Trying to plot an all sidewalk/bike path route in NJ

[argggh]

Been at this all day. Starting from John Hall rd. I've plotted a route using google maps street view to Griggstown Canoe & Kayak Rentals 1076 Canal Rd Princeton, NJ 08540 with minimal vehicle interaction. If there's no sidewalk or bike path I've usually found a road not used a lot I will feel comfortable on. Eventually, I want this route to go all the way to the Delaware Water Gap but I'm working on a smaller section right now.

Now I want to get from Griggstown Canoe & Kayak Rentals 1076 Canal Rd Princeton, NJ 08540 to Hopewell Wertsville Rd. It's proving difficult finding a road in street view where I have enough shoulder or continuious sidewalk the whole way through. I want to create a route where I don't have to put my faith in drivers to see and not to hit me. I'm definitely favoring safety over the straightest way to get from A to B. I have routes that meander through quiet subdivisions just to avoid the highways and vehicle congested roads. So speed is not on my agenda.

Like I said, been at this all day and am a bit burnt out and stuck. If anyone would like to take a crack at plotting a safe way based on my criteria to get from Griggstown Canoe & Kayak Rentals 1076 Canal Rd Princeton, NJ to Hopewell Wertsville Rd I certainly could use the help. Plus I will draw up the full route once it's finished and post it for everyone. I've had a lot of fun trying to figure this out knowing that other cyclists quite possibly would appreciate cycling a route through NJ without having to be in close quarters with cars and trucks.

The criteria is all roads have to either have somewhere to ride where the cyclist is not directly next to speeding traffic. It could be a sidewalk, a bicycle trail, a quiet subdivision, or even a trail in through the woods that people are allowed to ride on...The point is, they all must connect in one chain that gets you to Hopewell Wertsville Rd. All the roads I've looked at just seem to have stretches way too long where there's no sidewalks and no shoulder so the traffic is going to be right on top of you...It certainly is a puzzle to piece together but I'm determined...Hope someone out there likes puzzles too...

Thanks. I'm kind of late posting this so will check back in tomorrow..

 

[The fingers]

Biketopia doesn't exist, I'm afraid.

 

[edcastrovalley]

I'll take a stab at this. What the hell. I'm not from the East Coast so I'm not familiar with your terrain but I'm trying anyway because I too spent countless hours trying find a commute route through Oakland and San Leandro here in California. I like to use google maps with the "bicycling" feature turned on.

See below the route highlighted in purple. It may be that this route would never work for you but I like the simplicity of it. Starting at the Griggstown Canoe and Kayak marked "A" is a dark green line for Canal Rd. It's hard to see under the purple but it's there. The dark green means "bike trail". I'm liking it already. No Cars! It don't get any better. Then you have to turn right on Georgetown Franklin Turnpike. The name of that one sound intimidating to me however, It does have a dotted green line which means "bicycle friendly road". You may be okay here. Also on Hopewell Wertsville Rd. you have the same green dots. Bike friendly again! In fact the entire route shows that is bike friendly. All your problems are solved! Damn. If it were only that easy.

Finally, I like to use google earth with the elevation feature turned on. I then hover the cursor over the path checking the elevation along the way watching the elevation readout at the bottom of the screen. This is important where I live since some parts of the SF bay area can become mountainous in a big hurry. You may not even need this where you live.

Obviously a little local knowledge would go a long ways here.

 

[John in CR]

Sidewalks are one of the least safe places you can ride.

 

[argggh]

I'll take a stab at this. What the hell. I'm not from the East Coast so I'm not familiar with your terrain but I'm trying anyway because I too spent countless hours trying find a commute route through Oakland and San Leandro here in California. I like to use google maps with the "bicycling" feature turned on.

See below the route highlighted in purple. It may be that this route would never work for you but I like the simplicity of it. Starting at the Griggstown Canoe and Kayak marked "A" is a dark green line for Canal Rd. It's hard to see under the purple but it's there. The dark green means "bike trail". I'm liking it already. No Cars! It don't get any better. Then you have to turn right on Georgetown Franklin Turnpike. The name of that one sound intimidating to me however, It does have a dotted green line which means "bicycle friendly road". You may be okay here. Also on Hopewell Wertsville Rd. you have the same green dots. Bike friendly again! In fact the entire route shows that is bike friendly. All your problems are solved! Damn. If it were only that easy.

Finally, I like to use google earth with the elevation feature turned on. I then hover the cursor over the path checking the elevation along the way watching the elevation readout at the bottom of the screen. This is important where I live since some parts of the SF bay area can become mountainous in a big hurry. You may not even need this where you live.

Obviously a little local knowledge would go a long ways here.

I think this is actually going to work! Thanks, edcastrovalley! Last night, before I called it a night, I took one last stab at this, and I too settled on the Georgetown Franklin Turnpike! I followed the route in street view and sure enough, the vast part of it all the way up to Hopewell-Wertsville Road is a beautiful bike lane! I too had been using Google map's bicycle feature but, on other roads, I discovered that feature is not usually a reliable indicator of a safe road. I always have to confirm it's a safe road by plotting the entire road in street view, lol. And it seems to have worked out on Georgetown Franklin.

Also, I'm pretty sure the Canal Road you are referring to is a bike path so I won't be on a regular road at all leading up to Georgetown Franklin but a nice bike path.

I still have a long way to go to map out the route but you've helped me over a major obstacle! I'll remember to PM you a copy of the final route when it's done and to credit you in the final version.

I hope this works out. I can't wait to be able to present a north westward nj route where a rider doesn't have to have cars right on top of them.

 

[argggh]

Sidewalks are one of the least safe places you can ride.

Yes, they can be. However, as I mentioned previously, I am not interested in speed for this route but avoidance of cars. If a car is coming up on you very close and very fast, the driver is usually in control of your fate, which I hate. But if I see a pedestrian or a rough spot coming toward me on a sidewalk, I can control what happens. This may be too slow a method for you but, I could do any number of actions on a sidewalk with a pedestrian...slow down, stop and let them pass, move on the grass, etc...and there will be very little chance of a problem...If it's a sidewalk where cars could be pulling out of driveways like in a suburban setting, I have the option of riding in the road, which tend to be safer in suburban neighborhoods on account of speed limits, low traffic, etc... But if you're on a major road with no shoulder to speak of, your life is literally dependent on what the driver does, if they see you, if they slow down, all of that...there is literally sometimes no action you can take when all of a sudden you are squeezed against a car lane on a road with no shoulder...you literally have to sit there and take it...I hate that. On a sidewalk, I know I'm going to be an aware and good rider. On a road, I don't know what drivers are going to be.

The purpose of this route is not speed but to keep the control of what happens mostly in the hands of the bike rider.

 

[John in CR]

The big part of what makes them one of the most dangerous places to ride is mostly out of control of the rider. You are more obscured and you have many more intersections to cross because every driveway or parking entrance/exit is an additional intersection. Pedestrians get smacked by cars regularly, and it's not just when crossing the road, so don't let going slow lead you into a false sense of security. Increasing overall safety isn't always intuitive.

FWIW, I hate the same things you do, and with over 3 decades of seeing driver mistakes I want to cross paths with as few of them as possible. Slowing down makes you exposed to more drivers.

 

[argggh]

The big part of what makes them one of the most dangerous places to ride is mostly out of control of the rider. You are more obscured and you have many more intersections to cross because every driveway or parking entrance/exit is an additional intersection. Pedestrians get smacked by cars regularly, and it's not just when crossing the road, so don't let going slow lead you into a false sense of security. Increasing overall safety isn't always intuitive.

FWIW, I hate the same things you do, and with over 3 decades of seeing driver mistakes I want to cross paths with as few of them as possible. Slowing down makes you exposed to more drivers.

I agree sidewalks in a neighborhood setting with rows of driveways and trees can be extremely problematic. Luckily, the sidewalks I mostly will be dealing with are outside neighborhoods along major roadways, primarily used for walking, with not a lot of people using them, and with no connection to any rows of driveways. Inside a suburban setting I can stick to the street with relative safety.