton’s 10-mile bike boulevard loop is a network of quiet roads and share-use paths, which connect all of the public schools and several community parks. It crosses other bike-able roads and the Princeton University campus.

Lambros cited the recent Witherspoon Street Improvement Project. “We’re all very proud of it,” she said. “It was an example of great cooperation with engineering and the community and the residents. You see enhanced crosswalks, the bump outs, widening sidewalks, and enhanced walkability and bike-ability. Wherever we can we’re looking at increasing repaving for shared bike paths, bike lanes where we can put those, or bike boulevards with traffic calming.”

She also mentioned bike racks that have been put up on Witherspoon Street and the need for more bike racks and for overnight bike parking. “The more infrastructure we provide, the more people will be biking,” she said.

Lambros went on to discuss some of the difficulties involved in developing more bike infrastructure in Princeton. “Our streets are challenging for putting in bike lanes because of the narrowness and because it’s an historic town,” she said. “But that also gives it its charm and its shade. It’s a comfortable place to bike, and there are a lot of networks and many things to do in close proximity.”

She went on to emphasize the value of “moving away from being totally car-centric,” adding, “Being able to give kids the opportunity to bike to school, to do errands, and have that connectivity in using bikes is really important as the town grows. It’s also more sustainable and friendly to the environment, but we need a robust infrastructure to allow people to get around town safely.”

She also highlighted the “need to find ways to support residents who use cycling as their main mode of transportation, essential transportation to work, school, shopping, etc.”

Municipal Engineer/Deputy Administrator Deanna Stockton noted that Princeton is a Complete Streets community, “which means that we consider all users, including bicyclists, whenever we consider infrastructure improvements.”

Current engineering projects with bicycle facility improvements include a shared use pathway extension on Cherry Hill Road; a project to install traffic calming, sidewalks, and bike lanes on Terhune Road; a multi-modal corridor study which will identify opportunities for greater bicycle mobility on Harrison Street; a Hamilton/Wiggins project to provide bicycle facilities; and PSE&G’s resurfacing of roadways after completion of gas system upgrades to install bicycle facilities in accordance with Princeton’s Mobility Plan.

Stockton also pointed out the Witherspoon Street improvements for cyclists. Although the street was too narrow with too many trees to accommodate bike lanes, she said, the project did implement a number of traffic calming measures along with a reduced speed limit of 20 miles per hour to make it safer for everyone.

Symington, a strong advocate for better biking infrastructure, is looking forward to taking advantage of the town’s planned upgrades. “As a bike rider I do appreciate the work that’s been done so far with the bike boulevards to make it safer to bike, and I will be very grateful when more infrastructure is put in place,” she said. “I ride my bike to the Princeton Shopping Center a lot, so I’m very excited for the bike improvements that are planned for that part of town.”

She went on to discuss responsibilities that residents should keep in mind. “I think we all have a shared responsibility, whether we are driving a car or pedestrians or on a bike of any kind,” she said. “We all have to look out for each other and be aware that as a bike rider I need to follow the rules just as everybody else does.”

In “Explainer Series #8: Biking in Princeton” on its website at sustainableprinceton.org, Sustainable Princeton outlines rules that bicyclists must follow, necessary safety equipment, and New Jersey’s safe passing law for motorists that went into effect two years ago to protect “vulnerable road users.”

“Pedestrians need to be able to get around town safely and drivers need to look out for people who are riding their bikes and people who are walking,” said Symington. “It’s a real shared responsibility.”

Of course sustainability is a priority for Symington, and she pointed out that transportation is a major contributor to Princeton’s greenhouse gas emissions. “The more we can do to make it easier to get to where we want to go without needing to get into a vehicle or operate something that relies on fossil fuels, the more we can do to reduce our emissions,’ she said. “It also improves local air quality to ride a bike rather than take a gas-powered car. It also helps you lower your expenses and you spend less of your income on car ownership.”

In other bicycling news, Kopp’s Cycle, reportedly the oldest bike store in the country, which was purchased by Princeton Property Partners (PPP) and shut down on December 1, 2023, remains closed except for some repairs and sales of a few bikes and accessories, according to Andrew Capone, a consultant working with PPP on the project.

Capone reports that PPP is looking to revamp the business and the Spring Street property and that they are close to announcing a partnership to run the store.

“One way or another, the lights will be on at Kopp’s soon, perhaps not every day of the week, but with bikes, parts, and repairs available,” Capone wrote in an email. “We appreciate the community’s patience and know how much this shop means too Princeton.”