Run your in-town errands via bicycle? Good idea! Almost get run-over by a car, truck or bus? Scary, isn’t it? In my little town, not all the streets are bike-friendly, so I tend to ride up on the sidewalks — especially with the kids. We’ll ride through parks and along bike paths, but we like to explore from time to time. The New Jersey Department of Transportation publishes biking guides, so we plan to ride some of those, too. But you’ve got to load the bikes and take a drive.
For convenience, we’ve been riding the old Lehigh Valley Railroad’s Perth Amboy-South Plainfield line, which was abandoned many years ago. It will soon become part of the Edison Greenway, which includes a new bridge over U.S. Route 1. Eventually, you’ll be able to ride or walk it from South Plainfield, past the Triple C Ranch, all the way to the Woodbridge Center mall.
Like the idea of converting old railroad rights-of-way to greenways? I do, and I plan to get involved with Rail to Trails.