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On a very hot Saturday in early June, I was just planning on doodling away a couple of afternoon hours on my home computer tracing Circuit Trails over SEPTA’s Bike Access map. (That map covers the availability of bike parking and especially covered bike parking on SEPTA’s Regional Rail & SEPTA Metro Stations and it indicates stations that are within 1/10 of a mile from a regional multi-use trail, but does not offer any details on which trails.)
I sent my doodles to some peers within the Circuit Trails Coalition and received useful feedback; namely, that it was a good idea, but the map was cluttered with information and, perhaps most importantly, did not show at which stations one can roll a bike on or off the train without taking the stairs.
You would think that any station listed as ADA-accessible allows roll-on access. However many ADA-accessible SEPTA Regional Rail stations have mini-high platforms (ADA ramps located at the front end of station platforms). Conductors and engineers won’t open the door unless a person using a wheelchair device is waiting there (probably because it’s a time-consuming task, so call it an unwritten policy).
So I traced over the SEPTA map and used Google Maps street and satellite views to determine if a station had a high platform and ramp/elevator access to the street. One interesting thing I found is that three Norristown High-Speed Line stations have roll-on access in only one direction, with stairs connecting to the platform on the other side of the tracks. I also updated ADA information for PATCO and added NJ TRANSIT stations to the map. I now had enough room to add some points of interest or “stations” on the trails. I also added a few bus routes in where train service didn’t reach. My two-hour doodle turned into about 30 hours of screen time.
This diagrammatic map is only a start point for trip planning. Refer to our Regional Bike Map for specific bike directions between trails and transit stops. For bike-on-rail policies and bike parking information visit the SEPTA, PATCO and NJ TRANSIT bike info pages. Feel free to contact me (john@bicyclecoalition.org) if you have questions or suggestions for the map.
