Hoboken Mayor Wants To Try ‘Protected Bike Lane’ On Clinton St.

HOBOKEN, NJ — Would protected bicycle lanes help keep riders safe in Hoboken? That’s the question some officials are hoping to answer as they pitch for a new pilot program in the city.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said that his administration, Transportation Director Ryan Sharp and City Engineer Kim Craft been “working diligently” to introduce the pilot program, which would be located on Clinton Street.

The new bike lane was scheduled to be discussed at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, but was pulled from the agenda. It’s slated for a vote at the council’s next meeting, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said.

“Protected bike lanes, which are being introduced in neighboring Jersey City and are found in New York and many other cities across the country, provide important design upgrades to make our streets safer for all modes of transportation – cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles,” Bhalla wrote in a July 10 email.

“Data from other cities with protected bike lanes has shown that crashes and injuries are reduced and sidewalk riding is reduced as riders feel safe and comfortable riding bicycles (or scooters) in the street,” Bhalla continued.

The mayor said city engineers are still designing the configuration of the proposed bike lane, but will likely recommend placing the bike lane on the west side of the street next to the curb, followed by a “floating” parking lane that is separated from the bike lane by a striped buffer zone lined with flexible bollards.

According to Bhalla, parked cars will also help provide physical separation between the bike lane and vehicular traffic.

“Since cars would be parked in a ‘floating’ parking lane at least seven feet from the curb with a protected bike lane, we are reviewing the possibility of whether or not cars will need to move for street cleaning when parked adjacent to a protected bike lane,” Bhalla stated.

He added:

“As Clinton Street is a bus route, the bus stops will continue to be located on the east side of the street, preventing conflicts with the bike lane. Bus stops will also be improved as a part of the project by our engineers and design team. It is my hope that if the pilot protected bike lane on Clinton Street is successful, we can extend protected bike lanes to other city streets that have the necessary width in order to have a connected network of low-stress protected bikeways.”

Bhalla pointed out that the idea was previously brought up in 2016, with the City Council “not in favor” of the proposal.

Bhalla, who was a councilman at the time, said he regrets voting against the proposal.

“It’s clear that we must do more to provide the road infrastructure to accommodate alternative transportation options and safe streets,” he stated.

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