More Good News For People Who Like Bikes: You’re Gonna Be Seeing TRAILS, Bro!
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s fabulous Spruce/Pine bike lanes being opened up comes even bigger bike lane news: Various counties in PA and NJ, all surrounding the Philadelphia area, have collaborated on a $36M grant proposal to form a “multi-use trail network” that would connect the Schuylkill River Trail, East Coast Greenway and Camden GreenWay all via bike trails. As you can imagine, it’s a massive undertaking, and in many ways, the kind of thing for which the Stimulus Bill was tailor-made. By filling in gaps on the already existing Schuylkill River Trail, the project would connect 128 miles of biking goodness in this part of the country — oh, and create 1,400 jobs in the process. Pretty exciting, no? Now here’s the part where you guys fight with each other in the comments below about what on Earth could possibly be bad about this. For ammo, the press release in full after the jump.
Philadelphia and surrounding counties collaborate on $36 million grant proposal to fund multi-use trail network
Grant would connect Schuylkill River Trail, East Coast Greenway and Camden GreenWay
Philadelphia, PA – For the first time ever, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are poised to create a regional network of bicycle and pedestrian trails. In an unprecedented collaboration, six different counties and agencies in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey submitted a joint proposal to build 17 different trail segments to the U.S. Department of Transportation. On September 15th, the City of Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Schuylkill, Camden counties and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources applied for $36 million of U.S. DOT Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary grant funds to add 16.3 miles of trails and bridge crossings to the “spines” of the region’s network: The Schuylkill River Trail and the East Coast Greenway along the Delaware River.
The proposal, called Generating Recovery by Enhancing Active Transportation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (GREAT-PA/NJ), would significantly complete an integrated, multi-county bicycle pedestrian network for the region. By filling in 17 critical gaps along the Schuylkill River Trail and the East Coast Greenway, it would help connect over 128 miles of bicycle trails in the region, providing more active transportation options and more multi-modal connections for the region’s 6 million residents.
“We are thrilled that after years of planning and public outreach but little construction, this grant program offers the Greater Philadelphia region an opportunity to finally build new trails so it can transform itself into a more connected, economically competitive and sustainable community,” said Spencer Finch, Director of Sustainable Communities at the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.
The public benefits of filling out this network include the creation of 1,400 jobs, the connection of residential neighborhoods to commercial corridors and places of work, the connection of residents to transit stops, economic development, enhancement of underserved neighborhoods access to green space and alternative modes of transportation, and improvements in public health. It will enhance the sustainability of the region by increasing the number of those who are able to (and enjoy!) walking and biking instead of driving for short trips, thus reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution.
“If this application wins approval, the region will finally have what it needs to entice more people to switch from their car to more sustainable modes of transportation for short trips: a connected trail network that can be used by users of all ages and backgrounds throughout the region to commute, run errands, exercise or go to a nearby park,” said Sarah Clark Stuart, Campaign Director at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.
The submitted proposal includes trail segments and bridge crossings in Schuylkill (1 segment), Montgomery (3 segments), Philadelphia (7), Delaware (1), Bucks (2) and Camden (3) counties. The sponsors of the projects include: Schuylkill River Heritage Association, Montgomery County Planning Commission, Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Bartram’s Garden, Delaware River City Corporation, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Borough of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Cooper’s Ferry Development Association. The proposal also received letters of support from over 52 elected officials, institutions and non-profit organizations, including all four Senators and eight Members of Congress in the region.
The proposal submission coincides time-wise with Philadelphia’s celebration of a recent bicycle facility success, the Mayor’s inaugural ride of the new Spruce and Pine Street bike lanes on September 23rd.
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September 24th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Bikes rule! Cars drool!
That oughta bring ‘em out.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
awesome news, hope we can get the dough. but here’s an idea for free, for right now: CLOSE KELLY DRIVE TO TRAFFIC EVERY WEEKEND, 8AM to 5PM. To wit:
1) The path is seriously dangerous to use because of over crowding. And yes everyone knows West River is closed (actaully only the upper 3/4 is) but it obviously has been deemed too innaccessible by the masses. Lloyd Hall bathrooms and snacks are on Kelly. The ever-expanding parking lots and garages are on Kelly. The Art Museum and Waterworks point to Kelly.
2) Someone should do real counts to verify, but I bet you there’s more peds/joggers/bladers/bikes than cars on the drive, so its high time the major users take it over.
3) Its closed randomly for regattas and such. Closing it permanently at least means predictability for drivers.
4) Drivers still have the parrallel options of Ridge Ave, a half dozen park roads, and oh yeah, an Interstate Highway.
5) WWNYCD? Central Park’s carriage roads are closed every weekend, same with SanFran’s Golden Gate Park. Why we so ghetto?
September 25th, 2009 at 10:45 am
arcticsplasher, come on dude. I am about as bike friendly (and as a rower, regatta closing friendly) as it comes, but closing both Kelly and West River at that same time is ludicrous. Ridge and 76 cannot handle that kind of volume. Ever try to get out of the city heading west on a nice Sunday when both drives are closed? Its awful. Maybe Kelly can be closed INSTEAD of WRD, but not both.
There needs to be a happy medium between increasing opportunites for bikes (love the idea of the spruce/pine lanes, hopefully get some North/South routes), but also being realistic about car traffic and peoples needs to use cars to get in and out of the city. Unfortunately too many people are on the fringes of these issues rather than the sensible middle.