Why Benchmark? Creating a Bicycle Benchmarking Report for New Jersey

The purpose of this study was to benchmark the state of local bicycling investments in New Jersey for the years 2013 to 2014. It is a comprehensive summary of the bicycle environment at the municipal level, which in turn provides a baseline for future reports to show how support for bicycling in New Jersey evolves over time. As the first ever bicycle benchmarking report for New Jersey, it was critical that an effective methodology be developed to collect data from municipalities, which can then easily be replicated every other year. Aside from tracking changes in infrastructure, policy, and investment, the study illuminates data previously inaccessible to the public, and can inspire municipalities across New Jersey (and nationally) to critically examine their support of bicycling in comparison with some of their peers. This was done by asking municipalities to complete a forty-question survey, in addition to compiling publically available data. The report found variations in investment in bicycling throughout the state. Among the sixty municipalities included in the study, most did not spend any money on bicycle projects or policies in 2013 or 2014. Of the ones that did, no municipality excelled in all categories, and investment in bicycling does not appear to be focused in any one region or municipality type. Overall, New Jersey municipalities have a lot of work left to do to be truly bicycle friendly.