“The Boardwalk is for slow cruising only,” reads a new sign on the Atlantic City stretch of the Boardwalk, not far from Jackson Ave.
The “Atlantic City Boardwalk Bike Riding Etiquette” sign is filled with other good advice too, such as to yield to pedestrians, walk bicycles through crowds and be prepared to stop. We at Route 40 are avid Boardwalk cyclists and we’re fans of the intention behind the sign. Even the wording is intelligible and straight-forward (leaving aside slow cruising double entendres). But there’s the rub. The rest of the signage all over the Boardwalk is hard to see, hard to understand and – in some cases – just plain wrong.
Take the Boardwalk bike hours signs, for example. What’s the point of knowing how to cycle considerately on the Boardwalk, if you can’t see or understand the signs showing when you are allowed to cycle without getting a ticket? Those signs need correcting and updating. The new etiquette signs are perpendicular to the Boardwalk, so clearly visible to traffic. Meanwhile, the bike hours signs run parallel to the Boardwalk, along the railings, and they are harder to see. We’re not sure how much money was spent on the new etiquette signs, but it seems strange that they don’t include the Boardwalk bike riding hours.
Here are the hours again and you can read the ordinance here:
Winter (Sept 16 – May 14) cycling is permitted all morning, evening and overnight after 4 pm and before midday.
Summer (May 15 – Sept 15) cycling is permitted from 6 am to 12 pm.
(Cycling from Connecticut Ave to the northern end of the Boardwalk is allowed 24 hours a day, year round. Cycling on the southern stretch of the Boardwalk between Jackson Ave and Albany Ave is restricted on Saturdays and Sundays for the period between July 1 and Labor Day to between 6 am to 12 pm.)
The fine for violating the rules is $54.