Sunday is a good day to email Harrisburg

Earlier this week, we asked you to take action to support a comprehensive transportation funding bill in Pennsylvania. Because we have fallen so far behind in the basic maintenance and replacement needs of our aging infrastructure, the cost of inaction has reached $1 million a day. Today is a crucial day for passage of that bill and the House needs to hear from you again.

The Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition has brought together every part of the transportation system -- from public transit to rail freight, from highways and bridges to biking and walking -- in an unprecedented effort to create a 10-year transportation funding plan that covers all modes. The Senate passed a bill that adequately addressed the needs of all those modes, including biking and walking.

The House is now debating what level to fund the transportation bill and is discussing significant cuts to the $2.5 billion annual funding that the Senate passed. We need to tell members of the House, and the Governor, that we support funding transportation at $2.5 billion annually.

Think of transportation infrastructure repairs like fixing leaks in a roof -- it costs much less to repair those leaks early on than to replace your roof and repair water damage to the floors below when the roof finally falls in. And only fixing half the leaks -- by not funding the repair fully -- does not fix the problem.

The repair bill for infrastructure will continue to go up exponentially if we do not act now.

As a citizen of Pennsylvania, this matters. But bikers and walkers need to be even more concerned. If PennDOT is struggling to fix the most basic infrastructure problems, they will not have the resources to address the needs of bikers and walkers. In contrast, with a new bill we get a new Bicycle and Pedestrian office at PennDOT that will be looking out for the needs of bikers and walkers in every PennDOT project.

Unfortunately, the House isn't getting it.  They passed a bill out of committee that is far short of the Senate's $2.5 billion and we need to make sure that they hear from us today, when debate on the House floor picks up again in an unusual Sunday session.

Please email your House Representative and let him/her know that you want them to vote in favor of a comprehensive transportation bill that funds all modes of transportation at $2.5 billion.  Nothing less will do.

Hearing from you (repeatedly) makes a difference.  Send a quick email today.

Crossover: Our New Report on Walking and Biking Across the Delaware

General Washington and bicyclists have (at least) one thing in common: difficulty in crossing the Delaware. After examining twelve bridges that connect New Jersey and Pennsylvania at or near Philadelphia, we are releasing a new report that reveals how poorly the Delaware River bridges provide bicycle and pedestrian accessibility.

"Washington Crossing The Delaware [Because There Were No Bridges With Pedestrian/Bicycle Access]" by Emanuel Leutze

The report, “Crossover: Bridge Ahead Impassible” finds that only five of the twelve bridges studied allow access to bicycles or pedestrians, and even then, the limited access provided by those five bridges is restricted further by regulations. The report lays out specific short-term recommendations for each bridge to improve access for bicycles and pedestrians. “Crossover” then provides longer-term solutions and identifies the regional agencies who would be responsible for, and capable of, implementing those changes.

Women Bike PHL #10: Janique from Neighborhood Bike Works

Janique is a graduate of Neighborhood Bike Works’ Earn-a-Bike program, and continues to volunteer at NBW regularly.

Tell me how you got interested in bikes; what made you come to Neighborhood Bike Works for the first time?
A few years ago, a man named Leonard, who is still a close friend, was running a nonprofit program for the children around the neighborhood where we lived and he was taking kids on field trips and bringing them here during the school year to join Earn-A-Bike. One day he asked if I wanted to go, and I said yes, and he brought me here and I just started and I continued to return after I graduated from the class.

What did you think would happen when you came to Neighborhood Bike Works for the first time? Did you think you would get excited about bikes?
I was already excited about it. I'm a very active person and I like hands-on things, and I already knew I was going to be interested and really involved in bike related activities.

What's your favorite part about working with bikes?
It's a positive thing I feel. This is a skill for me, and I didn't really have anything else to do so I invested my time a lot into learning about the maintenance and repair of bikes. I really enjoyed learning about it and I enjoyed coming here and I just got into it.

How many hours a week would you say you spend working on bikes, riding bikes, etc?
In my youth I used to ride everywhere. I came to Bike Works every day, I always did something with a bike. I don't know, maybe 2 or 3 hours, I used to volunteer here and take classes.

What kinds of rides do you do?
Way back when, when I was first getting into it, I'd just do short rides from my house to here, or any rides that NBW was coordinating, so not any heavy long stuff, but just to and fro places within a few miles.

Have you been on any longer rides?
Twice I went on the yearly fundraising ride that NBW holds called the Ride of Dreams. It's 200-some miles from here to DC. Last year we did from here to the Poconos.

Are there any projects that you're especially proud of that you've done here? A bike that you built, a tricky mechanical problem that you figured out?
I do that a lot when I come here and volunteer. A lot of the adults I feel look up to me as like a second opinion-type person. Like Liz here, she's adequate. (laughs)

Liz: I think I'd get a D grade. [Note: Liz Pisarczyk is NBW's Program Director]

Join Us For Volunteer Night Wed, July 3rd

It's summertime and anyone biking in the Greater Philadelphia Region can probably name a couple things they love about the experience, and a couple things they wish would change.

Want to make your ride better? Volunteer with us!

Our volunteer nights are the monthly meeting for new and veteran volunteers. We eat pizza, stuff envelopes (sometimes), talk bicycling, and train engaged bicyclists for upcoming events and projects for which we need volunteer help!

Wednesday, July 3rd
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
1500 Walnut Street, Suite 1107
Philadelphia, PA 19102
RSVP here

Calling Artists: Design Philly's New Art Bike Racks (Request for Proposals)

When you lock your bike in Philadelphia, your options probably look like this:

These racks are functional, but Philly is an artistic town and we can dream and design better.

In partnership with the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, we are issuing a call for proposals for bike racks to be installed in Center City (and possibly elsewhere in Philly). This competition is open to all artists and design professionals.

An 80' tall steampunk Oliver capable
of securing 1,200 bikes would be a bold move.
Just sayin...

Our goal is to use the same pavement twice: bring some desperately-needed bike parking to our streets, while enlivening our streetscapes with new public art.

For full competition details, including the project budget, selection process, submission procedures and design guidelines, please see the official RFP document.

Timeline:

• Request for Proposals: NOW! (What can you conjure, Philly?)
• Submission Deadline: September 4, 2013
• Artist(s) notified: October, 2013
• Bike racks installed: Spring/summer, 2014

This is happening thanks to a $50,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.

PDF: Artist-Designed Bike Rack RFP

Harrisburg Needs To Hear That You Value Bicycling And Walking

Oliver, captured moments after learning
the proposed House amendments would eliminate
funding for bicycling and walking projects

We predicted there would be opposition in Harrisburg to dedicating funding for bicycling and walking, and now we learn we were right.

The Pennsylvania Senate recently passed Senate Bill 1, a comprehensive, 21st century transportation funding solution for Pennsylvania. Given the choice, everyone would prefer Pennsylvania to exist in the 21st century, right?

Now Pennsylvania's House Transportation Committee is contemplating amendments to that bill. The proposed amendments strip out what the Senate had recommended for biking and walking.

The amendments completely eliminate dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects that make our communities safer.

These proposed amendments would also reduce the funds available for multi-modal projects and deal a huge blow to mass transit, leading to massive service cuts around the state.

These amendments would be very, very bad for Pennsylvania.

As a state we need to improve and diversify our transportation. We need to be able to get where we need to go safely. Bicycling and walking are active modes of transportation. 12% of all trips in Pennsylvania (not just Philly, but the whole state) occur on foot or on bike. But these House amendments want no dedicated funding for bicycling or pedestrian projects. 

If you care about Pennsylvania making us safer by funding bicycling and walking, please contact the House leadership and the Governor today!

• Tell them that you do not support the proposed House amendments to Senate Bill 1.
• Tell them that you support a final transportation funding package that invests adequate resources in a multi-modal transportation system that includes dedicated funding for all modes of transportation.
• Ask them to support a $2.5 billion transportation funding plan that would include a first-ever state investment in making our roads and communities safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.
• Tell them why this is important.

Making roads and communities more conducive to active transportation options, like bicycling and walking, will reduce roadway crashes, reduce carbon emissions, help children and families build physical activity into their daily routines, and open Pennsylvania up to a larger share of the bicycle tourism industry - a $50 billion per year industry.

It's the 21st century, and we need a 21st century transportation funding bill.

Chester County's Grand Prix Bicycle Races Return This July

Next month marks the return of the week-long series of top-level bicycle races that attracts national and international cyclists to the downtown business districts of Chester County.

Credit: http://chescograndprix.com

The Chesco Grand Prix, run under the auspices of the non-profit Sport Cycling Foundation and organized by professional cycling event producers, is a series of downtown “Criterium” races for elite and professional cycling teams that travel the national bicycle racing circuit. Last year's inaugural nine race series drew some 1,500 cyclists, over ten thousand spectators, and featured racers from 15 states, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.

Confirmed dates and host venues of the 2013 Chesco Grand Prix are:

• Thursday, July 4: Chesco Road Races and holiday BBQ (Unionville) 8 AM – 3 PM
• Sunday, July 7: Third annual Coatesville Classic 2-7 PM
• Monday, July 8: Malvern Criteriums 5-9 PM
• Tuesday, July 9: Parkesburg Criteriums 5-9 PM
• Wednesday, July 10: Eagle Criteriums 5-9 PM
• Thursday, July 11: Phoenixville Criteriums 5-9 PM
• Friday, July 12: Oxford Criteriums 5-9 PM
• Saturday, July 13: Kennett Square Criteriums/Series Final 3-9 PM
• Sunday, July 14: Kinetic Chesco Tour non-competitive ride throughout Chester County starting and finishing in Eagle

The races from July 4th to July 13th are sanctioned by USA Cycling and are for licensed racers in different age and ability categories. Each of the downtown events will also feature short races for local kids, music, professional announcing, expo booths and more.

For daily schedules, courses, participant information, how to become a volunteer and more are posted on the CGP website: www.chescograndprix.com

[Note: text above adapted from http://chescograndprix.com/]

Bike Temple Organizing Bike Rides to Schuylkill Banks Outdoor Movies

Bike Temple is organizing three bike rides from Temple down to Schuylkill Banks to check out Schuylkill Banks' outdoor movie series. The first ride is happening this Thursday evening. Details below:

#1 - Moonrise Kingdom - 06/27/2013 - Schuylkill Banks @ Walnut St Bridge
Meet at Temple Belltower at 6:30pm
Ride leaves at 7:00pm, should arrive between 7:30/7:45pm
Movie runs from 8:15pm to 10:15pm
Route is approx 4 miles one way
http://www.schuylkillbanks.org/events/movie-night-moonrise-kingdom

#2 - Pee Wee's Big Adventure - 07/18/2013 - Drexel Park
Meet at Temple Belltower at 7:15pm
Ride leaves at 7:45pm, should arrive between 8:15/8:30pm
Movie runs from 9:00pm to 10:30pm
Route is approx 3.4 miles one way
http://theawesomefest.com/events/pee-wees-big-adventure-0

#3 - My Cousin Vinny - 08/22/2013 - Schuylkill Banks @ Walnut St Bridge
Meet at Belltower at 6:00pm
Ride leaves at 6:30pm, should arrive between 7:00/7:15pm
Movie runs from 7:45pm to 9:45pm
Route is approx 4.0 miles one way
http://www.schuylkillbanks.org/events/movie-night-my-cousin-vinny

"I See You." An Anecdote About The Fairmount Ave Bike Lanes

I rode up to Fairmount Avenue this morning to check out Philadelphia's newest bicycle lanes. We did a lot of work to get them in, so seeing the paint on the ground was particularly satisfying. As of this morning, the lanes are mostly striped. Some lines are only dotted, many symbols are not yet painted, and construction on 19th & Fairmount is preventing the painting of about 100 feet of the lane on the north side. But the lanes are there.

Riding in this lane this morning, my way was blocked by a double-parked commercial vehicle. A driver behind me slowed and waved me ahead of him so I could pass the truck.

Sure, this civility could and does happen without bike lanes. But thanks to the bike lane, my travel lane was visible and clearly blocked, which helped the driver see that he and I were sharing the street, and that my safe passage required his attention.

Bike lanes bring order and calm to a street. They don't prevent all bad interactions, and they are not a necessary ingredient for all good interactions. But they help the percentages, and over time that adds up. ~NM

Some sections of the lanes are just dashed and awaiting solid striping.

25th and Fairmount. The lanes extend 1 more block to Pennsylvania Ave.

City Of Philadelphia Wants To Know About Abandoned Bicycles

Have you noticed any abandoned bikes locked up around town? They can look like this:

An abandoned bicycle is a bicycle with missing or damaged parts, in unusable condition, or one that has been locked to the same spot without moving for one month or more.

If you see or know about a bike like this, report it! The Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities will be conducting an abandoned bike sweep over the next several weeks (between June 27th and July 11th). They will remove the bikes, freeing up valuable bike parking around town.

To report a bicycle, note its appearance (color, distinguishing features, missing/damaged parts) and location (where it is, what it's locked to). You can report the bike to the City by:

• Calling 311;
• Using Philly311's app;
• Tweeting at @phily311 (include descrption, location, and picture if possible);
• Using Philly 311's website.

The bikes will be tagged with bright green or pink tags for at least 7 days before being removed. The removed bikes will be donated to Neighborhood Bike Works and Resources for Human Development. If your bike is tagged, call MOTU at 215-686-5493 if you are unable to move your tagged bicycle or if you have any questions.

Fairmount Ave Bike Lanes Are In!

Great news, Philly bicyclists! The Fairmount Ave bike lanes have been painted.

Huge thanks to everyone who helped make these lanes possible! That includes: every resident who came out to a civic meeting or filled out an online survey; the many supportive Fairmount Ave businesses; Fairmount Civic Association; Fairmount CDC; Fairmount Business Association; Spring Garden Civic Association; Francisville Neighborhood Development Corporation; Mayor's Office of  Transportation and Utilities; the Streets Department; Councilman Bill Greenlee.

The new lanes stretch from Broad Street to Pennsylvania Ave near the Art Museum. No parking was harmed in the making of these bike lanes.

Fairmount Ave before

Fairmount Ave today (credit: John Boyle)

We did it!

Women Bike PHL #9: Women As Bicycle Customers and Racers, with Julia Hillengas

Julia Hillengas grew up in Philadelphia and is back in the city after living in the Bay Area, where she joined a cycling team and worked in a bike shop. 

How have bikes been a part of your life?
Growing up in Southwest Philly, there was a lot of concrete around, and not a lot of structured activities. As soon we all had bikes, they were our gateway to go far away, to explore more, to not be confined to our one block. It really opened a lot of doors for us, and as I got older especially, and I know this is true for some of my friends, it was really empowering. When you were going through something you would leave your house, temporarily leave your neighborhood, to go for a ride and then come back. Of course we were too young to drive and you couldn't take the bus everywhere, so it was just a way to give you an outlet.

As I got into college I started to commute by bike. It got me from A to B, a lot quicker than SEPTA, it was cheaper and I was on a budget, so I fell back in love with it again. I've been an athlete all my life, I was a college soccer player, so when I stopped playing college sports I was like, well, what about racing, what about cycling? So I picked up triathlons, and then I really got into bike racing in the Bay Area. Every time I found some new facet of cycling I got instantly hooked again.

You worked at a bike shop in the Bay Area. How did you get involved with that side of the cycling community?
I was working multiple jobs and trying to find another one, and I was thought, "Well, what do I want to do if I'm going to work in retail or customer service?" I would totally love to sell people bikes. I think really what got me in the door was that the manager wanted a woman in the shop. I had done pretty entry-level bike mechanic stuff before, so I was knowledgeable enough and knew enough how to speak about bikes, so he was willing to train me on the job. They were a much bigger shop and they would get a lot of rookie cyclists coming in, and I think they didn't know how to handle their women customers. They weren't sure how to sort of bridge the anxiety, and they wanted another woman to talk to them.

Did you ever sell women-specific attire?
We definitely had women-specific attire, and honestly, I wouldn't wear any of it. There was always debate over who we were ordering from, what people wanted, and what the clientele was. Even the color of women's bikes was always in contention. We had women who came in and wanted pink shorts, and a lot of women who came in and didn't want pink shorts. So it always felt like, as someone working for a shop, you couldn't win. But I think the thing is, compared to the number of offerings you have for men, you only have a fraction of that for women. And the solution is you need to stock more things. Women customers are not a monolith, it’s not one profile. And having more options instead of saying, "Oh, you're a woman, here, this is for you," is going to make people more comfortable.

Do you have any ideas on how to make it easier for more women to start cycling? How to overcome that anxiety you talked about? How do we find that tipping point that makes people willing to try it?
I think it starts with a buddy. You need someone who's going to be there to introduce you to it and answer all your silly questions, like what do I do when I get to work, and what should I wear? Have someone who can answer those questions and then sort of pressure you into it, like, hey, we're going to go out tonight, let's ride. And give you that encouragement and that push to do it. A lot of my peer group, we ride to wherever we're going, so that's always a push. And when someone is visiting from out of town, it all of a sudden changes your social sphere, because they don't have a bike, what are we going to do? [Ed: Bike Share!] And I think when you notice that’s happened to you, when you don't know what to do because your friend came to town and they don't have a bike, that's when you know you're totally bought in. 

A Glimpse of the Future of Biking Along the Delaware Opened Yesterday

Philadelphia's first on-street, separated bicycle and pedestrian path received its official ribbon cutting yesterday morning. The quarter-mile Penn Street Trail runs from the intersection of Spring Garden and Delaware Ave north to Sugarhouse Casino.

The trail, featuring freshly-poured asphalt, new rain gardens for sewer management, fresh landscaping and lighting, seating and bike racks, is a pleasant respite from biking north along Delaware Ave. The trail will soon connect to a trail that goes around Sugarhouse Casino and take runners, bikers, and walkers to the recently-completed Penn Treaty Park trail.

Looking north along the trail from the Delaware & Penn Street intersection. 

Perhaps more significantly, this trail is a preview of what the Nutter Administration and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation plan will someday be a longer trail stretching up and down Philadelphia's shoreline on the Delaware River. That 5-mile trail will slalom between the Columbus/Delaware roadway and the river's edge itself, depending on logistics of the spaces it traverses.

This section serves triple duty as part of longer trail systems. In addition to being a piece of the future Delaware River Trail, it is part of The Circuit (our regional trail system) and part of the East Coast Greenway, a trail which stretches from Maine to Florida.

Click here for more photos of the event from our Facebook page.

Click here to learn more about how this trail fits into The Circuit trail system.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, PlanPhilly, and Be Well Philly all covered the ribbon cutting.

Ask Your PA Representative To Vote For Bicycle And Pedestrian Funding

Last week, the PA Senate passed a comprehensive transportation funding bill (Senate Bill 1) that includes the FIRST-EVER dedicated funding for bicycles and pedestrians.

This money will fund projects that will make Pennsylvania roads and communities safer and more accessible for biking and walking.

Now the PA House must pass this $2.5 billion plan. We expect opposition to the bicycle and pedestrian funding portion of the bill, so we need to speak up for it! You can help in two ways:

1. Call your State Representative and tell them to "adequately fund transportation and include dedicated funding for bicycling and walking - as is found in Senate Bill 1." Feel free to elaborate on why biking and walking is important to you.
2. Send this e-mail action alert saying the same message.

This is a big opportunity to set a precedent of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian funding in Pennsylvania. We can make it happen if we speak up for it! Please take five minutes and take action today.

Women Bike PHL Interview #8: Biking as Lifestyle, with Katie Van Vliet

Katie Van Vliet works at Moore College. She is an artist and has been biking in Philadelphia for eight years.

What's your bike history?
Growing up in the Poconos, I didn’t use bicycling for much other than fun. I used hand-me-down BMX bicycles to get to friends’ houses. I did learn to ride a bike on a banana-seat bike that my father lovingly built

for me when I was 4 or 5. He passed away last year but when he was a teenager he was an apprentice at a bicycle shop in Scotch Plains, NJ. He eventually moved on to cycles with engines, but passed on this love of vintage bicycles to me and my brother (who also bikes daily in Philadelphia). I started biking in Philly in college. I went to Moore College of Art & Design, and I spent a year in the dorms and after the year was over I realized I wanted to live in the city. I moved to West Philly and had a two mile commute, so I started using my bicycle. The first day I rode I felt so liberated, like, “this is so freeing…so fast, and I feel like I'm getting exercise.” I rode a lousy mountain bike for two years before saving up to buy this beautiful vintage mixte road bike, with double crossbars on the top tube. I bought it at Via Bicycles in South Philly and as soon as I saw it I knew it was mine. That bike was built by a company called Flandria. I love things with history, so after I researched the bike I found out it was from Belgium, but has French and British parts and was a dominant force in professional cycling in the 60’s and 70’s. It's a really beautiful bicycle. I retired it last year; it just cost too much to get the crankset rebuilt every single year because I'm a really aggressive rider.

Can you tell me a little bit more about your commute now?
Most of my commute is on Spring Garden St, where there's a bike lane. I'm coming from Fishtown, and one of my least favorite streets to ride on is Girard Ave (I’ve crashed on the trolley tracks twice), so I try to bypass it and take Master Street and 4th Street instead. 4th Street between Girard and Spring Garden dips into a valley so there's a hill both ways. And on my way home I just have to climb 20th Street to get to Spring Garden, but it’s very easy. Most of the time I don’t bother to change gears.

You've retired your old bike, what do you ride these days?
I have a new ladies' mixte road bike by Torker. It's the same build as the other one but a little bit modernized. I have the Flandria in my basement-can’t bear to get rid of it. I converted the Flandria to a single speed and this one is a 10-speed. I use two gears, and that's it. They are there if I ever decide to do a longer ride. The Torker needed a little bit of bling so I upgraded to a sparkly gold saddle by Soma Ensho.

Opening of Penn Street Trail in NoLibs Offers Glimpse of Future Delaware River Biking

It may not be long, but it sure will be nice. The Penn Street Trail, Philly's first on-road, separated bicycle and pedestrian trail, will be having its ribbon cutting on Monday, June 17th. This quarter-mile trail which runs north from Spring Garden Ave & Delaware Ave is a showcase for the infrastructure the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and other Circuit Coalition partners are seeking to build along the Delaware.

You can join Mayor Nutter in welcoming Philly's newest and perhaps nicest section of on-street bike path Monday morning at 10:30 AM. Just say you're going out for coffee and take a little bike ride up to Spring Garden & Delaware Ave. Exercise boosts productivity anyway.

Father's Day Trail Ride In Collegeville This Saturday

Father's Day is this weekend, which is a great excuse to get out on bikes with your father! Especially if you have some family destiny issues to sort out.

Original image: http://greenfleethub.com/blog/2012/7/24/father-son-bike-ride.html

This Saturday in Collegeville, we are partnering with Eastern Mountain Sports, Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, and Suburban Cyclists Unlimited for a Father's Day Circuit Ride and Information Session!

We will host an information session on The Circuit regional trail network and then Suburban Cyclists Unlimited will lead a ride. There will be two distance options: 60 minutes and 90 minutes, both along the Perkiomen Trail. The event is free but you need to register ahead of time: http://fathersdaybike.eventbrite.com/

When: June 15th from 1:30 - 4:30pm
Day-of sign ups: 1:30-2:00pm
Circuit Info: 2:00-2:30pm
Rides: 2:30-4:30pm

Where:
Eastern Mountain Sports
Providence Town Center
Rts 29 & 422, 220 Plaza Drive
Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426
(610) 226-3995

Push Across American Swings Through Philly This Wednesday In Love Park

Feeling unmotivated on a rainy Friday afternoon? Here's a story to make your wet bike ride home a little less daunting. From the press release:

Ryan Chalmers was born without complete use of his legs, and has used a wheelchair his whole life. He represents the desires of many disabled persons—not to be treated differently because of his disability. He doesn't believe his physical impairment excludes him from doing anything that the rest of the population can do. 

Actually, Ryan can do things most people can't do. He's nearing the end of a cross-country trip in his racing chair. He left Los Angeles in April and will be passing through Philly this next Wednesday on his way to New York City (his end destination).

If you'd like to see and cheer this world-class athlete near the end of his world-class-athlete achievement, you can at Love Park this next Wednesday, June 12th at 11:00 AM. You can learn more about Ryan's trek at his Push Across America site.

58th Street Greenway Ribbon Cutting and Neighborhood Celebration Happening This Saturday

Even casual readers might notice that we talk a lot here about The Circuit. The Circuit is the name given to 750 miles of existing, under construction, and planned trails in our region. The Schuylkill River Trail is part of The Circuit. So is the Cobbs Creek Trail in West Philly. We are hard at work getting new pieces funded and built. (If you want to get involved, learn how here.)

Now we're excited to report that an important new section of The Circuit is coming online this Saturday: the 58th Street Greenway.

The Greenway is the orange line on this map

The 58th Street Greenway connects Cobbs Creek Trail to Bartram's Gardens, running along 58th and 59th Street in Southwest Philly. It will feature a new shared-use path, new streetscaping and sidewalks, and green sharrows and striping to clearly mark the on-street connections.

Why is this important? Besides it being a great new biking and walking amenity for the neighborhood, it provides a safe, green corridor of access for West and Southwest Philly to get to Cobbs Creek Park and Bartram's Garden. Access to green space is important for any neighborhood.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is throwing a community celebration for the official opening of this great new neighborhood amenity this Saturday. There will be cake (real cake, not that cake), face painting, raffle prizes, music, and bike rides to explore the new path. Unless the weather is really atrocious (check our Twitter account for updates on that). Rina Cutler, Deputy Mayor of Transportation and Utilities and Michael DiBerardinis, Deputy Mayor of Environmental and Community Resources, are confirmed. The mayor has been invited.

Saturday, June 8th
Myers Rec Center (58th & Kingsessing Ave, Philly)
11:30 am - 2:00 pm
ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:00 pm

See below for the event flyer for the celebration.

Update On PA State Funding For Bicycling And How You Can Help It Happen

The full Pennsylvania Senate is likely to vote today on its state transportation bill. The bill is expected to pass, and then head to the PA House of Representatives. There is much to like in this bill for bicyclists, but it faces a tough road in the House. So we are asking for engaged citizens to join us in Harrisburg next Tuesday for a rally to support this bill.

The Pennsylvania Senate's SB1 includes:

• A multi-modal fund of $80-$150 million annually, to which bicycle and pedestrian projects can apply for funding;
• An annual minimum of $2 million of that fund which will be spent on bicycle and pedestrian facilities;
• The broadening of this funding to include pedestrian safety projects, streetscape & lighting;
• A finding that describes Pennsylvania's comprehensive transportation system to include PA's "numerous bicycle and pedestrian facilities," which will make it easier for bicycle/pedestrian projects to compete for highway funds.

Senate Bill 1 now heads to the PA House of Representatives - where it will face an uphill climb. We need cyclists to support these efforts by encouraging their legislators to support funding bicycle and pedestrian investments!

You can show support in two ways:

1. Join us in Harrisburg on Tuesday, June 11th at 10:00 AM. We will be rallying on the steps of the Capitol building to thank the PA Senate for passing a transportation bill that includes bike and ped funding, and for continuing to advocate for making our roads and communities safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.
2. Tell your legislator that you (and therefore, he or she) support dedicated funding for walking and biking pathways in the state. Click here to send an email to your state reps.

Take another step and get involved in the Walk And Ride PA campaign on Facebook www.facebook.com/walkandridepa and Twitter: www.twitter.com/walkandridepa.

Women Bike PHL Interview #7: From Commuting to Cross Country, by Kirin McElwain

Kirin McElwain is a cellist who lives in Philadelphia and cycled across the country last summer.

Tell me about your bike history.
I grew up in Bucks County and rode a bike as a kid. I took some time off before going to college, and I decided I was going to get a bike to ride to and from my job. So I bought myself a $200 hybrid and got around on that. The summer before I went to college I somehow got into my head that I wanted to be a bike messenger, so I worked as a bike messenger for about four months in Philadelphia. I was probably one of maybe two female bike messengers in the city at the time, and I was terrible at it. I did that for a few months and then I went to college and brought my bike up but I never rode. When I moved back to Philly for graduate school I was like, I'm going to be in the city again, I'm going to need a bike. So I had a beater 90’s mountain bike that belonged to my dad and was just getting around on that until I graduated to a nicer Fuji Cross Comp. And then last year my boyfriend and I decided to bike across the country. Last spring all in the space of a month I got a touring bike, learned how to use clipless pedals, and then we left in May and biked to San Francisco this past summer.

You certainly have gone through quite the transformation from being a bike messenger to being a commuter to biking across the country! So what's the next step with cycling?
I've been enjoying riding this year casually. I'm training for my first triathlon and two of my friends have gotten into cycling in different ways. My friend Richard is working on my swim technique with me, and I'm helping him with cycling, since we’re doing a triathlon together. My friend Emily, who was always a very hardcore commuter, is training for a four-day ride to Harrisburg, so we’ve been doing some riding together as well. My boyfriend and a lot of his friends are competitive mountain bikers and they do road racing and cyclocross. I've had my eye on cyclocross for a few years, so my goal is to spend the summer getting my skill set up to speed to try a few cross races in the fall.

Could you tell me a bit more about cyclocross? What got you interested in it?
In cyclocross, you ride on a loop that is approximately two miles in length. Since you ride multiple laps around the loop, it’s very spectator-friendly. There's mud and sand that you have to ride (or run) through, but it’s not as technical as say, downhill mountain biking. But the tricky thing about cross is that there are barriers, so you have to get off your bike and leap over the barriers with your bicycle, and sometimes parts of the course are unrideable, so you're allowed to shoulder your bike and run with it. I get the impression that it is like running a 5k for 45 minutes, very high intensity. I love spectating cross races, they are so much fun to watch, and the crowd is always really friendly. Actually, I think people who ride bikes are pretty awesome in general.

24 Year Old Cyclist On Warm Up Ride Killed In Burlington County

According to NJ.com and Phillyburbs.com 24 Year Old Andrew Caprizzi of Paramus, NJ was killed Sunday Morning on Route 563 in Woodland Township south of Chatsworth. Andrew was attempting to make a U-Turn when he was struck by a woman driving a vehicle northbound. The driver was treated for her injuries at Deborah Hospital.

Andrew was warming up for the NJ Individual Time Trial Championship, which is held annually on Route 563, a rural two lane road with bike lanes, very few intersections and a speed limit of 50 mph in the heart of the Pine Barrens. Like many amateur time trial events, this race is conducted on open roads.



View PA/NJ Bicycle Crashes 2011-2013 in a larger map

According to his obituary Andrew worked as an Assistant Track Team Coach for Holy Angels School in Demarest, NJ and at the Running Store in Ridgewood, NJ. We are saddened by another tragic death by automobile in our region and our condolences go out to Andrew's family and friends.

Remembering John Pickett Delaware County Planning Chief

John Pickett, Planning Director for the Delaware County Planning Department (DCPD) passed away on May 10th at the age of 68. John was with the DCPD for 36 years and became the Director in 1985. He was well respected by his colleagues and those in the planning world. He was also known among friends as a champion of the poor.

John was instrumental in the development of the Chester Creek Trail. A proposed trail that has been in the works since 1991, more than a decade before SEPTA transferred ownership of the right of way to the County. And while he will not be able to see his vision come to fruition, he knew that the plans were finalized and that construction will begin later this year.

According to his obituary on Legacy.com - "At John's request, please make memorial gifts to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org), the American Lung Association (www.lung.org), or the ASPCA (www.aspca.org)."

On behalf of the Staff and Board of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, our deepest condolences go out to John's family for their sad loss

John Pickett - Photo APA - Southeast PA