If you live in Camden County, the county is requesting your input on their newly-released bike and trail plan.
The Camden County Division of Planning has posted a draft of its Bicycle and Multi-Use Trails Master Plan, and is requesting public comment via phone or e-mail. The plan was authored by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and is built upon the 2009 Central Camden County Bicycle and Multi-Use Trails plan. The Camden County Planning Department will integrate the plan into the larger Master Plan with the goal of County adoption in the fall.
The plan envisions a network of 505 miles of bikeways including:
- 205 miles of bike lanes
- 173 miles of shared use paths (including 39 miles of designated Circuit trails)
- 127 miles of recommended bicycle routes (signed or marked bicycle routes)
The cost estimate for building out the whole network is $79 million dollars. That may cause sticker shock for some, but to put the price in perspective, the Pennsauken Transit Center cost $40 million to complete. And the I-295/676/42 interchange project will cost at least $900 million.
And unlike those projects, the proposed bike network will be created incrementally as roads are repaired and the rights of way for trails are acquired.
This measured approach to plan implementation will still require a concerted effort. Over the past 20 years the region has collected many a bike plan that has withered on the shelf. The handful of plans that have been partially implemented (Philadelphia, Voorhees Township, West Windsor Township) had the backing of elected officials and either an active advisory committee or a strong advocacy effort.
Camden County’s recent adoption of a complete streets policy, and the recent installation of new bike lanes, suggests there exists a semblance of pro-bicycle political will. But in the end it will be the voices of county residents that determine how bicycle-friendly Camden County becomes over the next 20 years.
I cycle in Camden County a lot. I also lead novice and experienced cyclists over the Ben Franklin Bridge to the Camden waterfront. Those new to biking to Camden comment how nice Camden’s waterfront is. I inform them that a ramp will be constructed soon by the Delaware River Port Athority to eliminate the three flights of stairs on the Jersey side. They all express their great that will be. We even go over to Cooper River Park. So the Camden County Bicycle and Multi Use Master Plan is of great interest to us cyclists on the Philadelphia side of the river.
Tim Carey, the traveling bicycle nurse .
Great feedback, but make sure to send it to the County. We’re not collecting it ourselves:
Andrew Levecchia, AICP|PP
Planning Director
Camden County
Division of Planning
2311 Egg Harbor Rd.
Lindenwold, NJ 08021
andrewl@camdencounty.com
Office: 856.566.3120
Fax: 856.566.2988
Looking at Page 10 (page 16 of the pdf), it seems as if people are placing more of a priority on bike lanes than marking intersections. i think this is misguided. a bike lane is useful when it helps create expectations of where all the moving parts are going to move in complicated situations. a bike lane is counter productive when it creates an perception on the part of the cyclist and the motorist that the shoulder is the only place a bike ought to be or can reasonably expected to be.
If you ride along cooper road, you have a “bike lane”, which is really just the shoulder with a diamond painted in every so many yards and an occasional “share the road” sign. this creates a sense that the cyclist should remain on the shoulder even when it would be safer for the cyclist to take the lane, which is legal and often appropriate. cyclists may be reluctant to take the lane, motorists will presume that a cyclist out of the bike lane is wrong and deserves a honk or obscene gesture, or a motorist might just not look out for them.
but eventually you’ll come up to an intersection where there is a designated right turn lane, a lane for going straight, and a left lane that gets used for through traffic and left turns. Now that’s when I need a bike lane! Let me know what to do, please. Let the drivers know what I’m going to do, please.
And that’s exactly where the trail ends, leaving me hanging.
Its the worst of both worlds.
Great feedback, but make sure to send it to the County. We’re not compiling feedback ourselves, just getting the word out. See the above comment for the e-mail address to send your comments.