‘Critical Mass’ bike ride draws attention to safety for cyclists

On Monday, Aug. 11, Bike North Penn led a “Critical Mass” bicycle ride from the SEPTA Pennbrook train station to the Upper Gwynedd Township building at Parkside Place. The ride was in response to the recent death of Upper Gwynedd cyclist John Stone, on July 12 in a crash with a car on Allentown Road.

About 25 riders participated. Of those, more than a third were from Upper Gwynedd Township, with other riders coming mostly from Lansdale Borough and Hatfield township. The ride was from the Pennbrook SEPTA station to the Upper Gwynedd Township building, with a loop on the trail at the front of the park.

William Jackson and Judy Vose addressed the Upper Gwynedd commissioners during the public speaking period at the start of the commissioners’ meeting and will be having a follow-up meeting with Upper Gwynedd officials on the scope of trail work the township needs to complete and progress they intend to make in the near future.

Bike North Penn is calling on government officials in Upper Gwynedd and all other municipalities in the North Penn area to press ahead and more rapidly build out and connect sections of planned trails in the area, including the Liberty Bell Trail and the Power Line Trail. They are being called upon to set deadlines for their completion — the group is suggesting 2030 or sooner.

“The municipalities of Upper Gwynedd, Lansdale and Hatfield have made important progress in the past five years in planning and getting resident support for these trails,” said Jackson, Upper Gwynedd resident and president of Bike North Penn. “However, after five years these trails only exist as fragments, and their true value can only be unlocked if the sections are linked and completed. These trails will dramatically increase opportunities for safe, off-street cycling, walking and running.

“We understand securing grants to fund the construction is an important factor and the process is slow, but until completion deadline goals are set for these trails, the ability for local governments to prioritize their construction vs. other budget items will be in limbo. And due to the rising costs of construction, the longer they wait, the more it will cost.”

Bike North Penn is also calling for efforts to generally improve safety for cyclists, walkers and runners, with the recent death of a pedestrian, Diane Kopena in Lansdale earlier this year being top of mind. These improvements include:

• Re-marking and enforcement no-parking areas within 30 feet of all intersections in all residential streets in the North Penn area. 

• Deliberate improvements to key intersections in the area so non-vehicular traffic (bikes and pedestrians) can be prioritized to move through the intersections and in crosswalks.

• Neighborhood interconnections and cut-throughs should be required in all new housing developments, and key streets in and out of these developments be required to align with existing intersections on their borders. Especially important for large developments currently being considered in Towamencin and Hatfield townships.

• Adding bicycle rules and safety education to the physical education programming in the North Penn School District. Because cycling is a fundamental physical activity for kids, ensuring they know the rules of the road and how to ride safely should be part of the learning curriculum all local students receive.

Bike North Penn is a non-profit bicycle advocacy group formed in August 2022. They lead community bike rides in the North Penn region and organize support for local trails and enhancements to infrastructure to encourage bikes as an option for recreation and transportation with a regional view. The group believes biking is a benefit for physical and mental health, promotes citizenship, is good for the environment and should be available to everyone in the area. https://bikenorthpenn.org.