Thursday, February 19, 2009

Two meetings about the Schuylkill River Trail


Ideally, for cyclists like the Chicks, these trails ultimately will be a godsend. They will be flat and car-free, two things that make biking especially nice. If all the proposed trails were to be finally finished, a cyclist could bike all over the area and never have to use the roads.



Talking Points For Tonight's US 422 Corridor Study Meeting

Tonights Route 422 Meeting at MCCC Pottstown - from 6:30-9 p.m. in the community room of the West campus of hosted by the Montgomery County Community College, 101 College Dr

1 - Corridor Communities update their master plans to require complete streets
  • Identify gaps in sidewalks in non-rural areas
  • Identify solutions to crossing 422 on foot or bike
  • Identify bicycle improvements, especially where barriers exist
  • Require bike parking in business districts and new commercial construction
  • Traffic calming plans
  • Safe routes to schools plans

2 - Connect and coordinate existing SEPTA, BARTA and Pottstown Urban Transit services
  • Service extensions to Exeter, Birdsboro and Boyertown
  • Bike racks on all buses

3 - Supplement or enhance Capitol Trailways Pottsville/Reading - Philadelphia commuter bus service
  • Serve US 422 locally from Reading to Pottstown (local stops)
  • Use Bus Wrap to identify commuter buses place schedules on BARTA and SEPTA websites
  • Install bike racks on buses
4 - Complete the Schuylkill River Trail and integrate into the regional travel network
  • Final product - A seamless, well maintained, paved shared use path from Center City Philadelphia to Reading with good on street access to nearby destinations

SECOND MEETING


February 26 - Completing the Schuylkill River Trail to Create the Region's First Green Transportation Corridor - Academy of Natural Sciences

Completing the Schuylkill River Trail

February 26, 2009 (6:00 pm-8:00 pm)

Completing the Schuylkill River Trail to Create the Region's First Green Transportation Corridor

Organized by Schuylkill River Park Alliance

Academy of Natural Sciences
19th St and the Ben Franklin Parkway

Panel:
Sarah Clark Stuart, Schuylkill River Park Alliance
Loree D. Jones, Executive Director, Manayunk Development Corporation
Joseph Syrnick, President, Schuylkill River Development Corporation
Gina Snyder, Executive Director, East Falls Development Corporation
Christopher Leswing, Assistant Director, Planning Supervisor,Lower Merion Township


The Schuylkill River Trail is an extremely popular and heavily used recreational asset and commuter route. It also has the potential to be much more: a connector between a variety of Philadelphia neighborhoods and suburban neighbors, the region's first green transportation corridor for multiple communities, a strong catalyst for economic development, and a critical access point to open space and commuting paths for underserved neighborhoods.
To be complete, the trail has critical gaps that need to be filled, and it needs to be extended southward, northward and into more neighborhoods. There are nine trail projects that, if constructed, would complete Philadelphia's Schuylkill River Trail from Delaware County to Montgomery County.
The Forum will detail the public benefits of a completed trail and describe the planned trail segments to make the case for the Greater Philadelphia region and its elected officials to work together to make these trail segments a priority and to fund their construction.
The organizations from the non-profit, development corporation and public sectors working together to articulate the vision for a completed and connected Schuylkill River Trail in the Greater Philadelphia Region include Schuylkill River Park Alliance, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Schuylkill Project, Manayunk Development Corporation, East Falls Development Corporation, Roxborough Development Corporation, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and Bartram's Garden.

RSVP here: http://www.ansp.org/environmental/townsquare/email_signup.php

Location
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA
See map: Google Maps

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