BCGP supports continuous Ben Franklin Bridge ramp in Camden

The following was taken and adapted from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia post announcing their support for the continuous ramp proposal. 

Ed note - As the BCGP states below, a continuous ramp does make the most sense from a transportation perspective since most pedestrians and cyclists will continue to destinations east of the bridge.  Why make them go in the wrong direction?


On Tuesday, The Delaware River Port Authority help a public meeting for the proposed Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway Ramp. The meeting facilitators presented the proposed alternatives for the design of the ramp and offered an opportunity for the public to comment.

Of the three proposed designs alternatives, the Bicycle Coalition urges the DRPA Board to select the single continuous ramp, aka "Alternative 2." This option calls for a single continuous ramp that follows the slope of the bridge and widens a section of the existing walkways that narrows down to 5 feet as it approaches the existing stair tower.

A westward view of the preferred Ben Franklin Bridge ramp in Camden.

A continuous ramp that does not switch back and improves the existing narrow section of the walkway would maximize user convenience, allow for continuous eastbound travel to downtown Camden and points beyond, and further enhance transportation options for pedestrians, bicyclists and wheelchair users without busting the project’s budget. Once completed, the ramp will be a centerpiece of  The Circuit regional trail network and will connect to existing and planned street improvement and trail projects on both sides of the Delaware River.

If you could not make the meeting please email your comments on the project to bikeramp@drpa.org. Comment forms are available here for download and may be mailed to Delaware River Port Authority, Customer Service, One Port Center, 2 Riverside Drive, P.O. BOX 1949, Camden, NJ 08101.

After the jump you can see the three ramp designs being proposed.

Please attend the Ben Franklin Bridge ramp public meeting

What:
          Stakeholders Invited to Provide Input on Camden Access Ramp 

When:
          Tuesday, May 14, 2013 
          6:00pm until 8:00pm 

Where:
          One Port Center, 2 Riverside Dr, 11th Floor,
          Camden, NJ 

The Delaware River Port Authority is inviting bicyclists, walkers, advocates for people for with disabilities and other stakeholders to a public meeting to discuss design options for the access ramp proposed for the south side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge's New Jersey landing.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 14 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. in the 11th Floor Board Room at One Port Center. A brief presentation will begin at 6:30 pm.

"The project will replace a stairway on the south side of the bridge in Camden with a ramp that meets all accessibility requirements outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Dan Cosgrove, the project engineer. "We expect a completed ramp to encourage more commuter and recreational bridge customers to bike or walk between Philadelphia and Camden."

Participants will be able to examine several conceptual design options. DRPA engineers and design consultants will be on hand to explain the design concepts, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and answer questions or address concerns.

Stakeholder feedback will be conveyed to the DRPA Board of Commissioners, which will make the final decision about which design to accept. Public inquiries or comments about the project can be emailed to the DRPA at bikeramp@drpa.org.

If you plan on attending please let John Boyle of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia know by registering via this FaceBook event page.

DRPA proposes three alternatives for Ben Franklin Bridge ramp

This post comes to WalkBikeJersey from our friends at Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and is reposted here with their permission.


On Wednesday the Delaware River Port Authority's Engineering Department presented its preliminary design options to the DRPA Operations and Management Committee.

According to Philly.com, plans were presented for three design options ranging from a straightaway ramp, a single switchback, or three switchbacks. The estimated costs ranged from $3 million for the single switchback to $3.7 million for the straight ramp.

Image taken from The Inquirer. Credit: Robert West.

The design drawings will probably be presented to the DRPA Board at the March meeting; the options will be presented to the public at some point before the final design is determined.

We (the BCGP and WBJ) favor the straight ramp option although understand why some officials at DRPA have concerns of speeding cyclists. We think there are ways to slow the descent of wheeled vehicles, such as adding a kink at the ramp's midpoint (like the Connector Bridge in Schuylkill River Park). A switchback requiring users to make a 180-degree turn is less desirable but adding a staircase with bike wheel channels on both sides could make this option palatable. We would not support the multi-switchback option unless it was absolutely the only feasible choice.

An interesting point made in the Inquirer article is the possibility of widening the walkway on the Camden side, which narrows to 5 feet as it approaches the stairway. The widening would add a million dollars to the project.

Thanks to years of public support and effort, the walkway ramp is one step closer to reality. We will keep you posted as DRPA begins its public outreach.

Clarification: The proposed bridge ramp would be for the walkway on the south side of the bridge.

A Trail from Bridgeton to Philadelphia - How Do We Do It?

Imagine a multi-use trail that spans 3 counties in South Jersey. One that could connect with the East Coast Greenway and Southeastern Pennsylvania's enormous Schuylkill River Trail network on one end and a network of trails to the beaches of Ocean City on the other

There is a rail alignment that could accomplish this, or not. From Bridgeton to Glassboro the alignment is known as the Bridgeton Secondary - an abandoned rail right of way that only requires prioritization and funding from Cumberland and Gloucester Counties. From Glassboro on north the story is totally different, the proposed Camden to Glassboro Light Rail Line has already gone through a scoping study and a rail with trail concept was not considered. However Delaware River Port Authority has just set aside money (as a loan to NJ TRANSIT) for the important Environmental Impact Study (EIS), and will offer a chance for citizens and other interested parties to include a trail along the rail alignment or elsewhere along the corridor. Currently the EIS is in its early stages and the public comment period may not be announced for some time. Check periodically with this blog or go to http://glassborocamdenline.com.

The last leg between Camden and Philadelphia is becoming a reality. Construction on new segments of the Camden GreenWay will begin in March. Meanwhile the DRPA has posted its Request For Qualifications for the design of the Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway Ramp, which when completed in 2014 will replace the 3 story stair tower with an ADA accessible ramp.

The vision for the trail

DRPA twiddles thumbs - delays funding Ben Bridge ramp again

The following once again comes to us from our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia via their blog Greater Philadelphia Bicycle News. 

Credit: Alejandro Alvarez

At yesterday's DRPA Finance Committee meeting, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Tri-State Transportation Campaign submitted a host of materials supporting the restoration of funding for the Camden-side ramp. DRPA received:

• 18 letters from area businesses and organizations (including Campbell's Soup, Concerned Citizens of North Camden and AARP New Jersey).
• The comments from over 1000 petition signers asking that DRPA restore funding for the ramp in its 2012 Capital Program.
• A joint letter from Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, hand-delivered to CEO Matheussen at the beginning of the meeting.
• After the meeting, Rutgers-Camden also delivered a letter.

DRPA staff prepared a resolution at the direction of PA Auditor General Jack Wagner, and the resolution was discussed at the meeting. Robert Teplitz, the Auditor General's General Counsel, attended the meeting and spoke up for the need to put the ramp back into the Capital Program. After much discussion, the Finance Committee decided to ask DRPA staff to look into non-DRPA sources of funding and will take up the topic again at its Operations and Management meeting on February 1st.

Much of the funding discussion at the meeting focused on accessing other non-DRPA public funds to pay for the ramp. Commissioner Nash specifically noted that DVRPC was about to announce a competitive Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funding round, which will make $3 million available to New Jersey Projects.

While it's perhaps understandable that DRPA might want to explore other sources of funding, there are problems with going to the Federal trough:

• Funds will not be available until late 2012 or early 2013, delaying the start of the project by about a year. Design and construction work for the project will take at least 18 months to complete.
• The extra environmental work and bidding requirements attached to Federal Transportation projects will increase the cost and the completion time for the project, adding another year and an undetermined amount of money.
• Congress has a moratorium on earmarks (known locally as demo projects) so that kind of money is highly unlikely (remember the "Bridge to Nowhere"?).
• DVRPC's CMAQ program is competitive and intended for local governments and agencies to promote innovative clean air programs that are not always bicycle and pedestrian oriented (e.g. synchronized signals, hybrid shuttle buses.) Typically about 20-30 applications are submitted. In the past, DVRPC has doled out the money equitably by county (2002 Competitive CMAQ summary report).
• Most importantly, DRPA already has $10 million available in the 2012 Capital Program. This money was originally earmarked for Economic Development, but was not spent and returned to the Capital Program at the December 2011 meeting. If not spent on a specific project, the funds may be used to fill in cost overruns for the existing Capital Program.

While the Bicycle Coalition doesn't oppose the use of non-DRPA funding to help build the ramp, we do believe that the DRPA should restore the original $3.2 million to pay for and build the ramp. The ramp is intrinsic to the Ben Franklin Bridge and the responsible agency for maintaining and operating the bridge (DRPA) should not treat the ramp like a frivolous embellishment to be paid for when convenient with other people's money.

Final engineering will determine the real cost of the ramp. Committing $3.2 million toward the project will help leverage any external funding sources that would be needed to complete the ramp in a timely manner. Waiting around for an earmark or studying innovative funding opportunities smacks of delay tactics. Either DRPA commits to building this ramp or they do not.

We encourage people to keep signing our petition. The Operation and Management meeting is at 8AM on February 1st at DRPA Offices at One Port Center in Camden and we will be encouraging people to join us at that public meeting.

DVRPC awards vast majority of $5.2 million in trails moneys to PA communities

Much of the following is taken from a recent post from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia's, Bicycle News.

In late October, the Delaware Valley Region Planning Commission awarded $5.2 million through Phase I of its Regional Trails Program.  This grant program is funded by $10 Million from the William Penn Foundation, and provided money to eighteen projects around the 9 county Delaware Valley region.  However, of those eighteen projects, only two are in New Jersey and account for only $373,000 of the $5.2 million awarded, less than 7.2% of the grant money available.  While this money is available equally to counties and municipalities in both states, the massive bias towards Pennsylvania is because New Jersey communities are simply not applying for the grants.  According to John Boyle of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, "New Jersey communities are failing to come forward and apply for money to build trails in the past few years.  Kudos to Camden County/Coopers Ferry Partnership and Mercer County/Friends of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail for taking the opportunity to expand their trail networks."

These initiatives include both trail design and trail construction in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They extend existing trails, including the Schuylkill River Trail in Phoenixville, the Chester Valley Trail near Exton, and the East Coast Greenway in Tullytown. They connect the existing and planned elements of the regional trail network to neighborhoods through projects like the Baldwin's Run Tributary Trail in Camden and the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail in Lawrence. Finally, these grants support several landmark projects, including the Manayunk Bridge Trail that will provide a cross-river connection between Philadelphia and Lower Merion Township and serve as a destination for bikers and walkers from across the region.

The awards to trail projects include:

• Reading to Hamburg Schuylkill River Trail Gap (Leesport section) – $142,630 (design and construction) – Berks County
• Big Woods/Schuylkill-Hopewell Furnace Trail – $500,000 (construction – Phase 1, survey – Phase 2) – Berks and Chester Counties – Berks County
• Neshaminy Creek Greenway (Phase I) -- $130,148 (construction) – Bucks County
• US Route 13 Crossing – $471,000 (construction) – Bucks County
• Baldwin’s Run Tributary Trail – $150,000 (design) – Camden County
• Chester Valley Trail Phase III – $500,000 (construction) – Chester County
• Phoenixville Schuylkill River Trail Segment – Phase I -- $285,000 (design and construction) – Chester County
• Darby Creek Trail -- $290,000 (construction) – Delaware County
• Lawrence-Hopewell Trail: Lewisville Road Section -- $248,000 (construction) – Mercer County
• Chester Valley Trail Extension – $325,000 (construction) – Montgomery County
• Canal Towpath Spillway Bridge – $170,000 (construction) – Montgomery County
• Tacony Frankford Greenway Trail – $500,000 (construction) – Philadelphia
• Penn Street Trail – $500,000 (design and construction) – Philadelphia
• Schuylkill Crossing at Grays Ferry – $260,000 (preliminary design) – Philadelphia

In addition, the DVRPC Board today approved $125,000 in funding for Camden County’s Kaighn’s Avenue to Route 130 Connector Trail. This project was one of four “early action” projects originally approved for $50,000 of funding in July 2011. The grant has since been revised to $125,000. The other three early action projects were:

• Manayunk Bridge -- $400,000 (design) – Philadelphia
• Spring Garden Street Greenway – $75,000 (design) – Philadelphia
• Schuylkill South -- $165,000 (acquisition for future extension of waterfront trail) – Philadelphia

In mid-December, DVRPC received applications for Phase II of the program, for projects that were seeking planning and feasibility funding. Those awards are expected to be announced in early 2012.

DRPA approves budget without Ben Franlin ADA ramp

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

The Board of Directors of the Delaware River Port Authority approved the 2012 Capital Program without the ramp as expected and as is the custom, took public comments only at the end of the meeting.



However advocates from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia got a good amount of press.  Helicopter video of the 10 cyclists on the bridge was seen on Fox 29 and NBC 10. People watching the TV news said the shots were tight which made the group look bigger.

Online press coverage can be found in the below links:

• KYW 1060
• Philadelphia Inquirer  
• Gloucester County TImes

When it came time to vote on the resolution for $20 million in economic development project (DRPA has been slammed repeatedly...

TIGER 1 Update - Camden County Freeholders Award Contract for Bike Lanes and Streetscape

Staying focused this week on what is undoubtedly one of New Jersey's neediest places for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, our affiliates at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia bring us this story about the continued progress of the highly competitive TIGER Grant that will focus some much needed monies into Camden's bike/ped accommodations.   Enjoy!

On Thursday evening the Camden County Freeholders voted on the following resolution -

"Resolution authorizing an award of Contract (Bid A-10) by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Works) and Lexa Concrete, LLC, for the 2011 Transportation Capital Program, American Recovery Investment Act TIGER Grant, Pyne [sic] Street Greenway Enhancement Project and Martin Luther King Boulevard, Waterfront Connection Project in an amount not to exceed $2,520,648.55"

This means that construction on two of the three Camden TIGER segments can now move forward, it usually takes at least several weeks between the award of a contract and the first shovel in the ground. The projects will include Camden's first bike lanes (MLK), sharrows, road repair and streetscape improvements.

The third segment, Pearl St adjacent to the Ben Franklin Bridge has been delayed due to the collapse of the bulkhead adjacent to the Camden Waterfront Promenade. DVRPC the regional planning commission has allocated additional money to the project to design and construct the new bulkhead. Once the design has been completed that project will go out to bid and which holds out hope that all three projects will be completed by the end of the year.

The construction of the project coincides with the rehabilitation of Farnham Park which includes a new multi-use trail through the park which will connect with the City's only marked bike facility - a two way sidepath on the south side of Kaighns Ave, which heads towards Cooper River Park a location where we pointed out the difficulty of crossing route 130 to get to the main section of the park.

View Pine Street in Camden in a Larger Map

Tell NJDOT to Accommodate Bicyclists crossing US 130 into Cooper River Park

Tell NJDOT to include proper Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodations at North Park Drive and US 130 in Camden/Pennsauken.

There will be a public meeting held tomorrow at:

Camden County Boathouse
Cooper River County Park
7050 North Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ
APRIL 20, 2011 6:00 P.M.

Work will start this fall on the reconstruction of the intersection of US 130 and North Park Drive (Cooper River Park) adjacent to the old driving range. As some of you already know this is a very difficult intersection to cross on foot or bike, especially heading from the park into Camden. While this hearing focuses on the right of way acquisition of a tiny piece of Cooper River Park it is the design of the intersection that is of the most concern.

While the crosswalk shown in the diagram is an improvement (vs nothing) it still forces a westbound cyclists to cross the intersection at the crosswalk. This means that cyclists will be riding across to a narrow sidewalk instead of a 10' multi-use path. For pedestrians it is much worse - the skewed unprotected intersection will mean that they will have to cross at least 70 feet of roadway across a skewed intersection, very difficult for the young, elderly and disabled.

US 130 has been cited by the Tri State Transportation Campaign as one of the most dangerous roads for pedestrians in the state. we should demand that at a minimum that the crosswalk geometry is fixed, with a pedestrian refuge added in the center median. In addition a pedestrian activated "no turn on red" phase would allow pedestrians to safely cross US 130. The design should also include a westbound bike box for cyclists in front of the stop bar on North Park Drive to get ahead of the turning traffic.

The details of the entire 130/30 project is here.






Click on the image to enlarge - The main section of Cooper River Park is on the bottom of this drawing while the old driving range on the top side.

Meeting announcement

DRPA Postpones Ben Franklin Bridge Bike Ped Ramp Project

The following was originally written by John Boyle and posted on the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle News. It is reprinted here with the permission of our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

We were so close.

Remember that rosy blog post proudly declaring "Mission Accomplished" for the construction of a bicycle and pedestrian ramp on the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway?

Not so fast.

The Delaware River Port Authority Board of Directors, who were caught between a suspicious Wall Street and a populist revolt, ordered DRPA staff to trim the 2011 Capital Budget of any project "that does not relate to public safety." As a result, DRPA trimmed back about 9% of the $164 Million budget. Within that amount was $50,000 allotted for the design of the Bridge Bicycle and Pedestrian path. At just 0.03% of the Capital Budget, $50K amounts to about 6 hours worth of Ben Franklin Bridge toll revenue.

The project is included in the 5 year Capital Program with all of the design happening in 2012 and construction beginning in 2013. A call to the Engineering Office indicated that the project will now start in early 2012 instead of late fall of 2011. The two or three month delay might have little effect on the proposed timeline to open up the ramp in the late Spring of 2013.

But will it remain in the Capital program? 2012's post toll hike budget may come under the same scrutiny. One of the top complaints of DRPA critics is that the Authority is spending money on projects that are not part of the core mission "moving people and goods across the Delaware River". Most of the criticism is aimed at economic development funds but recent Board discussions indicate a desire by some to narrow the Authority's mission. Proposal's have included shedding operations for PATCO and the Riverlink Ferry. When all is said and done the new mission may change to "moving cars and trucks over the four DRPA bridges". How progressive!

If you really love the bridge walkway then why not take some time to write a brief friendly note to DRPA Customer Service or ask to speak at a DRPA Board Meeting and declare your support for a bicycle and ramp. You need to call DRPA ahead of time (877-567-DRPA) to request time to speak at board meetings; transparency at One Port Center is an evolving practice.

DRPA plans bike/ped ramp on The Ben Franklin Bridge to better connect Philly & Camden

The following was originally written by John Boyle and posted on the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle News. It is reprinted here with the permission of our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.


The Bicycle Coalition met with officials of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) last week to receive details of the plan for the Bicycle Pedestrian Ramp project on the South Walkway of the Bridge as well as the Pearl St project which will offer bicycle and pedestrian improvements from the walkway entrance to the river. Pearl Street is one of three Camden TIGER projects sponsored by the Coopers Ferry Development Association.

Pearl Street Project

DRPA put up $100,000 to design the streetscape and roadway. The project calls for new signage, belgian block sidewalk and lighting improvements and sharrows on the roadway. Final design is within days of completion and construction is scheduled to begin in April 2011 and is expected to be completed within 6 months. The other Camden projects Pine St and MLK Blvd are expected to be completed simultanously and these 3 projects should be among the first TIGER projects to go under construction.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Ramp

As we reported earlier pending board approval DRPA is budgeting $50,000 in 2011 for the design of the ramp, while there was an original 2011 committment of $100,000 for the 2011 capital budget DRPA Chief Acting Engineer Michael Venuto explained that the 2011 schedule only required half that amount for the fiscal year. The rest of the design work, which is expected to take about 7 months will be completed in 2012. Construction is expected to begin around November of December of 2012 with completion scheduled in the Spring of 2013. The South Walkway will have to be closed during the six month construction project. Total project cost is estimated at 3.3 million dollars.

The bottom line-Nothing but good news from the DRPA, the construction of the ramp now appears to be a certainty. The Port Authority should also be commended for stepping up and offering their expertise to develop the plans for the first bicycle facilities in Camden.