Montgomery County now accepting comments on bike lane network

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Pottstown recently received a $130,000 Montco 2040 grant to help pay for improving the connection between the Schuylkill River Trail and the borough’s new Walk/Bike network of bike lanes and sidewalk improvements.

Those with strong feelings about bike lanes have until July 6 to submit formal comments on Montgomery County’s draft “Bike Montco” plan,which calls for the creation of a network of 783 miles of bikes lanes by 2040.

If built, such a network would account for 17 percent of the county’s road system, a vast increase over the 1 percent that exists now, writes Evan Brandt in the Pottstown Mercury.

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Since the last county bike plan was created in 1998, the popularity if biking has increased in cities in the U.S. by 51 percent, according to Census figures.

Biking improves fitness, reduces traffic congestion and pollution from vehicles, promotes economic development and enhances tourism as well as enabling mobility for those without cars, according to the plan.

The bike plan seeks to further the goals of the county’s comprehensive plan, “Montco 2040 A Shared Vision,” by promoting “connected communities” as well safety, health and environmental sustainability and a vibrant economy.

One rationale the plan offers for the need to increase options for bicycle riders it “equity.”

“The development of a viable bicycle network promotes equity in many ways, from providing a relatively inexpensive form of transportation for vulnerable populations to creating recreational opportunities that can be used by people of all ages and making direct public and private investments in under-served communities,” according to the plan.

However, despite this observation, the draft Bike Montco plan calls for focusing its initial efforts in four areas of the county — Souderton and Telford boroughs, where the median household income is between $62,500 and $66,000; Upper Merion Township, where the median household income is $85,600; Ambler Borough, where the median household income is $57,200 and Whitpain Township, where the median household income is $121,280.

To read the complete story click here.

 

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