In 2023, Jersey City was awarded a $670,000 NJDOT Bikeway grant for the permanent installation of a bike lane along Manhattan Ave & Franklin St in the Jersey City Heights. This route was identified as a critical east-west corridor that crosses the high-injury network. It connects two major parks and PS 8, and it is the only east-west route in the Heights identified for a protected bike lane by the Jersey City Bike Master Plan. It would also provide a route to the future Hudson-Essex Greenway to the west and Hoboken to the east.

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In early 2024, Bike JC was awarded a People for Bikes grant to install a temporary pilot project along ​a section of the corridor. In June of 2024, Bike JC and the Department of Infrastructure installed a 30 day pilot project along Manhattan Ave, from Summit Ave to Central Ave, and on Franklin St, from Central Ave to Sherman Ave. 

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Following the pilot, community support for the permanent installation was split. Opponents of the project mainly drive (“80% of respondents who drive do not support the project being implemented,” according to the project survey), indicating that concerns about the safety of vulnerable road users was not their main priority. The survey also indicated that overall, respondents felt safer and traffic felt calmer. Learn more at: Manhattan Avenue & Franklin Street bike lane demonstration project. In addition, Bike JC circulated two petitions for the implementation, one of which collected 320 signatures, the other currently has over 400 signatures. 

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