cyclegram march/april 1992
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8/16/2019 Cyclegram March/April 1992
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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.
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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-
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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.
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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
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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.
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~ 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
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