| UPCOMING PHILADELPHIA EVENTS |
SEPTEMBER 11, 2011
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August 3
Bicycle Coalition volunteer night
August 5
Commuter Challenge morning pit stop at 13th & Pine
August 13
Bike Mural Arts Tours
August 14
Grand Fondo Colnago Philadelphia
August 16
Philly Cycling Committee meeting
All Summer
Bicycle education classes at Philly rec centers
Full calendar with details
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Bike Delaware meeting
Dog Daze Century
Camden Riversharks game benefiting Neighborhood Bike Works
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| BICYCLE COALITION IN THE NEWS |
Bill Lacks Bikes: BCGP calls for action against new Transportation Bill ( Grid Magazine)
Alex Doty interviewed by CBS Philly about the enforcement campaign (article and video)
Find the full media list on our SpinZone page.
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| BICYCLE COALITION BLOG HIGHLIGHTS |
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Greetings!
Last week, I took the staff on a field trip to Cobbs Creek. This wide, well-maintained bike path is a hidden gem only ten minutes by bike from UPenn. We found ourselves in a lush park 15 degrees cooler than the hot asphalt roads we took to get there. Yet, on our ride we met only three other bicyclists.
What's the problem? Connections! Cobbs Creek is only a few miles long and is not connected to any other trails. And the street connections to the surrounding neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Upper Darby are often confusing and even frightening.
Whether it's Cobbs Creek, the Schuylkill River Trail or another regional trail, we are working on connections. We want to link up more miles of trail, fill gaps and make safe, convenient street connections which invite you to explore not only parks and rivers but neighborhoods.
Want to help? Volunteer with us, or create a team and ride Bike Philly. This car-free ride is our biggest fundraiser and the proceeds support our Complete the Schuylkill River Trail campaign. Bike Philly is a terrific way to see Philadelphia from a new, car-free perspective while helping connect our regional trail network.
Alex Doty
Executive Director
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VOLUNTEER AT THE BICYCLE COALITION
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 Wanted: Bike Messenger Moonlighters!Always wanted to bike documents across Philadelphia or the suburbs? Want to be a bike messenger for the Bicycle Coalition (earning you 2x the bicycling cred)? See below.
Job duties:
- Visit our HQ at 1500 Walnut to pick up materials.
- Select your favorite neighborhood/zip code from the Big Board.
- Deliver Bike Philly postcards and posters to coffee shops, bars, bike shops and other jive locales.
This job is available starting this Wednesday (7/27) afternoon. Contact us at (215) 242-9253 ext. 307 or caroline@bicyclecoalition.org for more information.
Want to volunteer at Bike Philly? We can set you up nicely there, too. Check out our volunteer page for information on the roles waiting to be filled.
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| COMPLETE THE TRAIL UPDATE |
 | | The trail network as it exists today. |
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The first TIGER project stuck ground in late June. The Connector Bridge over the CSX tracks that will connect the Schuylkill River Park Trail to the Schuylkill River Park (at 25th and Spruce) is the first TIGER project to break ground. The project will take approximately 16 months to complete. There was a hiccup over the accommodations being made for a temporary dog park, but despite the filing of a lawsuit, it was quickly settled, thanks to the hard work of City parks officials and the Law Department.
The Fairmou nt Bikeway (aka the Kelly Drive path from East Falls Bridge to Ridge Avenue) is almost complete. The path really looks like a trail now; it's wider and goes behind the parking lot. A guardrail (on back order) needs to be installed along the full extent of the path before the trail and parking lot is formally opened (and those pesky barrels get removed).
The Regional Trails grant program being administered by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) received 36 applications for its first design and construction round. The $10M William Penn Foundation grant program is being run in three phases and in this first round, a range of $4.5-$5.5M will be awarded. Look for news about the awards in the coming weeks.
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| ADVOCACY: BICYCLE COALITION IN THE STREETS |
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Center City Bike Lane Updates
Starting in mid-July, Philadelphia's Streets Department marked out and painted buffered bike lanes on 10th and 13th Streets. It's still a project in process, so there are currently some gaps and problem spots. Ironically, despite the initial opposition to the lanes coming from Jefferson and Chinatown, it's been the section of 13th between Filbert and Market which has become the most contentious to manage. Employees and police officers at the Justice Center have used that stretch of street for parking, and they are going through a period of adjustment. The, Mayor's Office of Transportation is working hard within the Administration to facilitate adaption.
Elsewhere, southbound sharrows have been painted on 11th Street between Bainbridge and Washington Avenue to match a new northbound bike lane. Ben Franklin Parkway bike lanes are being moved from the inner roadways to the outer roadways between 20th and Eakins Oval. The project is still under construction, so wait until Labor Day to make your final assessment. We met with Streets Department staff to figure out a better transition across 20th Street. Check the blog for updates.
Bike/Ped Funding Eliminated In House Transportation Bill
The GOP House rolled out its draft Transportation Bill on July 11th, and sadly, bike/ped funding (such as Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School programs) were eliminated. We sent an action alert to all Bicycle Coalition members which induced over 500 actions and letters to PA, NJ, and DE members of Congress from the Delaware Valley. These letters have an impact! We were told by Senator Robert Casey's office that he expressed his support for dedicated bike/ped funding directly to Senators Boxer and Inoff (the senators drafting a Senate bill) and we learned today that bike/ped funding is in the Senate bill. Thank you Senator Casey and thank you to all of you who sent a letter! It's not to late to do so. Please send a letter today if you haven't already done so.
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Bike The Pike Update
West Chester Pike (PA3) will be receiving bicycling improvements this summer. PA3 through the interchange with I-476 will receive shoulder improvements and signage to help bicyclists better use the shoulder and make vehicles more aware of their presence. Unfortunately, dedicated bike lanes are not part of the project. The improvements are expected to be implemented before September.
Camden GreenWay Trails Update
Camden Mayor Dana Redd presided over the July 20th re-opening of Farham Park. The park now includes a half-mile multi-use trail along the Cooper River connecting the trail in New Camden Park, the Admiral Wilson Blvd Park and the sidepath on Kaighn Avenue. The Farnham Park path is a critical connector for forthcoming bikeways.
Construction is about to begin on Camden's portion of the TIGER grant, bringing bicycling improvements to Pearl St, Pine St and Martin Luther King Blvd. Planning continues on extending the Kaighn Ave path along the Cooper River to US 130 and Park Drive, which will put it across the highway from Camden County's Cooper River Park Trail system. New Jersey DOT is reconfiguring that intersection to make it somewhat easier to cross US 130 on foot or bike.
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| BICYCLE COALITION EDUCATION UPDATE |
 Interested in learning more about our educational programming? You can subscribe to the Walk 'n Wheel, the monthly e-newsletter from our Safe Routes Philly program. It contains updates on educational events, program metrics, and other active transportation news. Send an e-mail to nicholas@bicyclecoalition.org to sign up.
You can also follow our education blog. We recently recounted our participation in a program which helps teenagers from South Philly's East Asian communities examine bicycling infrastructure funding inequities in their communities. It was a moving experience for the Bicycle Coalition employees who participated, and a great reminder that improving underserved communities' access to bicycling infrastructure is not an insurmountable problem.
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