Introduction

New Jersey has significant bicycle infrastructure elements of many different types, however they are not easily referenced, nor are they cataloged in one central location. This wiki attempts to remedy that. Below are numerous known cycle routes within the state, at various levels of jurisdiction and history (for example, railtrails, today abandoned railways, have a particular history and legal status). Note that OpenCycleMap (OCM, the "Cycle Map" layer) renders route shields only with a maximum of three alphanumeric characters in the ref=* (reference) tag of the route=bicycle relation. The shields and route lines are color-coded by network=*: red=national, purple=state/regional and dark blue=local. Note that mountain bike trails (orange), for example, in the Wharton State Forest, have their own set of route=mtb tagging conventions, different from route=bicycle relations.

Quasi-national Bicycle Routes

State Bicycle Tours

The NJ Department of Transportation publishes several guides for bike tours throughout the state. These routes are sometimes grade-separated, but often run along rural roadways with either dedicated lanes for bicycles (cycleway=lane) or wide shoulders signed or otherwise legal/specified for bicycles (cycleway=shoulder).

Each of these should be added to OSM using a cycle route relation. Relations should use the network=rcn tag when they are state-level designated. If the route has been added by NJDOT, please provide a link to this table of relations. Don't forget to tag cycle_network=US:NJ on the relation of state-designated routes.

Remember to verify that your work is correct by using the Relation Analyzer.

Local Rides

Tagged network=lcn (for "local cycleway network"). Don't forget to tag cycle_network=US:NJ:XY(:Z) on the relation of these usually county- or perhaps city-level designated routes, where XY is either the name of the county or a two-letter standardized abbreviation for it and Z is the name of the borough, city, town, township or village. If the jurisdiction is county-only and there is no city sponsorship, simply leave Z empty.

Rails-to-Trails

There are several abandoned railroads that have been converted to some combination of either cycling or hiking paths (or both, or sometimes including equestrians). These are called "railtrails" or "rails-to-trails," abandoned railroads legally "railbanked" so they may be used again for rail in the future if demand warrants it. These are all tagged network=lcn. Those that have sealed surfaces and/or cycling facilities should be added to the map using cycle route relations. Rails-to-Trails cycleways should be added here when discovered and when added to OSM. Again, for unpaved/unsealed/dirt/gravel bike trails, see the route=mtb wiki and please tag according to those slightly different tagging conventions.