The Year 2012 In New Jersey and Suburban PA Bicycling

The year 2012 saw important gains for bicyclists' rights and bicycling infrastructure in the counties surrounding Philadelphia. Much of those gains we've mentioned earlier this week, such as the new developments in The Circuit and legislation like the closing of the drunk driving loophole.

The Circuit will interconnect nine counties when complete

As we conclude our year-in-review series, here are some other happenings and accomplishments we can feel good about as we unwrap the plastic from our new one-a-day calendars:

Suburban Pennsylvania

• The Bicycle Coalition held six workshops in suburban PA towns, training local residents on how to become effective advocates for bicycle and pedestrian projects in their communities.
• Bucks County, Mid-Chester County, Lower Merion, and Delaware County all publicized new bicycle or greenway plans.
• We helped SEPTA, PATCO, and NJDOT create a map asking you which transit stations need more bike parking or better bicycle routes.
• A statewide push helped Pennsylvania pass a 4-foot passing law in April. This law, while it helps all bicyclists everywhere, will be especially pertinent to two-lane, shoulder-less roads in the suburban and rural parts of the state. (This could have gone under legislative highlights, but we're assuming nobody reads just one blog post here, right?)

New Jersey

• We convinced the Delaware River Port Authority to restore funding for a ramp on the Camden side of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
• Camden County, Burlington County, and Gloucester Counties began the process of developing bike/trail plans.
• We proposed and won a complete streets policy for Mantua Township.
• We worked with Gloucester County Planning and Engineering to map out 18 miles of new bike lanes.

Thank you to all those bicyclists and friends of bicyclists who supported these accomplishments by attending meetings, writing letters, and speaking up for the importance of legislative and financial support for bicycling.