Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, at least, those of us who care deeply about things like regional bicycle trails have been talking (and talking, and talking for years) about someday completing a trail -- or perhaps even a series of trails -- which connect one part of our region to another. And on June 23, as it happens, the
Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the
DVRPC joined forces here in Philadelphia to host the
Active Transportation Summit, a day-long conference during which the ultimate goal of creating a regional trail network for the Delaware Valley was discussed and debated by a seriously impressive group of both local and out-of-town trail enthusiasts.
One of the main goals of the summit, says the Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Spencer Finch, was to "reinforce the partnerships" among the various agencies that have the power to make a regional trail network a reality. "The picture of the jurisdictions is so fragmented," Finch explains. "There's so many different state, federal, and county agencies just here in the metropolitan Philadelphia region, so completing a regional trail network is a challenge."
A number of guests who've successfully tackled that challenge elsewhere, however -- including the former Portland, Ore., Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator
Mia Birk -- shared stories about how they managed to complete regional trail networks in their own section of the country.
The second major goal of the summit, Finch adds, was to celebrate and promote the good news that regional cyclists may not be aware of.
"There's over $76 million of funding already dedicated to construction of multiple trail segments around the region," he says. "In the next two years, you're going to start seeing groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings (for new regional trail segments) almost every month. You're going to start seeing the city and the region transformed before your eyes."
Source: Spencer Finch, Pennsylvania Environmental Council
Writer: Dan Eldridge
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