Bike Path Advocacy
During
the long winter months, we've all noticed that our running route
options shrink dramatically. Sidewalks are indifferently shovelled and
become icy, streets are narrowed due to piles of snow, and are
treacherous due to ice. And perhaps most vexing is the fact that most
of the State College area's wonderful and growing network of bike paths
is buried under thick sheets of ice. Not just snow, mind you, but ice.
Why is that? It's because most of the area's bike paths are not
maintained during the winter. However, people still use them when the
snow comes to
take winter walks, to walk their dogs, etc. Within a day or so of the
first snow, the paths become packed down and soon become an icy mess.
Once the ice is formed, it can take weeks of warm weather for it to
disappear.
Of course, many people who commute to work via bicycle like to do so
all year long. And runners use the paths to get off the roads. But
during some winters, the paths are effectively closed for three months.
A number of community groups are starting to make some noises about
maintaining the paths. The Borough of State College plowed its paths
this winter and it was a great blessing indeed. But there are miles of
bike paths in the townships surrounding the Borough that are not
maintained during the winter.
The condition of bike paths in the winter is just one of the issues that the Centre Region Bicycle Coalition
was formed to address. The CRBC was instrumental in getting the Borough
of State College to start plowing their bike paths, and is involved in
numerous other bicycling advocacy issues. The Nittany Valley Running
Club would like to support their efforts. Part of our plan is to keep
each other informed of our activities and to "blurb" each other on our
respective web sites.
Dave Hill of the CRBC wrote the following about the CRBC and its activities. I’m sure the NVRC and the CRBC can find many areas where we can work
together.
-Marty Mazur
The Centre Region Bicycle Coalition was founded in the
spring of 2000 to help facilitate the vision of a more cycle-friendly Centre
County. We are a collection of
cyclists working for cyclists, with the goals of promoting cycling as a means
of safe recreation and viable transportation in the area. We meet on a
regular basis to discuss a wide variety of issues related to cycling and we maintain
contact with a host of local municipalities and elected officials. We
also organize and participate in regular events such as 'Bike to Work Week' which are intended to increase
the visibility of cycling in the public's eye.
More recently, the CRBC has expanded to play the role of an 'umbrella
organization' for other cycling-related organizations in the area. These
organizations include the Nittany Velo Club, the Nittany
Mountain Biking Association, the Penn
State Cycling Club, the Bellefone
Central Rail Trail Organization, and Trips for Kids. Contact information
for these individual organizations, numerous links of interest to cyclists and
pedestrians, and cue sheets, elevation profiles, and maps for favorite locals
rides can all be found at our website, http://www.centrebike.org.
The long term goals of the CRBC include encouraging local municipalities
to construct and maintain bicycle facilities such as on- and off-road bicycle
paths, to access all available funds for alternative transportation
initiatives, and to provide bike-friendly facilities such as secure and
sheltered bike racks in convenient locations. In addition, the CRBC seeks
to educate bikers, motorists, and the community at large about bicycle safety issues
and to promote cooperation rather than antagonism on theroads.
So, what do cyclists and runners have to do with one
another? Well, first of all, many cyclists are avid runners and vice versa. And
both user groups tend to be fairly enthusiastic pedestrians. We all have an
interest in making our roads safer and in promoting the construction or more
multi-use recreational paths. One recent success story is that the State College Borough has taken
the progressive position this year of committing to winter maintenance on their
bicycle paths! By working together, runners, walkers, and cyclists can
hopefully convince other municipalities that amenities such as bicycle paths, and the commitment to
maintain them, contribute greatly to quality of life that all of us in Centre
County highly value. For more
information, please visit http://www.centrebike.org.
Selected Upcoming Events:
March 13-14 -
Penn State Cycling will be hosting over 200 collegiate cyclists for an
outstanding weekend of racing. Races include an uphill time trial to
Black Moshannon, a criterium in Bellefonte, and a circuit race in downtown State
College!
May 17-21 - Bike
to Work Week! Daily events including critical mass rides, film
screenings, and a 'commuter challenge.'
Updated 2/19/03
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