Mañana, mañana

Last spring assaults on the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia reached a point where they were being posted on Facebook. Most them fit a standard profile, groups of black children on BMX bikes harassing and groping women runners.

The Philadelphia Police Department appeared mystified as to why these incidents went largely unreported. This was often due to a number of factors; 911 operators who were unable to locate the SRT within their system to dispatch the police, the incidents happened so fast that victims did not know what to do, and the police who have crimes with higher priority. This culminated in the winter when a series of armed robberies on the trail occurred and resulted in arrests.

In a moment of inspiration John Lyons from the Facebook page RUN215 came up with a unique solution. Create a neighborhood watch to provide coverage to supplement the police, a trail watch. Announced at a press event in February 2016 the SRT Watch garnered the support of eleven local groups and non-for profits. Then nothing and problems continue along the trail.

June 2 - Homeless man threatens and chases female jogger.

May 21 - Two flashers on the trail

April 13 - Kids throw rocks at cyclist

April 8 - 12 year old child attempts to punch female runner

April 5 - Group of youths on BMX bikes grope and harass female runner

Some problems along the SRT have been addressed. Broken lights are being repaired, 911 has added the SRT to their maps, and markers have been placed along the trail to help people determine their location if they call 911.

Although the SRT Watch has held four training sessions there has been no indication when they are going to start patrolling. You would have thought the membership of RUN215 alone would have been enough to fill out the roll call for the SRT Watch. Let alone all of the people who help support the organizations are backing the SRT Watch.

I had high hopes that patrols would start in the spring, giving the SRT Watch time to work out the kinks of running this type of operation. Unfortunately there have been no informative updates from the SRT Watch since its press event.

Given the lack of updates the SRT Watch is becoming another example of the “Philly Shrug” (http://bit.ly/1U4nJOt). The Philly Shrug is a phrase that is used to embody a number of behaviors that relinquish self responsibility or reinforce apathy in the face of obstacles (cultural, political, etc.) and are specific to the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (http://bit.ly/1WHpDVp). It’s the antipathy that Philly residents take towards corrupt politicians, crime, a failing school system, and the pervasive litter in the streets that no one wants to take responsibility for.

I fear that in the end the SRT Watch will be yet another Philly Shrug. Unable to sustain itself for any length of time to make any kind of a difference because not enough people to care to make a difference.

Footnote: After I finished writing this post a woman was attacked and had her face slashed by an assailant (http://bit.ly/22WXF8c). At this point Councilman Kenyatta Johnson announced that the start of the SRT Watch would be accelerated to start this month (June 2016). What is really tragic is that someone had to get hurt for this to happen. It also makes me question how much longer the delay would have been had this not happened. Yet another example of the Philly Shrug.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Its rare that anyone posts a comment on the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia's blog, even rarer is when a post disagrees with the BCGP, but the rarest of them all is when multiple posts disagree with the BCGP.  On March 21 the BCGP announced the improvements made to the Schuylkill River Trail on the section from the Montgomery County/Philadelphia border to Manayunk.  There were multiple comments made, so we went on a field trip to see if there was a cause for concern.

The Good

Finally the paved section of the SRT along the Philadelphia section was widened from less than 5 feet to 12 feet that matches the rest of the trail and will make for safer experience for all trail users. Also after many years of use and some serious flooding along the Manayunk Tow Path erosion damage and the dilapidated wooden bridges that had become structurally unsound was repaired. The new bridges now have an asphalt ramp at each end to prevent erosion around the immediate area of the bridge.

The Bad

For all of the money that was spent on this massive undertaking something could have done something about the cobblestones that connect the towpath to the Nixon St. Instead we are stuck with the same wheel-sucking, rim bending section that is going to be a problem for every cyclist trying to ride through that area.

The Ugly

In the past the Connection from the SRT to the Canal Tow Path involved exiting the SRT and riding along Nixon St. to the Canal Tow Path. Now there is a 300-yard extension that runs parallel to Nixon and down to the intersection of Shawmont and Nixon. This does make this section of the trail ADA compliant. However every cyclist will come downhill into the intersection and cross on a diagonal, against traffic. Which is compounded by joggers, cyclists, and cars coming around the corner into expected any traffic. Which is an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately you can still turn right before the extension and use Nixon St.

Note the retaining wall that blocks the view of all traffic coming around the corner on the left

One commenter summed it up best: “Not a complaint, but feedback. Everyone LOVES all that was done with the exception of the trail dumping onto Shawmont. It is a somewhat dangerous design by most accounts, and we don't want to some day tell an injured cyclist to stop complaining. “

Yabba Dabba Do

Fred

A. 1) n. A man who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can't ride. "What a fred -- too much Lycra and titanium and not enough skill." Female version is a “Wilma”.

I got into bicycling not for recreation, rather for transportation. By the time I entered middle school and through high school my bike liberated me, Instead of depending on a school bus, my bicycle allowed me to come and go when I was ready. To this day I still use a bicycle to run errands, travel around Philadelphia and commute. I rode in what ever was available; shorts, sneakers, white socks, and yes cotton t-shirts. This was the pre-spandex era, before clipless pedals, power taps (what ever those are) and I had the first commercially produced helmet for the consumer; a Bell Biker.

It wasn't until I moved to the Philadelphia did I discover bicycling clubs and century rides. It was also when I started encountering “serious” bicyclists. Clad head to toe in spandex with logos on it so they can pretend to be professional racers, high end bicycles with carbon or titanium frames, the trendiest components, and sucking on the latest performance enhancing gel. But there is the elite 1% within this group that gives the rest of us a bad name. And they are known as Fred's.

The problem is the their sense of ownership of the Schuylkill River Trail and how anyone who is in their path is an interloper. You see them all time riding two abreast in sections that don't allow for it and creating mini-pelotons that engage in high speed passing with no warning. Worse yet is the verbal abuse. I've heard from cyclists, joggers, and Rollerbladers about being told to get off the trail, called assholes and menaces or passes so close you could touch them as they went by.

Ladies and gentlemen, you are not training for the Tour de France, you won't receive a yellow jersey when you finish, and if you think you are then go out and do “A” rides with the hammerheads from one of the cycling clubs. Otherwise your not impressing anyone. The Schuylkill River Trail is multi-user path, not your personal race course.

Montgomery County closes parks and trails??

Recently Montgomery County has announced that it may have to take drastic measures to close its budget. By closing all of the parks and trails this will include maintenance and law enforcement needed to keep these facilities operational. At a meeting on December 7 over 50 people spoke in opposition of this measure and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia expressed the views of 1500 people who sent e-mails to the Montgomery County Commissioners.

The implications of this are very serious, park employees will lose their jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial grants will be at risk. If this does happen the parks and trails will be subject to vandalism, crime, litter, and overgrown with vegetation. These spaces are used by hundreds of thousands people every year and generate millions of dollars for businesses along the trail.

So what would I do?

While I do not have a solution for the budgetary issues that Montgomery County faces, I do have a challenge for the 1500 people who sent e-mails through BCGP, the over 50 people who spoke at the meeting, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and all of the bicycling clubs through out the region. It's time for their actions to speak louder than their words.

I challenge bicycle clubs and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia to commit one day of service to provide needed maintenance along the Schuylkill River Trail, Perkiomen Trail or one of the parks in Montgomery County in the Spring of 2012. Since these places are important and bicycle clubs have benefited them, then it is time to give back. You can find more information about volunteer opportunities by using this LINK.

Parks departments have a list of things they would like to do that go beyond what can be normally handled by the park employees. Over the years I have volunteered with various groups to help clear brush, clean out illegal dump sites, and remove litter from heavily used locations.

So which groups are going to step up and commit to a date this spring?  Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, Suburban Cyclists Unlimited, Quaker City Wheelmen, and Sturdy Girls Cycling. Five days of service would accomplish lot.