S.J. bike path faces challenges from drivers

On his commute from Philadelphia to Cherry Hill, Andy Ward must negotiate cobbled streets, pedestrians on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and Camden's derelict boulevards - all on his bicycle.

But it's not until the 28-year-old bike mechanic gets into South Jersey, with its multilane roads connecting shopping centers and office parks, that he begins to consider his mortality.

"In Philadelphia there's a lot of volume, but maybe because [drivers] see more cyclists, they are more aware," Ward said. "Here you really got to watch them, because they're not watching for you."

As planners look toward establishing a regional bike network, connecting Cherry Hill and surrounding towns with Camden and ultimately Philadelphia, they are butting up against the problem of putting cyclists on a system of roads often eight lanes wide with cars moving at highway speeds.

"It's hard to develop plans for these nonmotorized forms of transportation when everything was set up to favor motorized transportation," said Jacob Gordon, project manager for the Cooper Ferry Development Association, which is developing a bicycle path along the Cooper River. "Route 30 is a really difficult connection. And on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, you have these pockets of sidewalk, which are kind of for show, as opposed to really getting you someplace."

Communities across the United States - especially urban communities - are painting bike lanes and establishing cycling networks that allow people to ride to work or the grocery store, and perhaps give up their cars.

The percentage of Americans who bike to work increased by 43 percent from 2000 to 2008, according to U.S. census data, but is still just .55 percent of the commuting population.

That trend is spreading into the suburbs and exurbs, where the car is king and roads carry a traffic load that could make cycling at best unsavory and at worst outright dangerous.

"The way things are now, these places can't just change into Portland or Philadelphia overnight," said Jeff Peel, a consultant with the League of American Bicyclists, a Washington nonprofit agency that offers advice on creating biking networks. "It is something of an uphill battle in a lot of places, considering the path of development in the past."

There are 52 miles of biking trails and lanes spread across Camden County, with plans in the works for 110 more miles, according to Cross County Connection, the state- and federally funded nonprofit agency coordinating efforts.

Among South Jerseyans who ride for transportation rather than recreation, a small and predominantly male portion of society, there is a certain degree of pride in the lengths to which one must go just to cycle to the grocery store.

Riders stick to sharply defined routes that favor back roads over heavily trafficked byways and keep a sharp lookout for motorists, whom they generally consider the worst in the country.

And when they do get knocked off their bikes, which happens often, it's considered good form not to complain too much about injuries.

"I was riding on Kings Highway, and there was this girl coming up behind me talking on her cell phone and she made a right turn right in front of me and I had to push up against her car, but that didn't work out too well," said Matt Dera, a graphic designer who commutes from Collingswood to Woodbury most days. "I landed right on my elbow, so it was pretty painful. But I dealt with it."

In the years to come, bicyclists like Dera might be a more common sight on South Jersey roads.

A bike-share program was launched in Collingswood in 2008 through which residents can rent the Police Department's cache of unclaimed bicycles - refurbished by charitable mechanics and spray-painted a distinctive lime green.

In Cherry Hill, township officials are meeting with residents and cycling advocates to get bike paths installed as part of the township's sustainability movement.

But making Cherry Hill, a retail mecca for the region, bicycle friendly will be slow going, said Natalie Shafiroff, a planner with the township.

"It's a very step-by-step process. First, how do we connect these neighborhoods to where people want to go, to the park or the convenience store? And then to other neighborhoods? And then to Garden State Park and the mall?" she said. "For now, we want to focus on people getting out of their cars for these short trips."

In the meantime, those looking to incorporate cycling into their everyday lives without fully braving Cherry Hill's foreboding traffic have to get creative.

Chris Cominetto, a 50-year-old bicycle repairman who works at the Garden State Park shopping center, at one of Cherry Hill's busiest intersections, has come up with his own version of park and ride.

Most days he leaves his car at a park four miles south of Garden State Park, hops on his bicycle, and takes a relatively leisurely ride along back roads before crossing Route 70 and arriving at work.

"You take your life in your hands if you go on Route 70," he said. "The paradox of cycling here is it's pretty flat, which is great, but the downside is you're dealing with everything else."