Overview

Mercer County is committed to improving multi-modal connections, especially bicycle facility accommodations, where feasible. The County’s strategy for improving the cycling network focuses on improvements for safety and         accommodation along approximately 180 centerline miles of roadway under County jurisdiction. These roads serve as critical corridors for intra-county (600 routes) and inter-county (500 routes) mobility.  By addressing bicycle mobility on these routes, the County hopes to create a “spine” network to which the State and our Municipalities can connect into. 

In 2020, the County adopted a new Bicycle Element of the County Master Plan after 2 years of research and public outreach. The plan builds upon roughly 15 years of work of the County Planning Department and the Mercer County Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force (MCBPTF). In preparing this plan, the County undertook careful review of municipal plans, studies, speeds, volumes, roadway characteristics and spoke to municipal staff and residents about possible improvements. 

From this plan, Mercer County has been progressively improving County Roads where opportunities are presented, primarily through resurfacing projects or larger projects funded by State or Federal sources. Since the program began, County staff have added over 18 miles of new bicycle facilities to the County network (sharrows, bicycle lanes and/or buffered bicycle lanes). 

The Mercer County Bicycle Master Plan provides recommendations to be considered for bicycle facilities along every County route segment. Facilities to be considered are based on a wide-ranging review of best practices nationwide, Federal Standards and on facility standards developing within the State of New Jersey. Particular recommendations for specific segments were deemed most practical given cartway and right-of-way limits, posted speeds, traffic volumes, truck and bus routes, adjacent land use, and more. 

Recommended facilities are not proposed projects nor are they final recommendations but are facilities to be considered when a project becomes feasible.  County Planning and Engineering staff will continue to study locations in greater detail and consider location-specific design alternatives as scheduled capital projects advance. Staff and our municipal partners may propose new projects to close critical gaps or create longer corridors. Final facility designs and implementation schedules will be determined case by case, at the final discretion of the County Engineer.

For more information about the County Bicycle Plan, please see the 2020 County Bike Plan Element.

Resurfacing Projects

 In 2016, FHWA published a report on Incorporating On-Road Bicycle Networks into Resurfacing Projects which explains the benefits and cost efficiencies of combining resurfacing projects with bicycle lane implementation. Mercer County has a pavement management system which takes into consideration various conditions to determine a resurfacing schedule for each work year. At some point, every County roadway will need to be resurfaced and repaved and some may need full reconstruction. This provides the County with an opportunity to implement facilities at a relatively small added cost.

For a majority of resurfacing projects, the only added costs for dedicated bicycle lanes would be that of paint and signage. In certain cases, new bicycle safe stormwater grates may need to be installed as well. As a result, the primary and cheapest method for bicycle facility implementation in Mercer County will be to implement projects within a resurfacing and reconstruction schedule.

Over the past few years, Mercer County has taken advantage of our resurfacing projects to implement bicycle lanes where feasible. With every project, a new connection is made and the bicycling network grows. The ultimate goal is to build out the network so that long distance connections can be made, connecting residents to employment centers, shopping, parks, open space and local institutions.

Recent County Highway Projects – Before and After: