South Korea, South Korea has a bike highway running between two cities that stretches for 20 miles, shields cyclists from the sun, and generates power. Cyclists use subterranean tunnels to enter and exit the path and they are protected from traffic on each side by barriers. The solar panels on the bike highway produce more than enough electricity to power the lighting of the highway and the electric vehicle charging stations.
“The root of the problem is the failure of our Village Council to distinguish between their Narrow interests and the underlying drivers of value for Village residents. Their self-interests are reflections of important aspects of Village business; but however important and useful for Village planning, they should not be used in a self-congratulatory list of “accomplishments” as surrogates for the underlying value of the Council’s work. Genuine value creation fur residents requires a Council culture that compels our Governing body to pursue projects that promise to improve life for all residents, whether it be property tax reduction or paving our third world roads – while not treating their own narrow self-interests (Schedler, Elks HQ, Hudson Garage) as ends in themselves.”
The original poster (Reader Attempts to explain the flawed logic behind the Garber Square Traffic Mess) is lots of bloviating to “add gravitas” to a series of conjured up assumptions and desires in an attempt to force a narrow vision of “utopia” (which really translates to a state of misery) upon the “ignorant masses” (in this case RW residents)
No amount of words will ever change the fact that forcing an artificial reality (misguided utopia) upon the people does not change the actual reality nor will the imposition of a forced artificial “utopia” change the actions of the people.
The prudent, common sense and responsible thing to do would be to ACCOMODATE the desires of the people while trying to make the situation safer and “better” (for example, scarifying the asphalt).
Unfortunately common sense is no longer taught nor valued in America.
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Just curious… is the OP a product of a Ridgewood education?
There is no argument you can make about a bike lane vs the underpass for safety. Traffic is far worse since the lane, this has been documented again and again. Everything residents warned the council would happen, did. The original design called for an even more narrow roadway. The village has started down the right path to improve the busiest east west intersection in the village. When a proper left turn signal is added we’ll be better off. Then, when all the high density housing from John Saraceno is built, the intersection will go back to being a mess. Thanks Paul, Al, Gwenn, and Roberta
Paving the lane green and calling it a bike lane does not make it safe, nor does it make Ridgewood more bike friendly. Narrowing capacity for one of three major arteries for vehicles in town is not the ideal location for a bike lane, and nobody is complaining about speeding there. Try a bike lane on Monroe, Lincoln, or Linwood, aves for starters. Those are roads connected to others that are fairly wide and single lane filled with speeding cars. Bike lane at Garber square always was and still is an awful idea with awful execution.
And btw, 5 years on the safety committee (or any committee) is too long. Your time is up.
Ridgewood NJ, Bike lanes are still major concern for safety at the Ridgewood rail underpass. Most observers failed to see the logic from the beginning of of the construction for changing from two lanes to one and adding extremely dangerous bike lanes under the trestle .
Like the ADA elevators to nowhere that proceeded it resident were quite skeptical at its introduction . Contrary to the elevators ,which seem good for a laugh , the bike lane presents a clear danger to bikers . Not to mention the slow down to emergency services through town .
Recent developments like the continued effort to fill the “east side” with sports fields have refocused a light on what may have been the real purpose of the so called ‘ “traffic calming”. Resident now speculate that it is another attempt to inhibit traffic into the west side of town making it more difficult for new residents living in the new high density housing to enter the west side . There also seems to be a movement growing to bus any new children to Hawes school and not to the select schools in the west side like Orchard and Willard .
Residents again speculate that the bike lane is being used as an excuse to further divide the town like Englewood , giving certain types of politicians a voting block to ensure their perpetual election.
JUNE 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2014, 5:41 PM Dave Slomin
To the Editor:
I am writing as father of two young boys and as leader of Ridgewood’s Pack 44 Cub Scouts, with responsibility and concern for the safety of 100 boys. As such, I am very troubled by the dangers I see inherent in the design of the new underpass bike lane.
I applaud the Village Council for making changes to correct issues in the plans and process of the Garber and Wilsey Square Underpass Roadwork Project. While I continue to question the overall design and ultimate necessity of this project, I believe that narrowing the median to create a “contingency plan,” whereby the two lost traffic lanes can be restored if traffic problems occur, is important and appreciated. But, unfortunately, we can’t stop there.
The same good leadership that went into correcting the median now needs to be applied to an unfettered look at the safety issues of the bike lane. Your June 6 article (“Vote on changes prompted by protests,” The Ridgewood News, A1) quoted me as saying: “there are some good parts to the project, but the bike lane is not one of them.” A clear explanation of this bike lane’s dangers is important. As an avid cyclist myself, I am all for “bike lanes.” Just not this one. Here’s why:
Readers Question the wisdom of reducing traffic lanes at Garber Square
Would be interested in knowing how much additional funds were needed to make Wilsey and Garber Squares into one lanes vs. repaving existing setup. Not completely sure what they are trying to achieve at this location with the narrow roadways — is speeding/pedestrian safety a major issue around that stretch?
Starting Wednesday, May 7th, paving construction work will begin on the West Side at Wilsey and Garber Squares from Godwin Avenue to under the train trestle on Franklin Avenue. Expect traffic congestion in this area for the next 3 months during construction. To avoid delays, we suggest the use of alternate streets to get across the train tracks – Ackerman Avenue or W. Glen Avenue.
