leob1

A personal update:
My wife sent an email to the principal voicing her opinion about his decision. His response had a tone of "I'm smarter than everybody else, so I'm right and don't' have to listen to the little people". He is very close minded to the idea of providing bike parking, except along a fence, by a 'retention pond', which is in effect a trash filled swamp. He would not consider any idea to make the road safer in front of the school.
Why can't he task the students with working with the police and school administration to come up with ideas to make it safer, and greener. I don't understand how some people think.
And BTW, Bridgewater-Raritan HS is in Somerset County, NJ. It is right next to Somerville NJ. That is where the Tour of Somerville is held every year, since 1940. Somerset County bills itself as a "cycling center".
Here is where you can contact the school: https://www.brrsd.k12.nj.us/contact.cfm
Thank you all for your support

maddmaxx 

I was prepared to give this principal the benefit of the doubt based on the school being nervous about the liability problem of becoming involved in "cycling to school" (don't laugh, I can just picture laywers chomping at the bit over an opportunity to transfer a lawsuit from a shallow pockets driver to a deep pockets town government), however this last post sort of takes the wind out of those sails.

The liability issue still needs resolving though.

harleyfrog

"That's some catch, that Catch-22."

bizzz111

going with that argument, the school should cancel the district provided bus service, and also ban walking to school.

I don't know where this idea popped up (especially with schools) that bikes are death machines. They aren't drastically more unsafe than walking or driving or skateboarding yet this myth has surfaced that any kid that gets on a bike WILL die.


Heck I've seen a lot of kids wear those shoes with built in rollers in the soles. You want something to ban for being dangerous, how about those things?

maddmaxx 

I'm simply pointing out that there is a daily lineup at school of parents and their laywers. They are there to recover cellphones taken away from students who are not supposed to have them in school. They are there to file freedom of information requests for reams of paperwork so they can proove that the ............ team of .......... is not receiving as much funding as the think they deserve. They are there to get their children reinstated in school because it was "only a small knife". They are there because their children aren't learning and that must be someones fault. (someone else)

Your right, bikes are not death machines, but the school administrator must take into account the 1 non rational parent/laywer combo who will try to prove that they are. Winning that lawsuit can be very expensive for the town.

Have you noticed lately that school busses will stop at consecutive driveways about 30 feet apart rather than let the kids walk that far. Guess why.

All I'm saying is that administrators must at least consider the problems assosciated with appearing to officially sponsor any action by the students. Putting up the bike rack on school property may put the school at risk. On the other hand it might not, I'm only bringing up alternative reasons here.

Dahon.Steve

Here's the problem in a nutshell.

I know the area where the school is located and the problem are the cars coming off Route 22. They come out that highway like there's no tomorrow and since the school is so close, the speeds don't reduce to 25 mph! That's the problem.

mike

CSOM, you seem to be good at finding information. Can you give a more exact link to write to the principal?

Thanks.

Cyclaholic

Can someone please PM me the principal's email address? i want to write him a nice polite email just to let him know that environmental and personal transport issues are a truly global concern and in a time when political boundaries are no longer relevant to communication the whole world is watch, even someone like me from Australia.

I'm sure the last thing he expects is an email in support of the students from the arse end of the universe

mattotoole

I hope these kids, leaders of the future, get some encouragement from parents and peers for sticking with what they believe in. It would be interesting to see where each of these kids winds up in 20 years, compared to Principal Skinner or whatever his name is.

mattotoole

Education adminstration has been rife with pompous asses since the beginning of time.

Why wait? They can work with the town/city/county themselves, and leave the school and school district out of it.

I bet you do understand how they don't think.

Keep fighting the good fight. If this pompous ass won't come around, let this be the beginning of his downfall.

mike

Ironically, the principal of this school has probably done more to promote bicycling among the high school's students than if he had supported the bicycle rack.

School principals and other adults have never been cool. Look at what happened as a result of the Principal's action; groups of students formed bicycle groups and "rebelled" by bicycling to school.

School personnel understand this phenominon. I have to wonder if the principal of this school didn't know exactly what he was doing. The net result is that kids are bicycling to school. You can't beat that!

Feldman

One of these days, we'll finally lose an oil war in the Mideast, and our behavior will be corrected by a squeezing of our oil supply. Go, Iraqui insurgency, Forza, Allez!

I-Like-To-Bike

TiberiusBTkirk

the Tour of Sommerville is infamous, isn't it also called the Hell of the East?
If I were the principal, I would be more concerned about parents giving their
graduating Senior a hyper uber powerful sports car as a graduation gift.
I seem to recall some accidents where speed was involved when it came to
students driving on their lunch break.
someone should do a roadside memorial tour of that county.

gz_

Hi, instead of giving snarky remarks I'd like to buy a bicycle rack for my hometown high school. Does anyone know how this done, how and where to buy a rack, what obstacles lie in getting a place to install the rack, or someone to contact who has done this before successfully? Thanks.

genec

Why don't you start by contacting your home town high school.