Cyclegram March/April 1992

8/16/2019 Cyclegram March/April 1992

1/6

CYCLEGR M

MarchlApn l1992

Newsletter of the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley

River Drive Breakthrough: Car-free Cycling on Horizon

The Coalition's push for free weekend cycling now a

nations to fund permanent

recreational closings of West

possibility by June.

swinging gates at all West

R iv er D riv e has m oved a ~ h e ~ a i m o u n t ~ a r k C o m -iver Drive access points.

major step forward, with car-

mission is seeking private do- The gates would make recre-

ational closings easy and in-

expensive by eliminating the

need for police to guard drive

entrance points.

Park officials say they

hope to raise $27,000 to in-

stall nine sets of permanent

Coalition Nea rsVictory

On PATCO Bike-on-Rail

Responding to Coalition M ean wh ile, sup po rt

lob by ing , P en ns ylv an ia from other quarters contin-

State Sen. Vincent Fumo has

ues to grow. The New Jer-

stated that he will endorse a sey D epartment of Trans-

PATCO bike-on-rail pro-

portation has written a

posal at the February board

strongletterof support,urg-

meeting of the Delaware

ing PATCO's operations

River Port Authority. Fumo comm ittee to meet with the

is an influential mem ber of

Coalition and resolve any

the DRPA board , which concerns that PATCO might

oversees operation of the have. The letter noted the

PATCO High-Spe ed Line success of the S E R A Bike-

between Center City and on-Railprogram,whichwas

South Jersey.

developed last year at the

Wecan allbutchalkthis Coa lition's urging. The

one up in the victory col- So uth Jersey W heelm en

umn, Coalition President have also written to DRPA

Noel Weyrich said. Sen. to voice their Support for

Fumo is a brilliant leader

the Program.

withextraordinary influence

The 14-mile line is a

among his colleagues and a critical link to the New Jer-

terrific sta ff behind him . We

sey Transit Atlantic City line

could not possibly have a

(which has a bike-on-rail

better friend on this issue.

program) and as the only

(Cyclegramwent to press

method f or cyclists to cross

too early to report the de tails

the Delaware River after

of the Feb. 19 DRPA board

dark , when the Ben Franklin

meeting.)

Bridge is closed to bikes.

representatives last fall.

The gates would make it

possible to close the drives

for entire weekends at virtu-

ally no cost. The gates would

also reduce or remove much

of the overhead costs forchar-

ity event closu res of the drive.

Charges for police overtime

to guard the access points fre-

quently total $1,700 for a

gates made of red cedarwood.

single

four-hour closing,

lead-

Som e officials say

ing park officials to

privately that they

The Park

cite high costs in re-

have identified a

commission

jecting extended

strong donor pros-

closings last sum-

pect and that the

is seeking

gates could be in

donations to

Park off icials

place by June.

fund

note that the

A com pany

permanent

$27,000 price tag

that is bidding for

swinging

only covers the

the job has built gate s them selves

similar gates for

gates t

and that additional

Valley Forge Na-

Drive access

funding is needed

tional Park.

points. The

for detour signs and

The Bicyc le

gates would

other road features.

Coal i t ion, the

make

The signs and

Bicycle Club of other featurescould

Philadelphia and

easy

make the closings

other recreational

and

more tolerable to

groups have

inexpensive.

the city's traffic

mounted postcard en gi ne er s, who

campaigns and petitiondrives strongly opposed the closings

over the past year to urge dur ing Wilso n Goo de's

wa rm- we athe r wee kend administration.

closings of the drive. Park The Bicvcle Coalition has

offici& initiated the recent

offered to cb rd ina te an effort

to raise additional funds for

f u n d r a i s i n g e f fo r t the detour signage if the gate

permanent gates af ter installation goes ahead.

meeting with Bicycle

Call 215-BIC YCL E if you

Coalition and Bicycle Club

wish to make a pledge or for

more information.


2/6

Cyclegram

MarchlAprll 1992 p.2

Ride alendar

Upcoming Events

The Delanlare Valley Re-

Chester, PA 19381 or call

gionalRide C alendar is a regu-

Denn is Kelly at 15-269-

lar feature of Cycle gram . List-

6976.

i n g s s h o u l d b es en t t o B i cyc l e T h e A m er ican L u n g

Coalition, attn. DVRRC .) Association's 1992 Clean

Bra ndy win e Bic ycl e Air Challenge, Saturday

Club 's Taxing M etr ic and Sunday, May 2 and

3.

Century? Sunday, April

Two-day, 130-mile ride

12. Knaue*own, Pa., in

StaS at Valley Forge Mili-

War wick co un t y Pa rk .

taV Academy inWayne.Pa..

Nominal time is 8:30 and trav erse s cha rm ing

a.m., rain or shine, but reg- tow ns, cou ntry side and

will be open from farms. The tour is fully sup-

Fee is $8 and ported, frorn maps to meals

lunch, sag tOm edicalsu~ pon.Pro ceeds

and a cloth

benefit environmental and

lung d isease Programs. Call

215-692-4233 to RSerVe a

spot and get information

to You.

Monthly Meetings:

30. Deadlines are the last

Held the ~ t ~ o n dan- Monday of odd-numbered

day of each month from

months.

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

~ ~ l ~ ~arties

WaterA ction. 15 18 Walnut

mailing par-

Stree t in Center City.

ties

are

March 2 3 and April

Take th to the 27 at 6 p.m. Mailing parties

13th

with your bi

are held on the fourth

Man-

if

you prefer.

day of every month. Mailing

U~omingmeet ingsare

parties will be at Jeff

March 9 and April 13.

Abrahamson's, 441 1Pine St.

yclegramDeadline: Call 215-BICYCLEor215-

Deadline fo r the May/

66 2- 17 12 for more inf0ITIla-

June

Cyclegram

is March tion.

Volunteers To Join in Effort

Cycle dvocates Looking for

Cyrlegrm is published bimonthly by the Bicycle Coalition of the

DelawareValley, P.O. Box 8194, Philadelphia, PA 19101. The coa litio n

is a volunteer, non-profit organization working to improve conditions for

bicycling throughout the tri-state area, promoting bicycling for transpor-

tation and recreation, and dedicated to a balanced transportation system.

Coverage of an event not sponsored by BCDV does not constitute an

endorsement. Cyclegrm may be reprodu ced in who le or in part provided

prominent credit is given to the Bicy clecoal ition of the Delaware Valley.

Cyclegrm is printed on recycled paper using soy ~nk.

Board of Man age rs: John Dowlin, Phyllis Gilbert, Bob Noland, Sam

Spofforth, nd Noel W eyrich

ex oficio).

Execu tive Director: Jeff Abrahamson (2151662-1712)

Pres iden t: Noel Weyrich (2151232-7543)

Vice President: Fred Ulmer (2151527-6287)

Secretary: Rob Waterland (2151854-8137)

Tre asure r: Nancy Drye (215/387-9242)

Publicati ons Director: John Dowlin (2151222-1253)

Editor: Bill Shralow (2151482-6496)

Me mb ersh ip Director: Bob Noland (2151483-6547)

Committees:

Auto-free: Jeff Abrahamson (2 151662-1712)

Bike Lanes: Noel Weyrich (2151232-7543)

Rail and Transit: Noel Weyrich (2151232-7543)

Traffic S afety: Bob Noland (2151483-6547)

BCDV is affiliated with the League of American Wheelmen.

For Blue Route Bike ccess

coalition Board Member

0

certain sections of its

~ ~ h ~ ~ ~ ~ l i ~s helping tolead interstates.

the local

to open the

Since the Blu e Route pro-

recently com pleted Interstate

vides a direct link between

476, better known as the

several colleges, the poten-

''Blue Route, t~ bicycles.

tial fo r bicycle comm uter use

In cooperation with the

is great.

Coalition and the Bicycling

Coalition members inter-

Federation of Pennsylvania,

ested in working on the

Dowlin and other cyclists

project should call John

wanttohelpcommunitiesand

Dow lin at 2 15-222- 1253,

organizations push for bicycle

preferably mornings. There

access to the highway.

may be other interstates that

The road's paved, 6-foot

are candidates.

wide shou lders make it a safe

New Jerseycyclistswant-

route for cyclists, safer than ing to us e se cti on s of

many secondary roads with

Interstates95 80 78 76 278

no shou lders, many bicycle 280 ,295 and 676 should con-

advocates argue. Fif teen tact Wil l iam Feldman,

states already allow bicycles NJD OT Bike Coord inator,

on Interstate highways with 1035 Parkway AX ., CN600,

paved shoulders, and Ver- Trenton. N.J. 08625 . A sPe-

mont may soon be the 16th. cial permit can be issued upon

New Jersey allows bicycles request-


3/6

Graphic Artist Wanted

To Design Coalition Logo

The Bicycle Coa lition of

the Delaware Valley is look-

ing for a graphic artist to

design a logo for the organi-

zation. We're planning to use

the new logo fo r t he

Cyclegram

banner, letter-

head, business cards, mem-

bership cards and wherever

else we might need it.

If your talent lies in this

area, we'd love to hear your

ideas.

Please

call

215 BICYCLE

or 215 662 1712

if

you re

in

terested.

Point of View

New Jersey Helmet Law

Ignores the Bigger Issue

by Jeff Abrahamson

Gov. Jim Florio signed

New Jersey's mandatory bi-

cycle helmet law on Jan. 18.

The law, which will take ef-

fect on July 1, requires that

all children under the age of

14 wear an ANSI or Snell

approved helmet while riding

a bicycle.

The law is similar to an

ordinance already in effect in

Westfield. N.J.

Bicycle advocates have

long questioned the efficacy

of mandatory helmet laws like

New Jersey's. At issue are

two

concerns-will

the law

actually increase helmet us-

age, and, even if usage in-

creases, is the law an effec-

tive way of increasing over-

all bicycle safety? Will po-

lice, already understaffed and

overburdened, in fact take the

time to stop children ( or any-

equivalent of locking the door

with the windows left open.

We need bicycle educa-

tion in grade school for young

children. We need bicycle

education

inhigh school with

driver education to reinforce

the point that bicycle safety

isn't just for kids. We must

educate motorists o n sharing

the road with bicycles. We

must provide bikeways or

wide cu rb lanes to avoid user

conflict on the roads. Inshort,

we must provide an infra-

structure for safe bicycle

transportation if we are to

bicycle safely. A group of

Australian cyclists who pro-

tested a similar helmet law

down under made this point

graphically several years ago

by riding on the capitol wear-

ing nothing but their helmets

and placards reading Bicy-

clists need more than just hel-

m n n

one else, fo r that matter) for

l l lCL3

no twea r ingahe lme t?Wi l l Accord ing toNewJe r se~

such factor s as the high price bicycle coordinator William

of helm ets prevent poo rer Feldmany the Garden State

children from being ab le to law Was championed by head

comply with the la;?

injury specialists, but was

largely ignored by the bicy-

Mole importantly. hough. cling comm unity.

mandat ing he lmet usage

Jeff Abraharnson is rhe ex

without

attention

to other as-

ecutive director of rhe Bicycle

pects of bicycle safety is the

coalition.

Cyclegram MarchIApril 992 p.3

Letter from the President

Growing With an ye on 2 000

postcard campaign s, for in-

by Noel Weyrich

stance, have beenam azingly

The Bicycle Coalition

effective. On every single

enters the new cycling sea- issue fo r which is-

son with 50 0 sued apostcard

d u e s -p a y in g in the pas t year,

m e m b e r s - we have either

three times as wonou tright or

many as las t

continue to see

sp rin g. Th is progress.

rapid growth,

combined with

Thirdly, as

m e m b e r s h i p

our great ac-

grows, our vol-

complishments un tee r base

of the past year,

makes me wonder just how

continues to deepen and ex-

bicycle-friendly the region

pand. Many of our most

effective and valuable vol-

might become

with

2 000 unteers are fairly new to the

Coalition members-but

Coalition-including the

more o n that later.

editor of the Cyclegram

Membership is growing vou7reholding.

thanks to two factors: some

- . 2

great policy victories, like

Finally, numbers consti-

tute political influence. In

SEPTA Bike-on-Rail. and

meetings

with

city, regional

an aggressive, ongoing di-

rect mail campaign to iden-

and state officials to advo-

tified friends of cycling.

cate our causes, I have seen

a steady clim b in attentive-

This growth a ness and reswnse time as

and powerful magic.

th membership rose from

Each time a new member 150

to

500.

joins, the value of everyone

e l se ' s member sh ip i n -

creases-exponential ly.

That's because membership

numbers serve a variety of

functions, creating a whole

far greater than the sum of

the parts.

First, dues revenues have

grown to where we can af-

ford paid staff. Full-time

staff will provide a quantum

leap in ou r ability to reach

new members, servecurrent

members, steward new pro-

grams and coordinate advo-

cacy efforts.

A second function of

membership growth is the

power generated when that

large membership speaks

out on a single issue. Our

Which brings m e to the

dream about 2,000 mem-

bers. Two thousand mem-

bers will financially sustain

a professional staff and of-

fice. Two thousand mem-

bers will knock out phenom-

enal postcard campaigns.

Two thousand mem bers will

expand our reach, perhaps

through two o r three dozen

Bicycle User Groups in

neighborhoods and work-

places throughout the re-

gion. And, frankly, 2,000

members can gain respect

from any politician or bu-

reaucrat in the region.

That's what's on the line

for your 1992 membership.

It'snotthe kind offun you'll

want to m iss.


4/6

Cyclegram MarchlAprll1992 p 4

Coalition Lines Up Local Lawmakers

To Support Inclusion of Bike Lanes

In Delaware Avenue Reconstruction

At the Bicycle Coalitio n's

urging, Pennsylvania State

Rep. Babette Josephs and

Philadelphia City Council-

man Joseph Vignola have ex -

pressed their support for bi-

cycle lanes on Delaw are Av-

enue from SouthPhiladelphia

to Kensington. Bothlawm ak-

ers are cyclists with past

records of strong support for

bicycling.

Josephs, who represents

portions of Center City and

South Philadelphia, wrote to

the Pennsylvania Department

of Transportation that she is

very much in favor of bi-

cycle lanes on Delaware

Avenue and said Pem DO T's

opposition comes without

adequate study or consider-

ation.

I join the BCDV in ask-

ing for documentation for

your positions, she wrote.

The Coalition has urged

PeM D0t to add bicycle lanes

to its design of a $17 million

reconstruction of Delaware

Avenue from Reed Street in

South Philadelphia [o Rich-

mond Street in Kensington.

The Coalition has also pro-

posed replacing drain grates

with curb-face inlets.

PennDot has denied both re-

quests without citing any

policy documents or guide-

lines to support these conclu-

sions.

Vignola, whose district

runs along the Delaware

River and encompasses al-

most the entire Delaware

Avenue reconst ruct ion

project, wrote the Coalition:

I ride my bike on Delaware

Avenue and I support the idea

of a bicycle lane on that thor-

oughfare. I raised this issue

with the consultingengineers

from PeMDot

for that project

last week. I will

continue to do

what I can in

this regard.

The Coali-

tion hopes to

draw additional

support from

other council-

members and

l e g i s l a t o r s ,

Mayor Rendell

and most of the

neighborhood

groups along

the river during

the next month.

To end your

support mail

the enclosed

postcard now

and call

215-BI-

CYCLE for in-

f o r m a t i o n o n

getting involved

In the effort.

Delaware

iver

Washington 4vmue

Ma p shows seclion of Delaw are Avenue

slated or reconstruction more than three

miles r om Reed Street in South Philadelphia

to Richmond Street in Kensin gton.

The Effort Is on to Develop Schuylkill River Park Bike Path

The Bicycle Coalition has Bicyc le path fund ing Development Council. use these new provisions to

joined the effort to obtain opportunities from the state

The Clean Air Act and

Pry money out of transports-

funding for the deve lopment

and federal government have

the new federal surface trans-

tion officials who used to

of a park and a bike path

opened up tremendously in

t ink that their first and only

along the easte rn shore of the

priority was the automobile.

~ c h u ~ l k i l liver, stretching

Weyrich encourages cy-

from the A n Museum to

The bike path would join with the Kelly

~1istsfromtheNorthwestsec-

Lombard Street.

Drive path to provide a safe commuter

t ion o f the c i ty . f rom

Fairmount to Roxborough to

Theproposed

path

route between Center City and the entire w st OakLane, to oin

in the

is the centerpiece of the

project. ~twould join with the

Northwest section of the city.

effort to mount support for

Kelly Drive path to provide a

this proposal. Center City

safe bicycle com muter route

cyclists stand to benefit as

between Center City and the

the Past six months, said

portation funding regulations

well, he added.

entire Northwest section of

Coalition President Noel

demand that cities find ways Call 215-BICYCLE for

the city.

Weyrich, who is now a mem-

to encourage non-motorized more idor ma tion .

ber of the Schuylkill River

transportation.

I

hope we can


5/6

Cyclegram MarchiApril 1992 p.5

COMMUTER OF THE MONTH: TV 29 s Gerald Kolpan

Name: Gerald Kolpan

Age: 40

Neighborhood: Queens

Village

Job: Feature reporter, FOX

Channel 9 News

Years bicycle commuting: At

least 15.

Distance:

About a mile.

Route: Up 3rd street to my

office at 330 Market. It takes

about 10 minutes.

Commuting frequency: At

least half the year, depending

on the weather and if I have to

drop my son off at daycare (in

which case I walk). If it's nice

out, I always like to bike.

Other commuting options: I

can walk, and on rare occasions

I take the bus.

Reasons for starting: It

makes a lot of sense. I live

close and I think parking a car

would be total insanity Also,

it is by far the quickest way to

get into work.

I

just can't

imagine a better way to get

around town.

Seasons you ride: As long as

the weather is nice.

Weath er considerations: I

only ride in the rain if I get

caught in it.

Type of bike: A Zebra-Kenyo

that is about 8 or 9 years old.

It's a left over from South

Street Bicycle Shop which

went out of business about 5

years ago.

With Bike-on-Rail Rolling

Coalition Presses

SEPTA

For Easier Sign-Up Plan

Having successfully

pushed for prompt expan-

sion of the SEFTA Bike-on-

Rail program to the Phila-

delphia subway and elevated

lines, the Coalition now

wants SEFTA to make it

easier for cyclists to apply

for a permit.

A Coalition proposal to

SEFTAasks that the agency

consider accepting mailed-

inapplications when accom-

panied by a notarized form.

SEFTAis reviewing the pro-

posal.

SEPTA currently issues

Bike-on-Rail permits on

weekdays, from 8:30 a.m.

to 4:30 p.m. at the SEPTA

Customer Service Office,

Ground Floor,84 Chestnut

St. SEFTA officials, skit-

tish about injury and darn-

age claims which cost the

agency millions annually,

have said that in-person per-

mit registrations allow them

to confirm the signature on

the application "hold-harm-

less" fonn. The form re-

leases SEFTA from respon-

sibility for injuries or darn-

ages the cyclists may incur

on themselves or others.

The Coalition wrote that

"we respect SEFTA's liabil-

ity concerns, even though

many other transit agencies

accept mail-in bike-on-rail

registration without a nota-

rized signature. We hope

SEFTA accepts this altema-

tive proposal and promptly

extends Bike-on-Railoppor-

tunities to those unable to

travel downtown during

weekdays and to out-of-

towners planning a visit."

For more information on

the Bike-on-Rail program,

call S E R A at 580-7852,

Parking situa

tion: Great I take

my bike into the

building, get on to

the elevator with

it, and take it up

to the Channel

9

Newsroom where

I lean it against

Maurice Brown's

desk.

Home storage:

Inside the house.

Helmet:

Yes.

Light:

No.

Special gear: A

rack and dayglow

handlebar tape

with skulls on it.

Biggest gripe:

Other bicyclists

going the wrong

way on one way streets. Not

only does it give us all a bad

name, it's very dangerous and

it annoys me tremendously. Of

course there is also the pothole

problem..

Lock: U-type.

Most memorable commuting

experience: The first time I

realized you can go faster than

a Porsche when traffic is

backed-up.

Advice to people who would

like to begin commu ting to

work by bicycle: Wear a

helmet In my capacity as a

reporter, I've done a lot of

research on head injures, and

believe me, there are a lot

worse things than dying

Most enjoyable aspect of

about bicycle commuting:

Getting where I want to go

without polluting and causing

trouble to the environment.

Also, I feel safer on a bike

than in a car.

Other re asons for riding:

I

use it for errands in the city

when I get a chance.

u s a n

cNarnara

Md. Train Line Eyes Cycle Access

In the Wake of SEPTA Bike-on-Rail

The Maryland commuter

rail system serving Washing-

ton, D.C., MARC, has joined

the list of east coast rail au-

thorities to follow the Dela-

ware Valley's lead in provid-

ing bike-on-rail service. New

Jersey Transit is also consid-

ering allowing bicycles on

their trains in the wake

SEPTA'S program, instituted

with the Coalition's advice

and consent.

The most likely line to

begin providing bike-on-rail

access is the so-called Pem

Line, which runs one train

each day as far as Perryville,

Md. Perryville is only 20

miles from SEFTA's south-

ern-most station, at

Wilmington, Del.

Discussions to extend the

Penn Line to Wilmington

have reportedly ended, but

may resurface, according to

Tom Pendleton, former

Washington bicycle coordi-

nator, quotingthe Wilmington

Area Planning Commission.


6/6

~ DD

Membership I

1

nside

...

[Name

[Address

[City State ip

lTelephone

[I am voluntarily setting my membership dues at the follow-

ling level:

1$100 $50 $35 $25

other ($10 limited income)

1 Amount enclosed:

I ~ l e a s e lso send me

Delaw are Valley Conmzuters' Bicycle Map

( 5.75/ 5.25members)

Bottle Bill T-shirt (LIXL. tan or blue )

( 61 5 membe rs)

Total enclosed: c

Make C heck payable to Bicycle Coalition and send to Me n - 1

bership BCDV P.O. Box 8194 Philadelphia PA 19101. 1

L J

Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley

P.O. Box 8194

Philadelphia, PA 19101

Major progress on West River D rive effort

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

p.1

Victory near on PATCO b ike-on-rail ...............................P. 1

Growing membership means more clout ........................p.3

Support grows for Delaware Avenue bike lanes

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

.4

Effort on to develop Schuylkill River Park bike path p.4

Pressing SEFTA for mail-in B ike-on-Rail reg istration ...p.5

Comm uter of the Month: TV 29 's Gerald K olpan

..........

p.5

Don t m iss an issue. ~f you're not already a

member, join now with the form at left and put your money to

work im proving bicycling in the D elaware Valley

Your membership includes a one year subscription to

Cyclegram, discounts at almost every bike shop in the Dela-

ware Valley, invitations to Coalition special events, and the

chance to turn your love of cycling into positive action.

Coalition members are commuters, recreational riders,

messengers, touring cyclists, and othe rs who support clean air

and a healthier urban/suburban env ironment.

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

and respect from motorists and gove rnment.

BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PHILADELPHIA PA

PERMIT N0.2683

Forwarding and Return Postage Guaranteed

Address Correction Requested

Documents

Cyclegram March/April 1992