Bicyclist Fatally Shot in Kensington

Bicyclist fatally shot while riding bike in Kensington

From the Daily News: A woman was shot in the chest and killed while riding her bicycle in the city's Kensington section early yesterday morning. Police said the woman, who had not been identified yesterday afternoon, appeared to be in her late 20s.

They said she was shot about 2:30 a.m. while riding her bike on the 800 block of Allegheny Avenue. She was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital a short while later, police said.
Police said they had no suspects.

Thun Trail may dissappoint future trail users

Thun Trail may dissappoint future trail users

Many of you may be aware that there is sort of an east west promotory point of trail projects at the Berks Montgomery County Line this fall. Montgomery County will soon start work on extending the western section of the Schuylkill River Trail while the Schuylkill River Greenway Association will be constructing the easternmost segment of the Thun Trail.

Unfortunately the two trails are built to totally different standards, blame the fact that Berks County simply lacks the trail building zealotry that has become Montgomery County's trademark.

Montgomery Schuylkill River Trail is well signed, and paved while the Thun Trail lacks both. The gravel treatment on the eastern section is in some places not much more than a smooth singletrack.

3 miles of the Thun Trail is on road (unsigned of course) using Old River Road and the shoulder of truck heavy.

In a related development PENNDOT has recommended the the closed section of PA 82 in Birdsboro remain a trail, but that is still up in the air.

Complete Streets Transit not part of Hurricane Evacuation

Walking, Biking and Transit not part of Hurricane Evacuation


With horror stories just beginning to filter out of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish we have to wonder how many people are there because they were left with no choice. Evacuation plans were for the most part only for those with automobile access. In New Orleans the Regional Transit Authority herded people like cattle into the leaky Superdome while in Jefferson Parish the bus system simply shut down hours before it could be of any use.

Why was there not a transit evacuation plan that could have taken many of those people out of harms way to a safe location outside the city? And with safe routes and ample encouragement people with bicycles could have gotten out of town a lot faster than the gridlocked traffic.

When there is enough time it is most efficient to evacuate on bike, foot and bus. All these people are going to come back to closed gas stations and blocked roads and guess what they are going to do to get back home? Walk.

Will Port Fourchon Survive Hurricane Katrina?

Will Port Fourchon Survive Hurricane Katrina?

As Katrina aims directly for the LA, MS coast there is grave concern that the nations largest oil port's highway may be cut off from the mainland. An article in the Mobile Register notes that 30% of the country's oil comes into this port.

And check out this article from the explorer website with the quote "There’s no other dot on the map more significant to the nation’s energy supply." http://www.aapg.org/explorer/2003/09sep/fourchon.cfm

Schuylkill River Trail Contract Awarded

Schuylkill River Trail Contract Awarded

Chester County Commissioners approved $1.3m design contract to Wilson Consulting for the western extension of the Schuylkill River Trail from Cromby Power Plant outside Phoenixville to the Berks County Line to the 422 Bridge just east of Pottstown.

According to the Inquirer construction will begin in 2006 and may continue until 2010 when the new 422 bridge is scheduled to open although its possible that the much of the trail will be usable by 2008.

Grandmother Killed by DUI

Grandmother Killed by DUI

According to the Daily News an out of control car hit and killed a grandmother accompanying her granddaughter across Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia yesterday morning, police said.

The 21 YO slammed into the 60-year-old woman and a 42-year-old woman cops described as the child's "caregiver," as they walked across Lehigh at Germantown Avenue about 10:30 a.m.

Police said the little girl, whose age was undisclosed, only suffered "scrapes and bruises" because one of the adults managed to push her away from the speeding car.

Police said the driver "stayed at the scene" and was later charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended licence.

What Other PA?

What Other PA?

A campaign to get the state legislature to come to a solution on transportation funding has prompted a road building lobby to go after SEPTA. The website http://www.theotherpa.com
is purposely colored red and has a ominous calculator in the lower left hand corner that claims how much god fearing Pennsylvania residents are giving to that transit terror cell in the southeast. Suggesting somehow that end user gas taxes are tied to gas prices. (they are tied to volume not price). What the pump calculator is reffering to (inaccurately I might add) is the wholesale Oil Franchise Tax.

The reality is the solution will require a hike of gas taxes, of course no state lobby can compete with populist sentiment and add 5 cents to the price of gas, apparently only oil companies can do that. So I propose a better solution; Stick it to the man by not buying so much damn gas, ride your bike and take the bus.

SEPTA Adds Routes to the Bike Accessible Network

SEPTA Adds Routes to the Bike Accessible Network

Effective September 4...Routes 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 46, 47, 47M, 48, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 64, 65, 70, 73, 80, 88, 310, C, G, HXH, K, R, and LUCY will been added to the bicycle accessible route network. All City and Suburban Transit Division bus Routes (with the exception of Routes 23, 29, 59, 66, 75, 79) will be equipped with front-mounted bicycle racks that can accommodate two bikes.

5 of the 6 Routes listed in Italics are trackless trolley routes. SEPTA retired the trackless trolleys in 2003 and has been running the older Neoplan buses on these routes ever since. SEPTA will be purchasing new trackless trolleys hopefully with bike racks in 2007 or 2008.

So that's it, although with about 100 rackless buses floating around there's always a chance that your bus may show up without a rack. If that happens notify the Bicycle Coalition and SEPTA customer service.

Manayunk and West Bank Rec Paths Advance

Manayunk and West Bank Rec Paths Advance

Word from the Streets Department and Capital Planning is that both of these projects are now out for bid.

The Manayunk Recreation Path has been broken into two pieces. Phase 1 is from Ridge Ave to Ten Box (PECO Substation?), phase two will make a connection to the towpath in Manayunk. Unfortunately environmental regs have forced the abandonment of using the existing bridge piers over Wissahickon Creek that would have taken cyclists away from the hazardous condition at Wiss. Transit Center.

West Bank Greenway phase 1 will run from Market St at 31st to the Amtrak Bridge before the Phila. Zoo. This project includes ramps from Spring Garden St Bridge down to West River Drive and a crosswalk to the bike path (A critical missing move) . That project was put up for bid this spring but the bid was rejected.

The Bidding process has a history of being the last obstacle before construction begins, a lawsuit from one bidder delayed the Schuylkill River Park construction nearly two years. Lets hope that by next spring the construction vehicles will be rolling on both projects.

Hit and Run Vehicle Owner Feels the Heat

Hit and Run Vehicle Owner Feels the Heat

From KYW -

Kayla Peter was struck and killed on June 19th by a white Lexus coupe after she exited a SEPTA bus on Ridge Avenue. Police later found the vehicle parked in the driveway of a residence near Henry Avenue.

The owner of the Lexus is popular South Street restaurant owner Susanna Goihman, has not been charged in the incident and she has not responded to requests from police to come in for questioning.

The group, armed with signs saying "Honk for Kayla," has been standing outside of Goihman's every night since July 8th. Over the weekend, the group also stood out front of Azafran, her South Street restaurant.

Hit and Run may not be the perfect crime but if you have something to hide its light sentence and difficulty in prosecution makes it a viable alternative to vehicular homicide.

Followup: As of August 22nd, Susan Goihman has turned herself in to police and now faces a series of charges. Vehicular Homicide is not one of them. In many ways Hit and Run is the perfect crime.

Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway Reopens

Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway Reopens

The Daily News Jill Porter broke the news that Ben Franklin Bridge will reopen on August 12, thanks go out to city councilman Frank DiCicco for persuading DRPA security to be reasonable.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/12354313.htm

See the press release http://www.drpa.org/publish/publish_item.asp?ID=1302&loc=DRPA

Getting to the Philadelphia Folk Festival

Cyclists pass the Martin Guitar Stage at the Old Poole Farm

Getting to the Philadelphia Folk Festival


The Philadelphia Folk Festival will be held this year the August 26th - 28th, parking is a major headache and way beyond SEPTA's coverage area. However the festival grounds are located adjacent to the Perkiomen Trail.

If you cannot access the grounds from the trail then you have to make a right at Camp Rainbow then left onto Clemmers Mill Road (one way during festival) that road is fairly narrow so during the peak hour you may be walking, or stuck in traffic with everyone else.

Here are the trail distances that I calculated from the GMAPS Pedometer - http://tinyurl.com/8og2w

Bethies Restaurant 5.7 miles (SEPTA 91 Bus on Saturdays only)
3rd and Main, Collegeville 8.1 miles (SEPTA 93 Bus)
Norristown T.C. 20.6 miles (SEPTA R6 and Rt. 100 Trolley)
25th and Locust, Philadelphia 37.2 miles

If you choose the road you can ride from Lansdale about 14 miles or so, see the Philadelphia Bike Map for a possible route.

Critical Mess

Critical Mess

According to eyewitness accounts from July 29th's critical mass ride an angry motorist at who grazed a cyclist went into a rampage and managed to hit several cyclists resulting in one injury. Its not clear whether the incident occurred at 12 and Lombard or 16th and Locust.

Photos

Lu-Lu SAFETEA-LU?

Lu-Lu SAFETEA-LU?

Finally the long overdue Transportation Bill has finally passed Congress and is waiting for a signature by the President. named SAFETEA-LU LU is an ode to House Transportation Chair Don Young's wife Lu).

Some highlights of the Transportation Bill:
Safe Routes to School - We now have a National Safe Routes to School program, this is probably the most important element for bicycling and walking. 612 Million dollars will probably bring in about 3 million to the Philadelphia Region.

High Priority Projects - Lou Dobbs and Taxpayers for Common Sense railed at the "Pork" in this bill. But bikes and pedestrians did very well and we were able to grab 15% of the projects. 4 million dollars will go toward the Kensington and Tacony Trail.

Roundabouts - These innovative cousins of the traffic circle are now eligible for 100 percent funding.

More detailed information is listed on the LAB website.