Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Route 202 Parkway Trail Bringing 8 Miles Of Trail and Lanes To Bucks and Montgomery County

At 2 PM on Monday December 3rd PennDOT will cut the ribbon on the Route 202 Parkway and Trail. The trail runs parallel to the roadway for more than eight miles between Montgomeryville and Doylestown. It is the largest expansion of The Circuit Regional Trail Network since the opening of the Perkiomen Trail in 2003.

A complete street? The 202 Parkway is PennDOT's
crown jewel in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Visit The Circuit website to check out the trail's path in Bucks County and Montgomery County.

The idea of the US 202 Parkway came about as a compromise between PennDOT and the residents of the 202 corridor. The original proposal was to build an expressway to connect Route 309 and Route 611. In light of the political opposition of local communities to a major highway, and the reality of dwindling transportation funds, the agency decided that a downsized roadway with amenities to benefit the local community was the best option.  For more insight into the history of the project go to: http://www.us202-700.com/projecthistory.aspx.

The 202 Parkway will also include the first bike lanes in Bucks County and will increase the mileage of bike lanes in the Pennsylvania suburbs by 50%. If you are wondering why these bike lanes are not subject to the punitive agreements of the Bikeway Occupancy Permit (BOP), it's because PennDOT is taking the responsibility for maintenance of the bike lanes as well as the shared use path.

Best of all, coordinated regional planning is taking place to ensure that the 202 Parkway Trail will not be another disconnected pathway. Doylestown Township has already expanded its bike and hike trail network to meet the Parkway near Delaware Valley College. Montgomery Township is currently studying an expansion of the Power Line Trail to connect the 202 Parkway with the existing trail that terminates in neighboring Horsham Township. And PennDOT is planning 9 more miles of bike lanes for US 202 between Mongtomeryville and Norristown.

Details about the ribbon cutting ceremony below:

US 202 Parkway Ribbon Cutting
December 3rd, 2 PM
US 202 at County Line Rd, Warrington, PA

Bike from Transit access to the trail:
US 202 Parkway on The Circuit website

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