City Approves Plan to Add Bicycle Lanes in New Brunswick

The New Brunswick City Council approved an agreement with Middlesex County on Wednesday that will advance the effort to bring bicycle lanes to some major city streets.

Through the agreement, cycling lanes will be installed on College Avenue, parts of George Street, Albany Street, Nielsen Street and Bishop Place.

Glenn Patterson, Director of the city Planning Department, said the majority of the lanes will be about five feet wide.

The lanes will be overseen by the city, by Middlesex County, and by the state Department of Transportation, Patterson said, as the lanes are to be installed in both city and county managed roads.

The approval of the agreement does not mean the installation will immediately begin. Patterson said the next step is for the county to apply to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority for funds needed to execute the project.

A projected start date on the project is not yet known, he said.

The council voted in an in January that would ban cyclists over age 12 from riding on city sidewalks, mandates all adult riders to have a bell on their bicycles to signal to drivers, and advises drivers to give right of way to all cyclists in the road.