A Continuous Ramp Is The Best Choice For The Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway

The Delaware River Port Authority will be holding a public meeting for the Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway Ramp tonight (May 14th). The meeting facilitators will present the proposed alternatives for the design of the ramp and offer an opportunity for the public to comment.

Of the three proposed designs alternatives, the Bicycle Coalition urges the DRPA Board to select the single continuous ramp, aka "Alternative 2." This option calls for a single continuous ramp that follows the slope of the bridge and widens a section of the existing walkways that narrows down to 5 feet as it approaches the existing stair tower.

A continuous ramp that does not switch back and improves the existing narrow section of the walkway would maximize user convenience, allow for continuous eastbound travel to downtown Camden and points beyond, and further enhance transportation options for pedestrians, bicyclists and wheelchair users without busting the project’s budget. Once completed, the ramp will be a centerpiece of  The Circuit regional trail network and will connect to existing and planned street improvement and trail projects on both sides of the Delaware River.

We urge Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents invested in this issue to attend the meeting and voice your support for the single continuous ramp option. The meeting is taking place at:

Tonight, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
DRPA Board Room
11th Floor, One Port Center (on the waterfront)
Camden, NJ 

Can't make it to the meeting? Email your comments on the project to bikeramp@drpa.org. Comment forms are available here for download and may be mailed to Delaware River Port Authority, Customer Service, One Port Center, 2 Riverside Drive, P.O. BOX 1949, Camden, NJ 08101.

After the jump you can see the three ramp designs being proposed.

Ben Franklin Bridge Update: Longer Hours, Public Meeting On New Ramp

The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) has announced that beginning today, May 1st, Ben Franklin Walkway hours will be extended to 9pm. This schedule will remain in effect until September 30th. On Oct. 1st, the schedule reverts back to an 8pm closure.

Concurrently the DRPA has announced a public meeting for comment on the design alternatives for the Camden-side walkway ramp. Participants will be able to examine several conceptual design options. DRPA engineers and design consultants will be on hand to explain the design concepts, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and answer questions or address concerns.

May 14th
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
DRPA conference room, 11th floor
One Port Center / 2 Riverside Drive, Camden NJ (across from Adventure Aquarium)

Credit: Philly.com

Stakeholder feedback will be conveyed to the DRPA Board of Commissioners, which will make the final decision about which design to accept. If you cannot make the meeting public, inquiries or comments about the project can be emailed to the DRPA at bikeramp@drpa.org.

Three Proposals for the Ben Franklin Bridge Ramp

On Wednesday the Delaware River Port Authority's Engineering Department presented its preliminary design options to the DRPA Operations and Management Committee.

According to Philly.com, plans were presented for three design options ranging from a straightaway ramp, a single switchback, or three switchbacks. The estimated costs ranged from $3 million for the single switchback to $3.7 million for the straight ramp.

Image taken from The Inquirer. Credit: Robert West.

The design drawings will probably be presented to the DRPA Board at the March meeting; the options will be presented to the public at some point before the final design is determined.

Ben Franklin Ramp Design Contract Is A Major Victory In A Long Campaign

This week the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) Board of Commissioners gave the go-ahead on the design phase of the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway ramp project. The engineering firm, Amman and Whitney was awarded the $598,000 contract to design the walkway. Before the vote, DRPA Chief Engineer Mike Venuto stated that the project will include public meetings during the design process. The optimistic timeline is 2013 for design and 2014 for construction if funds are made available.

The saga of the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway goes all the back to the Bicycle Coalition's earliest days. Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition member Bob Thomas led a successful campaign in 1973 to reopen the bridge walkway that had been closed due to the Korean War (yes, you read that correctly). After the walkway was closed for construction in 2000, the Bicycle Coalition and DVRPC negotiated with the DRPA to establish an alternating north and south walkway closure policy.

Making this view possible without ascending 3 vertiginous sets of metal stairs

There were more closures to come. Four weeks after the September 11th attacks, the DRPA ordered a walkway shutdown after KYW-TV's Paul Moriarity broadcast a report speculating about the walkways' vulnerability to a terrorist attack. Moriarity emailed the Coalition stating that the motive of the report was to have the bridge walkway actively patrolled, not closed. Negotiations and a public outcry forced the hand of the Authority and the walkway was reopened in December 2001.

But it was the one month closure after the London Bombings in July 2005, along with several incidents of bridge users being trapped on the bridge after the gates were locked, that spurred BCGP volunteers Matthew Anastasi and Jim Kriebel to form a Ben Franklin Bridge walkway committee. Their goals were to obtain full access to the bridge and the construction of an ADA accessible ramp. After several meetings with no movement, DRPA finally added the ramp into the 2008 5-year Capital Improvement Program.

The home stretch wasn't smooth. In 2011, the Authority suffered a public relations crisis related to a 20% bridge toll hike. The Board felt the pressure of "unnecessary expenses" and deferred ramp project in the 2011 and 2012 programs. A coalition of advocates, Camden-based businesses, nonprofits, and elected officials pressed back, and got the decision reversed in early 2012.

Over the years, a thawing relationship between the Authority and walkway users has yielded improvements to access: hours have been extended, winter weather closures have shortened, and new security cameras are being added. The ramp project, however, is the first big expenditure from the Authority's Capital Budget to make the bridge walkway more accessible for all users. We will be following the progress of the project and notify you when public meetings are scheduled.

DRPA To Vote On Walkway Ramp Design Contract Wednesday

The ramp will make this no longer necessary

On Wednesday October 17th the Delaware River Port Authority will be voting on the design contract for the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway ramp. Ammann and Whitney, a firm specializing in bridge construction, has been tentatively selected to complete the design work in a 9 month timeline.

If you have supported the saga that is this ramp, we encourage you to attend this meeting on your way to work Wednesday morning. We want to remind DRPA that there is public support for this project, and that support wants to see it completed in a timely fashion.

DRPA Board of Commissioners Meeting
Wednesday October 17th 
9:00 - 10:00 AM
11th Floor
One Port Center Two Riverside Dr
Camden, NJ

Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway Salted and Open

A tip of the helmet is due to the Delaware River Port Authority. In snowfalls past, DRPA has been slow to reopen the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway. This time, they've done an excellent job opening the walkway for today's rush hour.

Bridge crews put a thorough coating of road salt on the walkway, with more in the normally icier spots at the Bridge anchorages.

Victory! DRPA Finally Moves Forward On Ben Franklin Bridge Ramp

Question: What do over 1,000 signatures, 20 letters from local community groups, educational institutions, hospitals, development corporations and two Federal Senators, plus press coverage and boat loads of phone calls add up to?

Answer: progress!

This morning the Delaware River Port Authority Finance Committee voted unanimously to approve the designation of $350,000 to design a ramp for walkers and cyclists on the Camden side of the South Walkway of the Ben Franklin Bridge. This ramp will replace the current treacherous three story stair tower.

This is a victory for bicyclists and pedestrians in our region. Huzzah!

Wednesday's Ben Franklin Bridge Ramp Discussion Moved To 9:30 AM

Note the New Time! The Ben Franklin Bridge ramp action item has been moved to the 9:30 AM Finance Committee meeting (from the 8:00 AM Operations and Management Committee meeting).*

It's still happening on Wednesday, still at One Port Center in Camden, NJ. Please join us at the meeting for a visible demonstration of the public support for this bicycle and disabled-pedestrian-friendly ramp. But now you can set your alarms later.

DRPA Finance Committee Meeting
Wednesday February 1st 
9:30 AM 
One Port Center, 11th Floor
2 Riverside Drive
Camden, NJ


View One Port Center in a larger map
*At the January 11th, 2012 DRPA meeting, the Finance Committee referred the bridge question to the Operations and Management Committee meeting.

Keep Up The Pressure For The Ben Franklin Ramp: Attend DRPA Meeting Feb 1st

We've been blitzing the Delaware River Port Authority about a ramp on the Ben Franklin Bridge since what seems like forever. We're getting closer - we've chased the quarterback from the pocket, but if we don't stay after him, we won't disrupt the play.

(In this analogy, the quarterback is DRPA, and the play is their attempt to dodge their responsibility to build a bicycle-friendly ramp. The four-man rush is ramp support from more than 1,000 petition signers, the University of Rutgers-Camden, 15 local companies and organizations, and the support of two members of Congress.)

How do we finish this play? Rally for the Ramp at the DRPA meeting on Wednesday, February 1st. They will be considering allocating funds for the ramp, and we need to maintain the visible public support for the project.

What: DRPA Operations & Management Committee Meeting
Where: The Delaware River Port Authority, One Port Center in Camden
When: Wednesday, Feb 1st
Time: 8:00 AM


Feel free to download and distribute the flyer below.


Ramp Flyer Web (1)

39 Steps or a Ramp: DRPA Postpones Ben Franklin Bridge Decision (Again)

Credit: Alejandro Alvarez

At yesterday's DRPA Finance Committee meeting, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Tri-State Transportation Campaign submitted a host of materials supporting the restoration of funding for the Camden-side ramp. DRPA received:

• 18 letters from area businesses and organizations (including Campbell's Soup, Concerned Citizens of North Camden and AARP New Jersey).
• The comments from over 1000 petition signers asking that DRPA restore funding for the ramp in its 2012 Capital Program.
• A joint letter from Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, hand-delivered to CEO Matheussen at the beginning of the meeting.
• After the meeting, Rutgers-Camden also delivered a letter.

DRPA staff prepared a resolution at the direction of PA Auditor General Jack Wagner, and the resolution was discussed at the meeting. Robert Teplitz, the Auditor General's General Counsel, attended the meeting and spoke up for the need to put the ramp back into the Capital Program. After much discussion, the Finance Committee decided to ask DRPA staff to look into non-DRPA sources of funding and will take up the topic again at its Operations and Management meeting on February 1st.

DRPA Rebuilding Camden 5th Street Tunnel Without ADA Ramps

As we have reported before, the 5th Street tunnel in Camden has been indefinitely closed for construction since the summer. The construction includes a new sidewalk adjacent to the tunnel and it was hoped that the DRPA would make the tunnel wheelchair accessible. A glance at the progress from the North Walkway entrance shows no ramp access to the tunnel and no curb cuts in the new sidewalks.

A high curb and no curb cuts to facilitate wheelchair access.

Capital Funds for Ben Franklin Bridge Ramp Still Possible

Today our Research Director John Boyle led an early morning bike ride across the bridge to the DRPA Board meeting (where they were met by TV helicopters and an Inquirer photographer). At the meeting John testified during the public comment period (deftly scheduled after the votes were taken on the budget) and presented to the Commissioners the more than 900 signatures we gathered on our online petition.

At the meeting, the Commissioners voted through the 2012 capital budget without funding for the ADA ramp, but Pennsylvania's Auditor General, Jack Wagner, promised to put forth a resolution at the January meeting designating money from unspent capital funds for the ramp and the Franklin Square PATCO stop.

Please sign the petition if you haven't already done so!

Bike Coalition Asks DRPA To Restore Funding for BF Bridge Walkway Ramp

In a letter sent today, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia formally asked the Board of Commissioners to restore funding for the Walkway Ramp Capital Project.

"On behalf of the hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians who use the Ben Franklin Bridge daily, the hundreds of thousands of bicyclists who ride throughout the region, and the over 2500 members of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, I request that you restore funding in the 2012 Capital Program Budget for an ADA compliant ramp on the Camden side of the Ben Franklin Bridge at your December 14th meeting," said Alex Doty, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. "Because it is DRPA's mission 'to provide quality transportation services across the river and invest[s] in the economic growth of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey,' it must prioritize building the ramp as a 2012 capital project."

The DRPA Finance Committee, with no public notice about its agenda, on December 7th approved a 2012 Capital Budget that omits Capital Project BF1101 to build the ramp, which has been in the 5 Year Capital Program for over five years and delayed several times. At a July 2010 Board meeting, CEO John Matheussen promised that the ramp would be built in 2012.

The Bicycle Coalition's letter also makes the point that "eliminating this project goes against NJ's Complete Streets Policies and continues to deny the public ADA access to the Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway. The ramp connects directly with the $6 million regional trail investment made by the 2010 federal TIGER Grant awarded to Camden, which Coopers Ferry Partnership is now implementing. NJ DOT is providing support and guidance for the TIGER project and even delivered a cost estimate for the ramp. The lack of a ramp is a critical obstacle to the region’s trail network and is a deterrent to Camden and Philadelphia’s economic development efforts to enhance the Delaware Riverfront."

Over 200 people have signed the petition asking DRPA to restore funding to design and build the ramp in 2012 and many have left their own comments about why it is so important for the Ben Franklin Bridge to have this ramp. The Bicycle Coalition will bring the petition signatures to the December 14th Board meeting at which the Commissioners will vote to approve the Capital Budget.

Take action by signing the petition! If you can make it, come to the December 14th Board meeting at One Port Center in Camden at 9am to demonstrate that bicyclists and walkers deserve their vote to restore funding for the walkway ramp.

Delaware River Port Authority To Bicyclists: The Ben Franklin Bridge Is Not For You

John Matheussen in 2010, promising to build the ramp

Today, with no opportunity for public comment, the Delaware River Port Authority's Finance Committee approved a draft Capital Program that reneges on their promise to design and build capital project BF1101: an ADA accessible ramp on the Camden side of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Sign this petition to send DRPA's Board a message: HONOR YOUR PROMISES - BUILD THE RAMP!

As we reported in January, funds designated in the 2011 draft budget to design the ramp were eliminated when the DRPA Board decided to delay all projects that did not directly involve public safety. This action was taken despite a public promise by Chief Executive Officer John J. Matheussen at the July 2010 Board meeting that DRPA would build the ramp in 2012.

DRPA Names Members of its Citizens Advisory Committee

The DRPA Board has approved a recommended list of candidates for its first DRPA/PATCO Citizen Advisory Committee. Pennsylvania Auditor General, Jack Wagner, who serves as an Ex-Officio Commissioner on the Board, first introduced the Resolution that created the Committee on September 15, 2010. In the Resolution, Auditor General Wagner urged the Board to create the Committee to provide the Board with direct input from citizens who live within the DRPA Port District and who use DRPA and PATCO facilities. The Committee was created as a result of DRPA’s increasing efforts for transparency and community participation.

The Bicycle Coalition's Research Director John Boyle was named as one of the 12 New Jersey Representatives. We suspect that John may be the only representative on the board who uses the full spectrum of DRPA services including Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway, PATCO, the Betsy Ross Bridge and the RiverLink ferry.

Full press release from the Delaware River Port Authority.