A Letter To The Editor From Point Pleasant Democratic Council Hopeful Peter Hagemeyer

A Letter to the Editor from Peter Hagemeyer
POINT PLEASANT, NJ - Do you remember when you first learned to ride a bike? Most of us learned to ride as kids. Some people remember and even still own their first bikes. How about those happy, carefree memories of your childhood? Long sunny days with friends, rides to the park and the beach with parents and siblings, riding to school… For some people, bicycling never stops, continuing right into their 80s and older. Some people, however, stop riding the moment they get their driver’s license.

Point Pleasant with its small footprint, suburban streets, and flat roads is the perfect place to roll around on your cruiser. Here are some of the most important reasons why riding a bicycle in Point Pleasant should be embraced and not be something we should take for granted:

Riding a few times per week can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by a whopping 50 percent, helps you stay trim, and is a great low impact sport. Every bike on the road reduces traffic and helps eliminate congestion and pollutants- talk about being eco-friendly! Biking is cheap too compared to the upkeep of a car. It's good for your brain; studies have shown that people who bike to school and work arrive awake, aware, and ready to learn.

One quick look around the neighborhood and you'll see that Bay Head and Point Beach are installing bike share programs, putting in bicycle racks around town, and working with the county and state to install bicycle lanes.

I want to bring complete streets to Point in order to make us a bike and pedestrian friendly town where your safety on our roads will never be in question. I want to connect the boro with the beach and Bay Head with bike lane super highways. I want to install protected bike lanes on our state roads like Rouet 88, even over our bridges. We’re born to move, walk, and ride- the infrastructure in our town should support pedestrians, cyclists, and ease congestion for cars.

My name is Peter Hagemeyer and I'm running for Point Pleasant Borough Council as a Democrat along with Derek Reichenbecher. I have resided in Point Pleasant for 15 years, married to wife Grace whom is a lifelong resident. We are raising two sons and a daughter; two attend Ocean Road, and one attends the Middle School.

All three of my children bike to school, I bike to work year round. I am involved in the "Capital to the Coast" multi-use trail from Manasquan to Trenton and have been a bicycling supporter my entire life. I know how to write grant applications, I have friends in the state that manage county and state bicycle funds and programs. I can talk the talk, but I also have the skills to back it up. Let's make Point Pleasant a great place to just go ride a bike.

Photo: Patch file photo