cyclegram may/june 1993

8/16/2019 Cyclegram May/June 1993

1/8

Coalition Starts Push for Bridge Access PATCO Parking

p 5

CYCLEGR M

New sletter of tire Bicycle C oalition of tile Delaw are Valle y

point du ring th e first meeting of the Ma vor s Task Force

12

Bicycle Safety in March. W qr ic h was elected chair-

marl of the historic panel.

New Task Force Gets Rolling

BC Officers Chosen for Leadership Roles

Bicycle Coalition Presi-

dent Noel Weyrich has been

elected chairman of

Phi l adelphia ' s f i r s t - ever

Mayor ' s Task Force on

Bicycle Safety.

The task force met fo r the

first time M arch 3 to start

organizing

its

agenda. Coali-

tion Executive Director Sue

McNamara was voted to

head an act ion subcom -

mittee to deal with pressing

city cycling issues while Jim

Castel lan of the Freedom

Valley Bike Ride will lead

the vision subcomn~ittee

to formu late a slate of rec-

omm endations to Mayor Ed

Rendell.

The task force was born

out of a commitment Ren-

del l made to the Bicycle

Coal i t ion dur ing the 199 1

campaign. I t is considered a

ma jor s tep forw ard in the

fight for better, safer bicy -

cling am enities.

Other task force members

include Paul Winkfield, Bar-

bara Dalvano and Tom Witt

f rom the Bicycle Club of

Philadelphia; Denise Goren,

After Protest PennDO T Considers Betzwood Alternatives

In the w ake of a peaceful

demonstration Feb. 6 during

which two Coalition officers

were arrested, the Pe nnsyl-

vania Department of Trans-

portation now appears ready

to provide bicycle and

pedestrian routes ac ross the

Schuylki l l River whi l e i t

r eplaces the Betzwood

Bridge at Val ley Forge

National Park.

A

Feb .

4

m ee t i ng

between Coalition members

and h i gh - leve l PennD O T

officials in Ha rrisburg has

persuaded key decisionmak-

ers that providing no access

at Betzwood during several

years of construction would

be a mistake.

(Continued on p.4)

Protesters decry Betzwood Bridge closirlg at a Coalition-led denlorzstration FeD. 6 .


2/8

Upcoming Events

Monthly M eetings:

General membership

meetings are held the sec-

ond Mond ay of each odd-

numbered month from

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the

offices of Clean Water

Action, 15 18 Walnut Street

in C enter City.

Take the elevator to the

13th floor, with your bicy-

cle, if you prefer.

The next general mem-

bership meeting is set for

May 10.

Coalition board meet-

ings are held the second

Monday of each even-

numbered month and focus

on internal business. The

public is welcome.

The next board meeting

is

June 14.

yclegram

Deadline:

Deadline for the

JulyIAugust Cyclegram is

May 3 1. Deadlines are the

last Monday of odd-num-

bered months.

Mailing Party:

Mailing party for the

JulyIAugust Cyclegram is

scheduled for Thursday,

June 24. Cal l 215-545-

3350 to confirm date, time

and location.

Photo credits: took the photo on page 3.

Ken Yanoviak took the

The photo on page 5 was

photographs on pages 1 . 4 , 6 provided by the Port Author-

7. Micha el Mc Gettig an ity Transit Corporation.

Cyclegram is published bimonthly by the Bicycle Coalition of the

Delaware Valley, P.O. Box 8 194, Philadelphia. PA 19 101. The Coali-

tion is a voluntee r, non-profit organization working to improve con-

ditions for bicycling througho ut the tri-state area. promoting bicycling

for transportation and recreation, and dedicated to a balanced trans-

portation system. Coverage of an event not sponsored by BCDV does

not constitute an endorsemen t. Cyclegram may be reproduced in

whole or in part provided prominent credit is given to the Bicycle

Coalition of the Delaware Valley.

Cyclegram is printed on recycled paper using soy ink.

Board of Managers: John D owlin , Nancy Drye , Fred Ulrner, Rob

Waterland and Noel Weyrich ex officio).

Executive Director: Sue McNamara 2151545-3350)

President:

Noel Weyrich

2151232-7543)

Vice President: Fred Ulmer 2151517-6287)

Secretary:Rob Waterland 7,151854-8137)

Treasurer: Nancy Drye 215/387-9242)

Editor:

Bill Shralow

2151627-1566)

Membership Director: Bob Noland 2151483-6547)

Committees:

Bike Lanes : N oe l ~ e y r i c h2151232-7543)

Rail and Transit: Noel Weyrich 2151232-7543)

Traffic Safety: B ob Noland 2151483-6547)

Long-range Planning: Sam Spofforth 215/387-1724)

Educ atiodSa fety Information: Sally Berriman 2151272-5139)

BCDV is affiliated with the League of American Wheelmen.

Ride Calendar

T h e D e l u n ~ a r e V a l l e y Sun . May 30: Tri-State

Regiotlal Ride Calendar is a

Century/Half/Quarter. Spon-

regular fearure of Cyclegran z.

sored by White Clay Bicycle

Lis t i t lgs sho~ i ld e s r t l t lo

Clu b, Wilmington, Del. Call

Bicycle Co al i ~ io t l , crrrn. Chuck Harris. 302-764-2644.

DVRRC.)

Sat. June

5: Indian Creek

Weekends throughout

Foundation R oll and Stroll,

May:

Series of trips to his- Harley sville, Pa. 7-. 38- and

toric Cap e May sponsored by

62-mile cycling courses; 2-

the American Bicycle Club.

and 6.5-mile w a k n g courses.

Call 2 15-886-6927. Call 215-256-1500.

Sat. May

8:

Lighthouse

Sat. and Sun. June 12-13:

Christian Academy 1st Annu-

MS 150 Pa. Dutch Bike Tour

al Bike-a-Thon, Manahawkin,

to benefit the National Multi-

N.J. 30-mi. and 60-mi. loops. ple Sclero sis Soc iety. Fully

Contact the academy, 400

catered 150-m ile tour. Call

Beach Ave., Manahawkin.

2 15-395-7230 or 800-229-

Rides of 25 and 70 m iles

8360.

sponsored by the Delaware Sun . June 13: The

Inland Bays Estuary Program. C he st er Co un ty Ch all en ge

Contact Larry Wonderlin at Bike To ur to benefit the

739-4590. Arthritis Foundation. 20-, 40-

1st An nual Am eric an and 100-mile tours. Call J a n -

Re d Cr oss Milton Cha pte r nette Riviera at 800-355-9040

Citizens Bicycle Race , Wat- or 2 15-665-9200.

sontow n, Pa. 17.6 miles. Call

Sat. June 19: The Jersey

Debb ie Faust at 2 15-742 - Double 200-mile ride, spon-

955 1.

sored by the Western Jersey

Sun. May 16: Pedal for

Wheelmen. Goes through sev-

Pets Bike Ri de, Gl as go w, eral rural counties containing

Del. 30 miles. Spo nsored by

some of New Jer sey s finest

the Delaware Hum ane Soci-

countryside. Call Mike Bohrer

ety. Call Barbara weekdays 9

at 908-236-9619 or Bob Boy-

to 5 at 302-738-7335.

sen at 908-832-7361.

Sat . and Sun. May 22- Sun. July

:

91h Annual

23.: American Lung Asso c. Delaware XX Doublecross. 28

Clean Air Challenge 8th

miles. Sponsored by White

Annual Bike Trek in Virginia. Clay Bicycle Club, Wilm ing-

150 miles over two days. Call

ton, Del. Call A aron Chen at

703-591-4131. 302-995-6860.

Sun. May 23: American Sun. July 18: 21st Annu-

Heart Assoc. Heart Pedals,

al American Cancer Society

Biking Through Bucks Coun- Bike-a-Thon. 100-m ile route

ty. 12-, 30- and 60-mile rides. from Philade lphia to Atlantic

Call 800-734-3500. City. Call 215-665-2914.

Thanks to New Members

For Their Support of ycling

Mary Walton

Keith Danielson

Ted Robb

Deborah E H oellein

Robert J Wilson

Elaine Becker

Laurie Lee Mestres

Thomas B Istenes

Larry J Krafft

Howard Langer

Andrew Christen

Donald Everhart I1

Jonathan Shinefeld

Bernard Cohen

David C Ham son

Jerry Anne Schneider

Bill Lang

Jeanne L Harvey

Continued on next page)


3/8

Thanks to Our New embers

Continued from p. 2 )

Linda Faul

Arbert Nipon

Patricia Segal

Joseph C Tyrell

William H Elfring

Joseph A Zechm an

Karen Green

Michael D Antonio

Charles Kinzig

R. Seth Hudson

James J Howe

Paul Albert

Joe Gellings

David R Fields

Andrew Cumiskey

Carol Love M.D.

Richard H Coll

Ira Yermish

Stephen S Jamison

David B Smith

Robert E Ruddy

Cliff Callow

Ave Gaffney

Mark Lanan

Arthur Newbold

W. Craig Blasingame

Alan Greenstine

Joan Moffitt

Dean Foster

John P Coine

Liam New berg

Douglas A Moore

C. William Helm

Carl Hinchey

Dolores T M cKnight

David J Marchese

P.J. Pullia

Lonnie M anai

Jeff Banham

Blyth Benshoof

Frank Bushman

M. Chris Yaeger

Mike Fazio

Steven Seeholzer

Debra Lee

John Basile

Joseph D Castora

Paul E Bender

Kathryn Belville

John A McGowan

Kathy L Echtemacht

Lawrence Greene

Allan M Lefer

Niels R Walet

William Baratta

Patricia Schweibenz

Bill Leber

Valerie P Gilson

Arthur G Baylor Jr

David Hofstein

Ted Regina Forrence

William J Taylor

Ed d Agostino

Robert Toland

Dick Foley

Audrey Tannenbaum

Todd A. Kolb

Jerry Bonfiglio

Samuel L Miller

Randy Connolly

Alan Silverblatt

Mark Frazza

Gerard Kattner

Dana Lotkowski

Michael S Molloy

Steven Alten

Letter from the President

Growing Num bers M ean lout

by Noel Weyrich

i s sue fo r which w e ve

Th is is a revised versiotl

issued a postcard in the

of a column that appeared

past two y ears , we have

i n the March -Apr il 1 992

either won outright or con-

Cyc l e gr am , upda ted f o r

t inue to see s teady

those w ho halve

joirled since

then.)

A year ago,

when the Bicy-

cle Coali t ion

had a mere 500

d u e s - p a y i n g

members , I

expressed a

dream of how

bicycle-friendly the region

might become if we had

2,000 members.

Today, we have 1,200

members , and our annual

outreach mailing this month

should attract an additional

300. Just a dream a year

ago, the 2,000-member

level is now in sight.

This rapid growth works

a s imple and powerful

magic . Each t ime a new

member joins, the value of

everyone else s m embership

increases exponentia lly .

That s because a growing

membership serves a vari-

ety of functions, creating a

whole far greater than the

sum of the parts.

First, the steady grow th

in income provides us with

the paid professional a ssis-

tance we need to reach new

members , se rve curren t

members, steward new pro-

grams and coordinate advo-

cacy efforts. We do mor e

now because we can. And

our accomplishments attract

new members.

A second benefit of

membership growth is the

power generated when we

speak out on a single issue.

Our postcard canlpaigns, for

instance, have been amaz-

ingly effective. On every

progress.

Third , a s

m e m b e r s h i p

grows , our

volunteer base

continues to

deepen and

expand. Many

of our most

effective and

valuable vol-

unteers are fairly new to

the Coalition , including,

for instance , the attorney

defending our Betzwood

Bridge case.

Finally, numbers consti-

tute political influence. In

meetings with city, region-

al and s t a te offic ia ls to

advoca te our causes , I

have seen a steady climb

in attentiveness and faster

response as the Coalition

membersh ip has r i sen

from 150 to 500, and then

to 1,200.

Which brings me back

to the dream about 2,000

mem bers. Two thousand

mem bers will financially

sustain a professional staff

and office. Two thousand

members will knock out

phenomenal postcard cam-

paigns . Two thousand

members will expand our

reach, perhaps through

county and workplace

coordinating committees

throughout the region.

And, frankly. 2.000 mem-

bers can gain respect from

any politician or bureau-

crat in the region.

That s what s on the line

fo r y o u r 1 9 9 3 memb e r -

ship.

It s not the kind of fun

you ll want to miss.


4/8

Cvclearam

MavIJune 993 13 4

State Weighs

Bicycle A ccess

At Betzwood

(Co~ l t inuedrom p.1)

PennDOT is an evolving

institution. Coalition Pre s-

ident Noel Weyrich said.

The wi l l ingness of top

brass to sit down and recon-

sider past decisions prov es

tha t. The coming m onths

will see our relationship con-

tinue to grow more cooper-

at ive and less

confrontational.

At press time, PennDO T

was considering installing a

shut t le van and t ra i le r fo r

cyclists during the com ing

year, with a small cable-

guided r iver ferry to take

over the funct ion next

spr ing . The smal l fe r ry

would then continue opera-

tion until the new B etzwood

Bridge is completed in 1996

or 1997. Although the Coali-

tion continues to have grave

concerns about the shuttle

van (it seems destined to be

stuck in traffic when c om -

muter cyclists need it most),

Weyrich said he'll reserve

Coaliricltl Pr.esidenr Noel WeytYch rolls ba ck

a

fetlce block itlg c?clistsfi.onl rtsitlg the

Be tm oo d Bridge at Valley Forge Natiotlal Park. The Feb. fence-curring led to the arrest

of Wqr rich atld BCDV Execu tive Director Sue McNanzara ( le ft ).The y ll figh t the charges.

judgment unt il PennDOT

provides a formal proposal.

'T he highway safety peo-

ple are total ly opposed to

squeezing a barricaded bike

and pedestrian path onto the

422 B ridge, but that would

seem to be the cheapest ,

most logical solution, says

Weyrich. PennDOT will not

discuss re-opening the old

Betzwood Bridge, he added.

Weyrich and Coali t ion

execut ive d i rec tor Sue

McNarnara were expected to

defend their Feb. 6 protest

action at an April 14 hearing

before District Mag istrate

Ester Castillo in East Norri-

ton Township Building.

Coalition member Katherine

Daly, an attorney with the

f i rm Krusen , Evans and

Byrne, has agreed to repre-

Help Needed to M ake Bike to Work Day Work

Bik e-to- Wo rk Day is their bicycles indo ors that other activities.

co mi ng to do wn to wn day. Comm uter Convoys We really need Coalition

Philadelphia, and the Coali-

led by city political leaders mem bers who work fo r

t ion i s put ting ou t an a l l -

and media personalities will major employers down town

points bulletin for spirited conv erge on C ity Ha ll,

to help coordinate corporate

volunteers to help make the

competitions on who has the

day a success.

The Coalition

most riders that day, Coali-

Th e Coal i t ion wi l l jo in

is working w ith

tion Executive Director Sue

with the Center City D istrict McNamara said. All he big

and Cores ta tes F inancia l

the Center City

employers have trip reduc-

Corp. to promote June 2 as Business t ion coordinators now to

Bike-to-Work Day and

District

and

comply with the Clean Air

Center City: Make i t a

Act . This is the perfect

Night. Corest t es. oppor tuni ty to educate

Detai ls were pending at

employers about how bicy-

press time, but the Coalition

where coffee and donuts will

c le commuters can he lp

hopes to get a proclamation

be served.

them meet their auto tr ip

from May or Rendell urging T he Coa lition will need reduction goals.

employers to permit workers

volunteers that morning to

C all S u e M c ~ a m a r a t

to dress down and br ing

help coordinate these and

545-3350 for information.

sent Weyrich and McN ama-

ra at the hearing.

Daly expla ins tha t

because the Betzwood

Two cut ope n the br idge

fencing in the belief it would

provide the publ ic wi th a

safer river crossing than the

422 Bridge, their actions fail

to meet the legal definition

of criminal mis chief ' and

disorderly conduct.

ity

Task

Force

Deputy Mayo r for Trans-

por ta t ion; George Dick ,

Philadelphia Triathlon Club;

Thom as K ennedy, City Plan-

ning Con ln~ission: laudia

Post, Bic ycle Coalition and

Diamond Courier; Joseph S

Binder, Veni Velo Bicycle

Club; Peter Odell, Fairmount

Park Conlrnission staff; Gary

Brooten, Co reStates Finan-

cial Corp.; Richard Gibson,

Bicycle Coalition and Fair-

mount Park Commissioner;

Tom Branigan, S t ree ts

Department; Larry Wilson,

Mayo r ' s Of f i ce o f T rans -

portat ion; Joseph Syrnick,

City Steets Department; and

Scott Steketee, Quak er City

Wheelmen.


5/8

Cvclearam

MavIJune 993

0 5

ith PATCO Bike-on-Rail in the Bag, Coalition Forges Ahead

Next Step: Better Parking at Train Stations and More Access to River Bridges

H avi ng conv i nced t he

g for better bike parking

The C oalition has written

thor-

ss four Delaware River

The letter asks that DRPA

tation fund ing to:

Upgrade bicycle racks

rs at

exam ple, would

ace only five autom o-

additional round-trips

PATCO General Manager Robert G. Schwab (second Tom rig ht)preserrts Coalitiorr

Presidetrt Noel W e r ic h (secorld rom left) with PATCO s irst Bike-on-Rail permit at the

Woodcrest Stario~l n Cherry Hill. Also picnrred are South Jersey Whee lnre~r iembers

Vrom le f t ) ,Scott Medalrgh, Gerre Schoebet.leitr a~rd iatre Selza.

annually, virtually paying for

Bridge so that cyclists and

themselve s within a year.

pedes t r i ans can use the

Ins ta l l an e l ec t ronic

walkway 24 hou rs a day. A

monitoring and

remote gate

similar system recently cost

system on the Ben Franklin

the Golden Gate Bridge only

25.000 he ave r age

amount of money collected

at Ben Frank lin Bridge toll-

booths every

Parkpre appreciates nd supports

the

efforts

of those

in

the cycl ing

comtnnnity t h a t m a k e our

sport nd

life

better To

contac t

you r

local

P a r k p r e

Dealer p l e a s e call

1 - 8 0 0 - P A R K P R E .

and t r ans i t access in the

region. Sim ilar requests for

service improvements are set

to go out to SEPTA (bike

parking, bike-on-bus provi-

sions), New Jersey Transit

(bike-on-bus), and the other

public authorities controlling

D e l a w a r e

fow. hours.

The C oalition Riv er br idges

Comm it to

between New

p r o v i d i n g

wants more bike Hope and

some form of

parking and m ore

~ i l m i n ~ t o n ,

reliable bicycle

reliable bicycle

Del.

access across DRPA of f i -

the Com-

access across the

cials sa id Bar-

modo re Barry,

Port Authority s

bara Jones .

Walt whitma n

bridges. either bv

director of gov-

<

ernment and

and Beby

special shuttles,

p u b l i c rela-

br idges ei ther

by special

accommodations

t ions, plan s to

s h u t t-1 e s on public transit

r espond soon

a c c o n l n l O d a - or bike trails. to the Coalilion

tion on pub lic proposals.

t r ans i t or on To register

dedicated bike trails. Ma ny Your vote for better bike

m ode l s f o r s uch s ys t em s access between New Jersey

exist, from M aryland to Gal-

and Pennsylvania, mail in

ifornia. the enclosed postcard or

The DRpA petition is the write to George Warring-

first salvo in a new C oalition ton, DRPA , Bridge Plaza,

campa ign for better bridge Camden, NJ 08101.


6/8

ram MavlJune 1993

p.6

Transit Line s

Bike-on-Rail

Links 30th St.

To the Shore

New Je rsey Tran si t wi ll

p rovide t ra in serv i ce

between 30th Street Station

and Atlantic City beginning

May

2

offering direct bike-

on-ra i l access t o t he shore

from c entral Philadelphia.

NJ Tran s i t wi l l run s ix

round t r ips be tween

Phi l ade lphia and At l an t ic

City daily.

To obtain a 1993 bicycle

perm it application from New

Jers ey Tra nsit, write to: NJ

T rans i t R a i l O pe ra t i ons ,

It's Springtime On the Delaware

Atlantic City Rail Line , One

Atlant ic Ci ty Expressway,

The Delaware River ferry between Penn s Landing and the New

Atlantic City,

NI, 08401.

Jersey State Aquarium at Cam den allows bicycles on board at no

Th e t icket office phone

extra charge. The operators merely ask you to let them know if

number is 609) 343-7 174.

you plan to bring a large group aboard. Above, Coalition m ember

NJ

Legislature

Rob W aterland enjoys a sunny day on the water with his bicyle.

Stalls Helpful

Rail Program

Wanna peel out in the Big

Apple?

Holders of SEPTA B ike-

on-Rail passes can only get

as far as Trenton now, but if

a certain piece of legislation

gets through the state house

in New Jersey, Trenton -to-

Man hattan bike-on-rail w ill

become a reality.

A ssem b l y B i l l 1584 ,

which has already passed

th

l ow er house i n T ren t on ,

would m andate bike-on-rail

provisions f or al l New Jer-

sey Transi t rail l ines. The

Sen ate version of the bi l l ,

how eve r , i s s t a l led in the

transportation comm ittee.

To help jum p-start this

important bill , mail the

enclosed postcard to State

Sen. W illiam Haines, Sen-

ate Transportation Com-

mittee Chair, 311-23 Route

38, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054.

Announcing

BCDV's

second public forum:

Pennsylvania Bicycling in the 199 s

Join fellow concerned members of the bicycling

community to meet and talk with

Dave Bachman,

pennDOT9s irst ful I-time bicvclelpedestrian

coordinator.

Dave will discuss the Bicycle Mobility Plan

he's working on he first issued by the state in 20 years

He is looking for your input

Wednesday, May 12 at 7 p.m.

Friend's Center, Martin Luther King Room

15th and Cherry streets, Philadelphia.


7/8


8/8

--------------

...

Membership nside

New city bicycle task force gets started .........................

Name

p.1

Pe mD OT eyes bikelped options at Betzwood Bridge ...p.1

Ad dres s Letter from the President: Grow th mean s clout

.............

City State Zip ( Bike-to-Work Day hinges on volunteers ........................

p.3

p.4

Telephone

Coalition pushes Port Authority for better facilities .....p.5

NJ Transit bike-on-rail law in legislative corn nitte e

.....

p. 6

am voluntarily sen ing my me mbersh ip dues at

Coalition to start new legislative action project .............p.7

( the following level:

(

Police-on-Bikes pilot program may spur expansion

......

p. 7

100 50 35 25

other- ( 10 l imited income)

Am ount enclosqd:

Please also send m e:

Delaw are Valley Com marer s Bicycle Mop

( 5.75/ 5.25members)

Bottle Bill T-shirt

(L IXL)

( 6/ 5

members)

SEPTA Comm uler Map ( 3 )

Total enclosed

C

Make check p ayable to Bicycle Coalition and send to:

Membership BCDV P.O. Box 8194 Phila. PA 19101. ,

Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley

P.O. Box 194

Philadelphia,

PA

19 10

1

Don t miss an issue. rf you're not already a

member, join now w ith the foml at left and put your money

to work improving bicycling in the D elaware V alley

Your membership includes a one-year subscription lo

Cyclegram, discounts at most bike sh ops in the Delaware

Valley, invitations to Coalition specia l events as well as expert

help from the Coalition's touring, racing and comnluting

advisers and the chance to

turn

your love of cycling into pos-

itive action.

Coali tion membe rs are comm uters, recreational riders,

messengers, touring cyclists and others who support clean

air and a healthier urban environ ment.

Join us Help us win safer roads, the right to bike to work

and respect from nlotorists and gove rnmen t.

BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAGE

I

HILADELPHIA PA

PERMIT NO. 683

Forwarding and Return Postage Guaranteed

Address Correction Requested

cyclegram may/june 1993

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