Byline: TIM BLANGGER Of The Morning Call
As far back as 1990, cycling advocates in Pennsylvania began talking about
an official bicycle touring network that would attract the kind of cyclists
willing to spend several weeks pedaling between destinations, often carrying
their belongings in panniers mounted on their bicycles.
Many of the best cycling roads in the state were not marked on state maps,
the advocates noted, so signs directing cyclists to these roads would be
helpful to both the pedaling tourists and to the state's economy.
The notion got some momentum when a relatively unknown Erie state
representative, Tom Ridge, used a bicycle during his 1994 campaign for
governor. Once elected, Ridge began a series of Keystone Rides in 1995,
touring sections of the state by bicycle. And, cycling advocates say,
Ridge's influence was a major reason why signs for Route L, one of seven
routes that are part of the state's BicyclePA public-private partnership,
began appearing on roads in the Lehigh Valley last April.
They also say that the BicyclePA route effort may be an important step
toward establishing the bicycle as a legitimate transportation mode --
especially within the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
While the routes are mainly aimed at experienced touring cyclists not
familiar with the state's network of back roads, local residents also can
benefit from their designation. In fact, Route L's path through Lehigh
County takes cylists on some of the best cycling roads in the greater Lehigh
Valley.
But cyclists also have some criticisms of Route L, especially its path
through the Lehigh Valley. Some of the choices made for the route just seem
downright unfortunate.
For much of its path through the Lehigh Valley, Route L follows Route 100, a
heavily traveled north-south road with several seriously challenging climbs.
Further north, a few miles past where the bicycle route leaves Route 100 and
its rumbling truck traffic for calmer country roads, it heads toward the
highest point in the Lehigh Valley, Bake Oven Knob near the Blue Mountain
summit. Here it follows a steep, rutted, dirt road that seems better suited
for gas-guzzling SUVs than eco- friendly touring bicyclists loaded with
gear.
Once over Blue Mountain, the route takes a puzzling turn. It bypasses Jim
Thorpe, easily a contender for bicycle capital of eastern Pennsylvania -- if
not the state. Route L's shift means touring cyclists miss out on the level
and shaded Lehigh Gorge Rail Trail, a regional cycling treasure, and instead
take a mountain climb on narrow country roads that eventually pass through
White Haven, where the serene gorge rail trail also ends.
Despite any problems, the routes highlight "the best-kept secret about a
tourist feature Pennsylvania has to offer" says Tom Helm, executive director
of the Bicycle Federation of Pennsylvania. "It' s been fun, but it's been a
real scuffle and scramble to get all the pieces together."
The way it worked was that PennDOT used a $1 million federal transportation
grant to pay for signs marking the route and had its employees install them.
But the actual planning of the routes fell to volunteers.
And then permissions had to be sought for some locations the route was to
pass through. That led to some of the problems cylists have with Route L.
The chief planner for Route L was Gihon Jordon, an avid bicyclist who works
as a traffic engineer with the Philadelphia streets department. Jordon has
pedaled through some 20 countries and has finished three bicycle trips
across the United States, without the aid of a motor vehicle escort.
In planning the route, he picked three locations in the eastern part of the
state that he thought should be included in a cycle route that stretched
from Pennsylvania's Maryland border to the New York state line. The first
location was a part of Delaware and Chester counties, one of Jordan's
favorite cycling areas in the state. The second was the Lehigh County
Velodrome, one of the few of its kind on the East Coast. And the third was
the Lehigh Gorge rail trail near Jim Thorpe.
Two of the places on Jordan's wish list became part of the final route,
which was ultimately approved by PennDOT. The Lehigh Gorge section, which
required permission from the borough of Jim Thorpe to use about one-third of
a mile of road inside the borough, failed to get approval.
"It was a shame," says Jim Thorpe Mayor Ronald Confer, who said members of
borough council ultimately decided not to permit the state to place signs
along the road. "Council was concerned over liability. The borough didn't
want to take responsibility in case anyone got injured."
The specific concern was Coalport Road, a steep, S-shaped road that connects
Route 903 with Lehigh Gorge State Park, a road that, as Confer conceded,
bicyclists use daily as they ride between the park and Jim Thorpe downtown.
Currently, the road is the only path any vehicle can use from Jim Thorpe to
the Lehigh Gorge Park.
Shifting the route around Jim Thorpe "was a real tough decision," says Dave
Bachman, PennDOT's bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, who hasn't given up
on the Lehigh Gorge trail. "We're hopeful we can work something out to
everyone's satisfaction. It isn't like we've built a freeway. You can't move
a freeway. Here, all we're talking about is moving some signs."
"I don't think the route would have brought in millions and millions of
dollars, but it would be a nice thing for the borough," says Rod Mann, who
helped with the early stages of the route and, until recently, was bicycle
manager for Pocono Whitewater Adventures, one of the outfitters that supply
bicycles, rafts and other equipment to people using the gorge.
Jordan is also optimistic. "I think it is going to be able to be changed, as
soon as we provide the proper services and do the proper planning to make
Coalport Road safer," he says, referring to the borough road route planners
sought permission to use.
Jim Thorpe was not the only place in the state where route planners locked
horns with local government, but it was one of the most dramatic examples of
the conflict, says Bachman.
Route L has raised the eyebrows of some local cyclists, who, in theory,
should support the effort. The cyclists' questions highlight the differences
among cyclists themselves -- touring types who are unfazed by riding in
traffic and recreational riders who want a more pleasant environment.
"Touring cyclists are a different breed," says longtime Lehigh Wheelman
member Ron Krikorian, who along with two other Wheelmen, agreed to ride part
of Route L with a Morning Call reporter -- but in a car, not on a bicycle.
"That's not the kind of road we'd ride on," says longtime Lehigh Wheelman
Russ Cressman, who rides around 100 miles a week.
Cressman and Krikorian, both from Center Valley, and Earl Wuchter, a third
Wheelman who lives in North Catasauqua, meet one day in the parking lot of
the Rodale Fitness Park near Trexlertown for their Route L motor tour.
After their host maneuvers the car out of the park, the cyclists emerge onto
Route 222, officially part of Route L.
"We're on Route L? This is it?" Krikorian asks, somewhat incredulously, as
the Wheelman sit in traffic, waiting for the traffic signal at routes 222
and 100 to change.
As the traffic light blinks green, making the left turn is tricky in a car,
especially during morning or evening rush hours -- and it would be much
trickier on a bicycle.
The turn is negotiated and the car is heading north on Route 100. The
cyclists recognize problems immediately, even from the slightly skewed
perspective of an automobile, which makes bicycling problems more difficult
to spot. The shoulders on both sides of Route 100 are rough and uneven, they
point out.
There are also several busy intersections on the way toward the Route
22/Interstate 78 overpass. Along the way, the road narrows as it passes over
a small hill. At several places, the berm is rippled and crumbled, forcing
cyclists to ride in the traffic lane.
Once over the hill, the road widens considerably, but the interstate
overpass, and the traffic associated with it, loom in the distance.
Past the overpass and traffic light at Tilghman Street, the road once again
becomes wider, with a generous shoulder on which cyclists can ride, although
there are places where the shoulder has been chipped and tarred, which makes
traction difficult.
A mile or so later, the trio of appraisers passes a traffic light at Mohr
Lane. "Now, here's a part of Route 100 we'd ride," says Cressman, pointing
to a small section of the road between the Mohr Lane light and a second,
small road that cuts off Route 100 to the left. The distance -- less than
200 yards.
While not very much impressed with the Route 100 section of Route L, the
cyclists approve of the sections north and south of the Route 100 section.
In fact, the part of Route L south of Route 222 includes some of the best
cycling roads in Lehigh County, roads that are used almost every weekend by
hundreds of cyclists looking for quiet, relatively safe country roads.
The steep dirt road the route takes over Blue Mountain also raises some
eyebrows. Once at the top, Krikorian adds, "At least I can say I've been up
here."
The mild criticisms the Wheelmen have point up differences among cyclists.
Recreational cyclists like the Wheelmen tend to ride on quiet country roads
and aren't necessarily concerned about taking the most direct route. Touring
cyclists and commuting cyclists tend to look for the shortest route, which
may not always be the most scenic. "There are some roads [bicycle] commuters
ride every day that I'd never ride," says Wuchter.
Route L designer Jordan stands by his choices. He has driven the entire
route -- he borrowed a friend's truck, because he doesn't own a motor
vehicle -- and has bicycled the entire route, in sections, at least twice.
The Route 100 section is a relatively short one, and the conditions are the
sort an experienced touring cyclist -- the target audience for the BicyclePA
routes -- would be able to handle, Jordan says.
Jordan also heard some objections about the Blue Mountain passage. He
acknowleges that some cyclists don't like the dirt road, but says that other
passages over Blue Mountain would have added several hours to the trip.
Bill Cotton, an experienced touring cyclist who lives outside Philadelphia,
has bicycled much of Route L and published a cue sheet on the route, making
it the most complete detailing of the route to date. It can be found on his
www.billcotton.com Web site.
The Route 100 section "wasn't bad, because it has a wide shoulder, " says
Cotton, 69, who has been bicycle touring for more than a decade, often
riding 100 miles a day. He never kept track of his mileage until about two
years ago when he bought an odometer and recorded some 4,000 road miles.
Touring cyclists "are kind of accustomed to using state roads with wide
shoulders," Cotton says.
The dirt road over Blue Mountain also didn't bother Cotton, who said cycling
tourists in New England come to expect the occasional dirt road over a
mountain.
Cotton did mention some problem spots along Route L: the left turn at
Trexlertown ("Oh, that intersection," Cotton says) and the traffic near the
Route 22/Interstate 78 overpass. A small intersection in the dirt road over
Blue Mountain isn't marked and may confuse cyclists, but "otherwise, the
route is fine," Cotton says.
While the route system is a good start, cycling advocates worry about the
future, especially when Gov. Ridge leaves office in 18 months. "Hopefully,
the routes will be given the support they need, so that all the hard work
put in by the volunteers of BicyclePA will not be for naught," says Steve
Schmidt, a cycling advocate who helps run the Bethlehem-based Coalition for
Alternative Transportation.
At the very least, cycling advocates hope the signs that are the most
visible aspect of the route system will be maintained. An estimated 10
percent of all PennDOT signs need some type of maintenance each year.
Bachman says the BicyclePA signs will be monitored, as are all PennDOT
signs.
But there is little effort to publicize the routes and what information is
available is sketchy.
In fact, getting information on Route L may seem much like climbing the
substantial hills along Route 100. Only three Bicycle PA routes are detailed
on PennDOT's Web site (www.dot.state.pa.us), and Route L is not among them.
Route details for two of the routes are listed on the PennDOT home page but
details for Route G can be found only through a search of the site. However,
a general search for "BicyclePA" yields no results.
PennDOT's Bachman says a fourth route may be added in the coming weeks and
that all the routes will eventually have their own detailed listings,
There is no site for the routes and no money in the state budget earmarked
to promote them.
"I think it's great that Pennsylvania has embarked on a visible, pro-bicycle
route system," says Jordan. "It will be good for the economy because it is
green and healthy and it is not costing the citizens much to get some
tourist dollars. It builds on the natural economy and strengths of the state
and it proves that bicycles belong. I applaud PennDOT.
"But it takes more than a volunteer effort to design a darn wonderful
routing system. It's not engraved in stone. Certain things can and will
change. We'll find a safer and more pleasant way through Jim Thorpe. This is
not going to be a static situation."
Reporter Tim Blangger
610-820-6722
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Allentown Morning Call, 07-22-2001, pp E1.
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