Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop endorsed a proposal to make a Jersey City Heights bike lane on Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street permanent earlier today.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Bike infrastructure is important + we have been leaders on this. I think it is another key option for mobility and I’m not sure the next mayor will do anything as none have leaned in. I’ll be clear on this – I’m a supporter of the bike lane full design Manhattan/Franklin,” he wrote on X this morning.
“We need some political courage from some on local level to get it done. The response on the council has been mixed with some on the council saying NO to everything + several saying just yes to Franklin (not 5 votes). Our intention is to put it up for a vote shortly + try to move forward on some infrastructure here. Help from the public will be key[.]”
Back in October, street safety advocates urged the city council to make the aforementioned Heights bike lane permanent before a $670,000 New Jersey Department of Transportation grant expires.
The following month, Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh said during an episode of HCV Live & Uncut that the city had received an extension that will run through the end of the first quarter of this year.
“THANK YOU for supporting the full plan!! 🙏 Safety should always be paramount when making these decisions, and the full plan is by far the safest option, providing a full E-W connection across the Heights,” Bike JC President Ayla Schermer replied to Fulop.
“Plus—it’s fully funded! Any scope reduction would leave $$ on the table.”
A Bike JC Action Network petition generated 8,808 letters being sent to the city council.
“This route was identified as a critical east-west corridor that crosses the high-injury network,” the description says.
“It connects two major parks and PS 8, and it is the only east-west route in the Heights identified for a protected bike lane by the Jersey City Bike Master Plan. It provides a route to the future Hudson-Essex Greenway to the west and Hoboken to the east.”