New Section of Schuylkill River Trail in Roxborough Opening March 28th

Note: a version of this post first appeared on Crossing Paths, the official blog of The Circuit trail system.

Spring is here, let The Circuit trail events begin!

At long last, the first new section of Schuylkill River Trail to be built in several years (and the newest piece of The Circuit) will be dedicated on Thursday, March 28 at 10:30am. This new segment runs from Port Royal Avenue in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia to the intersection of Shawmont and Nixon Streets.

Runners on the trail looking towards the Nixon & Shawmont intersection

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected to feature many notable dignitaries: Mayor Michael Nutter, Congressman Chaka Fattah, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., and Deputy Mayor Michael DiBerardinis.

If you like ribbon cuttings, dignitary-spotting, or just getting outside and being excited in public about new bicycle and pedestrian trails, please attend! The more the merrier.

This project involved using a PECO right-of-way behind Nixon Street, creating a gently sloping trail down to the intersection of Nixon and Shawmont. The project also widened the paved section between the Montco line and Port Royal Avenue and significantly improved the paved connection to the Manayunk Canal Towpath.

This project was originally identified by the Complete The Schuylkill River Trail Campaign as a key gap in the trail. It was funded in 2010 by the $23 million TIGER grant that Philadelphia and the City of Camden won to build ten trail segments in both cities.

Shawmont_ribbon Cutting Directions by John Boyle

Port Richmond Trail Breaks Ground On October 22nd

Delaware Avenue before

Delaware Avenue after (rendering)

The Port Richmond Trail gets an official groundbreaking on Monday, October 22nd at 10am. (Note the date change!) Sponsored by the Delaware River City Corporation, this trail is the only TIGER project on the Delaware River.

The speakers will make their remarks from within Pulaski Park (at the intersection of Delaware & Allegheny Avenues), and the shovel display for photo opportunities will be on Delaware Avenue, just north of the entrance to the park.

Two Years After TIGER Grant, Trail Construction Is Underway

This February marks the two-year anniversary of the huge, $23 million TIGER grant awarded to Philadelphia and Camden to build 10 new sections of multi-use trails.

Philadelphia's 7 projects are being pushed, pulled, and managed by a coalition of agencies and advocates (Philadelphia's Streets Department, PennDOT, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Philadelphia Parks and Rec, Schuylkill River Dev. Corporation, Bartram's Garden and the Delaware River City Corp). In New Jersey, NJDOT is working with Camden County and the Coopers Ferry Partnership on the 3 projects in Camden. Numerous engineering companies have been involved in final design and several construction firms now have contracts to begin work.

We are excited to report that four projects have broken ground and more are expected to start this spring. Here is an update on the new bike/ped goodness coming to a neighborhood near you:

Walnut Street Bridge Bike Lane Closed For New Construction

Work begins today on the Walnut Street Bridge Gateway Project. This project is the most significant change since the opening of the "modern" Walnut St Bridge in 1990. The bike lane is closed, and is expected to be closed for the duration of construction (until August or September).

BCGP's proposed configuration of the intersection of Walnut St. and Schuylkill Ave. This is not the final concept drawing but some of our suggested changes made it to final design.

During the construction period the bike lane on Walnut Street will be closed. The current timeline forecasts the completion of the project and reopening of the bike lane in August or September. Walnut St will remain open to vehicular traffic including bicycles. The streets department has installed detour signage guiding bicyclists to the South Street Bridge.

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.

TIGER 1 Update - County Freeholders Award Contract for Bike Lanes and Streetscape in Camden

On Thursday evening the Camden County Freeholders voted on the following resolution -

"Resolution authorizing an award of Contract (Bid A-10) by and between the County of Camden

(Department of Public Works) and Lexa Concrete, LLC, for the 2011 Transportation Capital

Program, American Recovery Investment Act TIGER Grant, Pyne [sic] Street Greenway

Enhancement Project and Martin Luther King Boulevard, Waterfront Connection Project in an

amount not to exceed $2,520,648.55"

This means that construction on two of the three Camden TIGER segments can now move forward, it usually takes at least several weeks between the award of a contract and the first shovel in the ground. The projects will include Camden's first bike lanes (MLK), sharrows, road repair and streetscape improvements.

The third segment, Pearl St adjacent to the Ben Franklin Bridge has been delayed due to the collapse of the bulkhead adjacent to the Camden Waterfront Promenade. DVRPC the regional planning commission has allocated additional money to the project to design and construct the new bulkhead. Once the design has been completed that project will go out to bid and which holds out hope that all three projects will be completed by the end of the year.

The construction of the project coincides with the rehabilitation of Farnham Park which includes a new multi-use trail through the park which will connect with the City's only marked bike facility - a two way sidepath on the south side of Kaighns Ave, which heads towards Cooper River Park a location where we pointed out the difficulty of crossing route 130 to get to the main section of the park.

View Larger Map

Pine Street in Camden

NRDC Recognizes the Philadelphia Region for Transportation Innovation

Philadelphia has been identified as one of the 15 metropolitan regions leading the nation in transportation innovation in a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council's Smarter Cities project.

Philadelphia was selected as one of seven large (>1 million people) metropolitan regions to be profiled in the Smarter Cities transportation study. Selection was based on critical indicators such as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per household, public transit access, use and affordability, as well as implementation of sustainable transit programs.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Bicycle Coalition were cited by the NRDC for identifying target areas that could make getting across town on two wheels or by foot much easier. This work helped Philadelphia (along with Camden) secure millions of dollars for trail construction through the highly competitive (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program

The DRPA Lays Out Plans For A Bicycle Pedestrian Ramp

The Bicycle Coalition met with officials of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) this afternoon to receive details of the plan for the Bicycle Pedestrian Ramp project on the South Walkway of the Bridge as well as the Pearl St project which will offer bicycle and pedestrian improvements from the walkway entrance to the river. Pearl Street is one of three Camden TIGER projects sponsored by the Coopers Ferry Development Association.

Pearl Street Project

DRPA put up $100,000 to design the streetscape and roadway. The project calls for new signage, belgian block sidewalk and lighting improvements and sharrows on the roadway. Final design is within days of completion and construction is scheduled to begin in April 2011 and is expected to be completed within 6 months. The other Camden projects Pine St and MLK Blvd are expected to be completed simultanously and these 3 projects should be among the first TIGER projects to go under construction.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Ramp

As we reported earlier pending board approval DRPA is budgeting $50,000 in 2011 for the design of the ramp, while there was an original 2011 committment of $100,000 for the 2011 capital budget DRPA Chief Acting Engineer Michael Venuto explained that the 2011 schedule only required half that amount for the fiscal year. The rest of the design work, which is expected to take about 7 months will be completed in 2012. Construction is expected to begin around November of December of 2012 with completion scheduled in the Spring of 2013. The South Walkway will have to be closed during the six month construction project. Total project cost is estimated at 3.3 million dollars.

The bottom line-Nothing but good news from the DRPA, the construction of the ramp now appears to be a certainty. The Port Authority should also be commended for stepping up and offering their expertise to develop the plans for the first bicycle facilities in Camden.

By the way if you are wondering -Yes we still want you to attend the Wednesday AM Board Meeting, to show your support and gratitude for the project.

Getting some perspective on the TIGER Award to Philly and Camden

Now that the initial cries of "HOLY COW" (or substitute other words for cow, your choice) that rippled throughout the Bicycle Coalition and it's partners' offices last week have died down, I want to offer a few thoughts about the incredibly cool TIGER award that Philadelphia and Camden won last week.

First of all, all the counties and agencies that participated in the initial proposal submitted back in September should take great pride that in this award. It was the regional aspect and collaboration amongst 6 different governmental agencies that made this application stand out all the others.

The odds of winning were slim. 1400 applications were received by USDOT. Approximately, $60 Billion (Billion with a B) dollars worth of projects were vying for $1.5Billion. When we heard that figure back in November, we knew it was a long shot.



So, the fact that this regional application was awarded $20.2M out of $36M requested is stunning. Only 51 projects (3% of those submitted) were selected. Only two bicycle/pedestrian networks were funded, ours and Indianapolis. Those two projects were 3% ($46M) of all TIGER funding, which sounds small, but 24 of the 51 had some bicycle/pedestrian component. According the America Bikes, "TIGER contributed $405 million to job-rich, green infrastructure projects such as building and improving sidewalks, curb ramps, bike lanes and multi-use trails." Clearly, this TIGER program reflects a federal policy shift away from car-centric projects.


While the odds were small, many of us who worked on getting this application together knew in our bones that completing the Schuylkill River Trail, East Coast Greenway and Camden GreenWay truly embodied the goal of the TIGER program: nationally, regionally, or metro-significant projects that facilitate linking transportation, housing, energy, and environmental concerns and were judged on criteria based on livability, sustainability, safety and economic development. The application submitted by the six counties made the case that completing a network of trails met those criteria. We were sure that we had a good shot, even if it was a long one. Plus, it helped that 59 elected officials, institutions and organizations sent USDOT supporting letters. We owe a big round of thanks to all those who did so.


As said in an earlier post, this is the first victory of what we want to be many. There are more gaps on the Schuylkill River Trail and East Coast Greenway in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, Bucks, Berks and Schuylkill Counties to close; we have years of more work to do before one can bike from Fort Mifflin to Pottsville or Trenton. On Thursday and Friday of last week, many organizations submitted appropriations requests for those remaining trail segments that didn't get included in the TIGER grant.

It is so gratifying that after one year of working collaboratively and strategically, the non-profit community and local and county governments have broken the funding drought that trails have experienced for at over a decade. If we keep this winning collaboration going, we are bound to achieve our goal of a connected regional network of biking/walking trails.



Read more about the TIGER award in the Inquirer, NBC10, Philebrity, T4America, Sierra Club Compass, Bikes Belong, Streetsblog DC

Ask Governor Rendell and Corzine to Support Funding for Bike Trails

It is time for Philadelphia to fill the gaps in the Schuylkill River Trail, for Pennsylvania to have a connected East Coast Greenway connecting to New Jersey and Delaware, and for Camden, New Jersey to become a city of trails, not highways.

Between the Complete the Schuylkill River Trail and East Coast Greenway campaigns, a broad network of organizations is asking that supporters of green infrastructure (you!) ask Governor Rendell and Governor Corzine to support completing these trails.

A little over a month ago, Philadelphia and five other surrounding counties submitted to the federal government for stimulus funding an unprecedented multi-jurisdictional application (called GREAT PA/NJ) for $36 million to build 17 segments of the Schuylkill River Trail, the East Coast Greenway and the Camden GreenWay. If stimulus funds can repair highways and bridges, remodel transit stations and repave roads, why shouldn't that same type of funding build bicycle & pedestrian trails? This is a HUGE opportunity to significantly advance active transportation regionally and to close many of the gaps along these trail systems.

Let Governor Rendell and Governor Corzine know that you are counting on them to be supportive of the GREAT PA/NJ application and to support other funding programs to build and complete bicycle & pedestrian trails. Send an email letter (which you can personalize) to your Governor today!

TIGER applications from the Delaware Valley Region

As reported before on this blog, the Bicycle Coalition and Pennsylvania Environmental Council helped the City of Philadelphia and five other counties submit a TIGER application called GREAT-PA/NJ to build 17 multi-use trail segments along the Schuylkill River Trail, East Coast Greenway and Camden GreenWay. US DOT recently announced the total amounts applied for by each state; Pennsylvania applied for over $2 Billion worth of projects. All states are limited to receiving no more than $300M (the total grant program has only $1.5B to distribute).

Needless to say, this is a very competitive grant program. Today, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission released a summary of all projects that were submitted from the region.

TIGER Grant Applications in the DVRPC Region

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant applications were due to U.S. DOT on Tuesday, September 15, 2009. $1.5 billion is available nationwide for surface transportation infrastructure projects of regional significance. Using a team review process, U. S. DOT will evaluate applications and will notify applicants of awards no later than February 17, 2010. Priority will be given to projects that can be completed by February 12, 2012. The following represents a summary of applications worth $490 million submitted by stakeholders in the DVRPC region:

1. SEPTA -- FareCard Payment System Total Cost: $100 Million TIGER Amount: $75 Million
2. GREAT PA/NJ -- Multi-county trail greenway to fill gaps Total Coast: $55 M TIGER: $36m
3. PennDOT -- I-95 Cottman-Princeton Reconstruction Total Cost: $195M TIGER: $95
4. Lower Merion Township -- Belmont Ave Corridor/Rock Hill Road Widening Total Cost: $20 M TIGER: $20 M
5. Center City District -- Transforming Dilworth Plaza Total Coast: $45M TIGER $30M
6. Philadelphia Regional Port Authority -- Container Handling Total Cost: $28M TIGER: $25M
7. Norfolk Southern -- Crescent Corridor Freight Project Total Cost: $618M TIGER: $300
8. South Jersey Port Corp -- Rail & Port network improvements Total Cost: $63M TIGER: $44M
9. NJDOT -- Route 30/130 Bridge Replacement Total Cost: $50M TIGER: $41 M
10. City of Trenton -- Route 29 Boulevard Realignment Total Cost: $150 TIGER: $63M

Philadelphia and surrounding counties collaborate on $36M grant proposal to fund multi-use trail network

Grant would connect Schuylkill River Trail, East Coast Greenway & Camden GreenWay
















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 new bicycle facility the Mayor’s inaugural ride of the new Spruce and Pine Street bike lanes on September 23rd.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council promotes the protection and restoration of the natural and built environments through innovation, collaboration, education and advocacy with the private sector, government, individuals and communities as partners to improve the quality of life for all Pennsylvanians. For more information: www.pecpa.org and www.pecpa.org/eastcoastgreenway

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization working with area governments and community organizations to help improve bicycling safety and education in southeast Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. The Bicycle Coalition is a member of and contributor to various national, state, regional and county bicycling, pedestrian and transportation organizations. For more information: www.bicyclecoalition.org