Our Blog is Getting a New Home

"Eventually, all good things must get face lifts." This is true both in alarmingly superficial subsections of Beverley Hills, and on the Internet.

Yesterday afternoon we launched a brand-new website. You can check it out at bicyclecoalition.org (yup, same domain). But one goal of our website redesign was to better integrate our blog into the rest of the site.

And so, we now have a new blog, at a new location: bicyclecoalition.org/blog.

Meet the new blog/ Same as the old blog / Except now on Wordpress and / with different CSS styling

On the new blog you will find a handful of blog posts which were originally posted here. It's like with a new house - you carry over some old furniture just to have something to sit on while waiting for the PECO guy. But starting henceforth we will be filling the new blog with the blog-post-equivalent of antique mirrors, a sectional or two, and a cherry or Brazilian walnut dresser if we can find one in our budget.

What does this mean for those of you who have read our blog via emails sent to your inbox?
We are working to get a blog-to-email subscription service up and running soon. Until then you can use services such as Feedly.com to subscribe.

What does this mean for our Yahoo group listservs?
We will not be posting new blog posts to those groups, as we are trying to consolidate the channels through which we share information (we only have so much time & effort to monitor everything). However, we do want to facilitate the continued communication among those counties with active groups. Shoot an e-mail to Nicholas at nicholas@bicyclecoalition.org if you'd like to be part of that conversation.

This blog will remain online as an archive. So if you want to flip through these 2,900+ blog posts and reminisce about the good old days, you can. But remember - as Peter de Vries said: "Nostalgia is not what it used to be."

Thanks for reading. And thanks to the William Penn Foundation, whose funding made this website redesign possible. We'll see you at bicyclecoalition.org/blog.

A Grant Which Funded Many Bike Trails In Our Region Is Now Depleted

Oliver's excited to start building trails and
bicycle reefs, which are underwater bicycle trails

On September 26th the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) Board approved funding for 13 trail projects. With this $3.9 million allocation, the $10 million grant from the William Penn Foundation is fully depleted.

The Regional Trail Program funded by WPF helped build many valuable and beloved trails in our region. But there are many miles of The Circuit yet to be built. This is why we're running the Circuit Commitment Campaign: to raise new dedicated funds for trails in our region.

It's also why this week's fight in Harrisburg to secure funding for bicycle and walking in a PA transportation bill is vital. If you haven't already, speak up for bicycling and walkings' importance right now!

Here are the 13 projects approved last week by the DVRPC Board:

New Banners on the Schuylkill River Trail Encourage Users To Use Nice

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

Just in time for the high season, nine banners with trail etiquette messages were installed today on Schuylkill Banks.

The messages include sharing the path, slowing down and being courteous.

Over 800,000 people use Schuylkill Banks annually and, on beautiful warm days, the number of people using the path can make you think you are on I-76 on a Phillies/Eagles game day. User conflicts are not uncommon and The Circuit Coalition decided this was a good place to tastefully communicate some messages about civility and safety.

Many were involved in making these banners possible: the William Penn Foundation, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Maskar Design, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, the Narducci Brothers, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

Three of each of these banners appear along the trail between the Connector Bridge and the new skate park

See you on The Circuit!

New Round of Grants Opens for Regional Trails

The third round of trail funding has been announced by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). This round will be available for design and construction of trails within The Circuit. Applications are due on April 5th. More information is on the Funding Opportunity Announcement. Up to $4 million is available and no project may receive more than $500,000.

The Regional Trail Program was created by a grant from the William Penn Foundation. The first two rounds provided grants for planning, design and construction of 29 projects throughout the nine county region covered by DVRPC.

NOTE: This post originally appeared on Crossing Paths, the official blog of The Circuit.

Regional Trail Program Awards $5.2 Million to 18 Trail Projects

In late October, DVRPC awarded $5.2 million through Phase I of its Regional Trails Program, a grant program funded by $10 Million from the William Penn Foundation, to eighteen projects around the 9 county Delaware Valley region.

These initiatives include both trail design and trail construction in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They extend existing trails, including the Schuylkill River Trail in Phoenixville, the Chester Valley Trail near Exton, and the East Coast Greenway in Tullytown. They connect the existing and planned elements of the regional trail network to neighborhoods through projects like the Baldwin's Run Tributary Trail in Camden and the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail in Lawrence. Finally, these grants support several landmark projects, including the Manayunk Bridge Trail that will provide a cross-river connection between Philadelphia and Lower Merion Township and serve as a destination for bikers and walkers from across the region.

The awards to trail projects include:

• Reading to Hamburg Schuylkill River Trail Gap (Leesport section) – $142,630 (design and construction) – Berks County
• Big Woods/Schuylkill-Hopewell Furnace Trail – $500,000 (construction – Phase 1, survey – Phase 2) – Berks and Chester Counties – Berks County
• Neshaminy Creek Greenway (Phase I) -- $130,148 (construction) – Bucks County
• US Route 13 Crossing – $471,000 (construction) – Bucks County
• Baldwin’s Run Tributary Trail – $150,000 (design) – Camden County
• Chester Valley Trail Phase III – $500,000 (construction) – Chester County
• Phoenixville Schuylkill River Trail Segment – Phase I -- $285,000 (design and construction) – Chester County
• Darby Creek Trail -- $290,000 (construction) – Delaware County
• Lawrence-Hopewell Trail: Lewisville Road Section -- $248,000 (construction) – Mercer County
• Chester Valley Trail Extension – $325,000 (construction) – Montgomery County
• Canal Towpath Spillway Bridge – $170,000 (construction) – Montgomery County
• Tacony Frankford Greenway Trail – $500,000 (construction) – Philadelphia
• Penn Street Trail – $500,000 (design and construction) – Philadelphia
• Schuylkill Crossing at Grays Ferry – $260,000 (preliminary design) – Philadelphia

In addition, the DVRPC Board today approved $125,000 in funding for Camden County’s Kaighn’s Avenue to Route 130 Connector Trail. This project was one of four “early action” projects originally approved for $50,000 of funding in July 2011. The grant has since been revised to $125,000. The other three early action projects were:

• Manayunk Bridge -- $400,000 (design) – Philadelphia
• Spring Garden Street Greenway – $75,000 (design) – Philadelphia
• Schuylkill South -- $165,000 (acquisition for future extension of waterfront trail) – Philadelphia

In mid-December, DVRPC received applications for Phase II of the program, for projects that were seeking planning and feasibility funding. Those awards are expected to be announced in early 2012.

Like Naming Things? Name Our Regional Trail Network!

Are you good at naming things? Do you have a lot of pets, or kids, all with terrific names they've really grown into as dogs, or people?

Well, there's a contest happening to confer a name upon the network of bike/ped trails that snakes through the 9-county region.

The William Penn Foundation is working with DVRPC on a naming contest. Visit the contest website here for additional details. The contest ends on December 16th. The creator of the winning entry will receive $250 and the fame of having his or her name attached to our regional trail network.

Below is information from the William Penn Foundation about the contest:

Name Our Trail Network Contest

Our region's network of trails needs a name. We need your help!

Submit your best ideas to NameOurTrailNetwork@gmail.com. The entry selected by our jury will receive a $250 cash prize!

Greater Philadelphia's developing system of trails has energized communities across the region, with each new segment connecting more neighborhoods and residents. This network - which includes the Schuylkill River Trail, Cooper River Trail, East Coast Greenway and several others - represents a potential world-class amenity, reaching from the heart of downtown Philly and Camden into the surrounding counties and communities.

The trail system needs a unifying name to increase its visibility and reinforce the connections that exist between neighborhoods, businesses, jobs and recreation opportunities across the region without relying on a car. The William Penn Foundation and a group of local partners have organized a contest to create this important identity. Help us name Greater Philadelphia's trail network and you could win $250 - and the pride of knowing you created the name for one of our region's coolest amenities!

Submit your best ideas for a name that captures the potential of our connected network to NameOurTrailNetwork@gmail.com. The winning name, selected by the jury, will be announced in early January and the winner will receive a $250 cash prize. Name ideas should:

• Reflect the entire trails region of southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
• Respect existing trail names. An ideal name will complement and be used in tandem with existing trail names, such as as the Schuylkill River Trail and Cooper River Trail.
• Promote the many benefits and experiences the trails provide, including transportation, recreation, accessibility and exploration.
• Focus on the future and avoid over-used colonial imagery and historical clichés.

Please send your name ideas to NameOurTrailNetwork@gmail.com no later than midnight EST on December 16, 2011. In your entry, please include:

• Suggested name for the Regional Trail Network
• A reason for the suggested name (no more than 150 words)
• Your Name
• Phone Number
• Email

Please visit http://www.dvrpc.org/NameOurTrailNetwork/ for additional information, trail system name examples and complete contest rules.