Cyclists from Bradley Beach cross the border and head north in the Grove on Friday afternoon, Sept. 14, 2012. Not allowed! All photos by Paul Goldfinger
This is the sign that those Bradley interlopers blithely ignored. Blogfinger photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net (Sept 14, 2012.)
Most of us are, at least, vaguely aware of the rules about bike riding on the boardwalk in Ocean Grove. Bikers know that bicycles are banned on our boards from 10 a.m. to 3 am. daily in season. So, you can ride from 3 am to 10 am in season.
After Labor Day we might think that we may ride our bikes whenever we want on the OG boards. But, not so fast! See sign above. You don’t get a free-to-ride pass until October 1.
For some, the best boardwalk bike ride is from OG all the way south to Spring Lake, while others look forward to riding through the Casino and continuing north along the Asbury boards. That’s a nice ride to take with someone on a trike or with a couple of kids.
This afternoon (2012) I went to Asbury Park and walked my bike on the boards. As soon as I arrived on the north side of the Casino, a sign was present that said bicycle riding was permitted only from 6 a.m. to noon daily.** But no dates were mentioned. Was it like that only in season? Three APPD officers walked by, and I asked them about it. They said that a new rule was implemented in the last few weeks that continued the bicycle restrictions all year long.*
I visited the Brielle Cyclery (somebody tell the BF grammarian that “cyclery” is a real word) at 1200 Ocean Avenue, on the Asbury boardwalk, near McLoon’s. (Please don’t drink and bike—that is a BUI felony.)
This is a large shop that offers rentals, sales and service. The young lady inside did not know the boardwalk biking rules, but she didn’t care because she said that most of the police do not stop bikers unless their riding became hazardous—except, she said, for one “older” officer who tends to be “grumpy.” We hear there is another APPD officer who tends to be sneezy.
Brielle Cyclery on the AP boards. (With a name like that, shouldn’t they be in Spring Lake? —just asking.) Paul Goldfinger photograph ©Then I went back in the Grove and found two signs that gave mixed messages—one above and this one. This one does not clarify if they mean “in season.”
Baby, what I say? Blogfinger photo.
I went home and called the Neptune PD for more information regarding the actual ordinance. When I told the operator what I wanted, she said,”Hold on” and then I found myself listening to a message at the Mother Ship, which was closed.
Then I approached a Neptune PD officer and asked him. He admitted that he did not know the rule, but that he had no intention of stopping any biker today since the boardwalk was not crowded. He guessed that biking in OG was restricted only from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Finally I found the actual Neptune ordinance on-line. The truth is below:
“No person shall operate a bicycle, roller-blades or a skateboard in the following designated areas from May 1 to October 1, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., on the Ocean Grove Boardwalk, within the boundaries of the Township of Neptune, between the boundaries of the City of Asbury Park and Borough of Bradley Beach.”
So, there it is. We can bike unfettered on our boardwalk come October 1, but don’t think you can breeze through into AP, because you might run into Officer Grumpy (to be distinguished from Officer Krupke).
So what is the moral of the story? It seems that our small OG laws (e.g. bike rules on the boards) can be ignored (like yard sale permits or hanging signs on poles) without risk of running afoul of the law. Yet many of us are uncomfortable violating the rules, so for those of you who are gutless weenies, just follow the rules and you will sleep well at night and set a good example for the children and for all those yahoos.com who pedal on our boards in the afternoon in season and who fail to signal when turning.
2022 Asbury update: ** I went to the AP boards at 7 pm on 9/17/22 and saw the AP Police riding back and forth in their SWAT team golf cart telling bicyclists to walk their bikes.
The next day I found a barely legible sign past the Casino on the AP side. It said that there is no bike riding from 10 am to midnight. So, you can ride from midnight to 10 am. It’s not clear if that is year round or seasonal.
OG and AP agree that morning bike riding is OK until 10 am in season.
After October 1, you can ride on the OG boards whenever you are in the mood, but if that AP sign is to be believed, you can ride bikes there only from midnight to 10 am in all seasons.
DEPARTMENT OF PLAIN ENGLISH
OG. in season: ride from 3 am to 10 am
OG after Oct. 1: ride whenever
AP year round: ride from midnight to 10 am
So, if you are a teenager in love, in the off season, and you want to have an afternoon bike date on the boardwalk, come to Ocean Grove where the living is easy and the cotton is high:
DION;
SOUNDTRACK BY QUEEN:
Reblogged this on Blogfinger and commented:
This post gets hit on about every other day, so it seems to still have some relevance for bike riders on the boards. So let’s repost it now and see if anyone has anything new to say about it. If you do, click on “comments.” Click on the word “Blogfinger” below. Thank you, the Management.
I’ll be staying in Ocean Grove beginning October 1 thru October 7 and will enjoy biking their boards and everyone else’s boards my bike takes me. Have a nice day NPD…………………….
Yellow Zones are enforced when there is a violation and it is observed by the guys in the parking car. My neighbor got a ticket for such on a tuesday in march and i have seen them issue tickets on weekdays. Its just not as busy in the winter and the visitors dont seem to care
Yellow zone encroachment is generally only strictly enforced on big weekend occasions/events and when an emergency vehicle makes a report, in my neighborhood at least. To Sue, the neighbors/residents only got tickets for encroachment BECAUSE they have gotten away with it in the past with no consequences. In the narrow streets, less than a foot in a tight turn is a big deal to a firetruck. There was an example of this just last week. Thankfully the ’emergency’ turned out to be a faulty circuit on a central alarm system.
I would like to see the evidence that supports that statement.
Ocean Grove doesn’t really have an accommodating boardwalk. Maybe with those big cruiser tires, it does. I’v never tried because I have 23mm tires and it doesn’t look very enticing. The bumpy boards, which only go horizontal, don’t allow for smooth riding, unlike Asbury which has two stretches of diagonal facing boards from the Casino to Convention Hall. The Asbury boardwalk is also much wider. The town would be smart to only enforce the law when it’s busy. The only solution I can think of for Ocean Grove would be to first repave Ocean Ave, which would probably be a pain in the butt, and also somehow make it safer for cyclists. From Ocean Grove south to Spring Lake, Ocean Ave is often a scary place to ride. I usually end up moving into the neighborhood streets, especially the one ways in Belmar where I don’t have to deal with oncoming traffic.
When the small laws don’t get enforced, then it encourages violators/criminals to break bigger laws. It’s a shame that the police/CMA don’t take the law more seriously. Maybe once someone gets seriously injured, there will be a big lawsuit against the town/CMA. Once it comes out that the police have actually stated that they do not intend to enforce the law, there will be a big award (and maybe someone will learn a lesson).
What’s next? Sleeping on the beach is OK? How about fires on the beach? Or maybe public urination? Walking on the dunes? Given the lax attitude of the police, perhaps all of these are decriminalized too. Come on police — do your job!
I doubt that yellow parking zones are not enforced, considering the police have a car and guys whose sole job is to enforce parking
I can’t comment on the others, but in the North End, the yellow parking encroachment is strictly enforced. Several of my neighbors received tickets this summer when they’re under a foot over the line.
Another pesky rule (law) on the books which is not enforced.
Other examples include: clean up after your dog, no signage on utility poles, yard/tag sale permits, yellow zone parking encroachment, etc.
Either enforce or repeal them. I personally believe they should be enforced. Some people may complain, but they will adapt with consistant enforcement.
Just got back from a walk from Bradley through O.G. to Asbury and back. The OG boardwalk was filled with bicycles;there were lots of nice new signs though saying not to bike.
I really don’t care about the bikes if it’s not crowded, but today was beautiful,and plenty of walkers and joggers were dodging the bikes.
Why bother with all the signs, and before someone says it, I realize the Police Dept has a 1000 other things to worry about.
Just my humble opinion.
As a biker I have noticed that since Labor Day more than the usual bunch of scofflaws have appeared. Even worse is the fact that they speed through with no regard to the fact they share the boards with walkers and runners. I also witnessed a family entering OG from AP, the young daughter noticed the sign and told Dad. Dad told her to just hurry and keep up, Good teaching?