The Greater Philadelphia Regional Trail Network has three major spines. First, the Schuylkill River Trail extends approximately 130 miles from Philadelphia northwest into Valley Forge, Pottstown and Reading. It serves as a major trail spine in Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Berks and Schuylkill Counties. Second, the PA section of the East Coast Greenway runs along the Delaware River and connects NJ, PA and DE. When completed, this section will be approximately 60 miles long. Finally, the Camden Greenways Network connects across the Delaware River into Philadelphia, as well as linking NJ suburbs to the Camden Waterfront.

Click on the map to view a full size version.

In addition to the three spines above, the Greater Philadelphia Region possesses a rich variety of opportunities and rights-of-way (ROWs) for developing many other regionally-significant trails. Some of these opportunities have been capitalized upon – a number of significant trail segments already exist or are currently moving toward construction – but the system today is marked as much by its “gaps” and “missing links” as it is by its connectivity.  Fortunately, many different organizations have been engaging in a variety of activities to accelerate trail development and construction, particularly over the past five years.

One of the best examples was a successful $23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant program. Through this grant, ten trail projects beginning or nearing completion of construction right now! In Philadelphia, these trail segments wil connect residents to open space in Southwest Philadelphia along 58^th Street, provide better access to historic Bartram’s Garden, extend the Schuylkill River Trail to the South Street Bridge, construct a trail in Port Richmond along the Delaware River, enhance the Schuylkill River Trail connection at the Montgomery County border, and build new bike connections to the Ben Franklin Bridge. In New Jersey, it will improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities throughout downtown Camden.

Relevant Links

• DVRPC Regional Trail Fund: http://www.dvrpc.org/RegionalTrailsProgram/
• Map of the Regional Trail Network
• Projects Funded through 2010 Tiger Grant
• http://www.pecpa.org/GREAT_PA_NJ
• http://www.pecpa.org/eastcoastgreenway/TIGER_2
•  Pennsylvania State Action Plan for establishing greenways: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/greenways/actionplan.aspx
• Explore PA Trails http://explorepatrails.com/index.aspx
• Pennsylvania Statewide Outdoor Recreation Plan http://www.paoutdoorrecplan.com/

Schuylkill River Trail, Philadelphia

Why build multi-use trails?

By supporting an active lifestyle and alternative modes of transportation, multi-use trails can improve human health, minimize air pollution, stimulate positive economic investment, and connect communities to the natural environment. Multiple studies have shown that multi-use trails and bicycle facilities are not only some of the cheapest and best investments in active living and healthy lifestyles; they also provide the biggest "bang-for-the-buck" relative to other transportation investments. These benefits make the Regional Trail Network a critically important infrastructure investment.

1. More Philadelphians are choosing active transportation (walking or biking) as a means to get to work.

• Philadelphia has the highest rate of bicycle commuters (2.16%) of the ten largest cities in America, nearly double that of second place Chicago.
  
  • http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/files/MODE%20SHIFT%20REPORT.pdf
• Bicycle commuting in the region increased 151 percent from 2000 to 2009. 
  • http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/files/MODE%20SHIFT%20REPORT.pdf
• Bicycle traffic increased 361% in Center City Philadelphia since 1990.
  
  • http://www.centercityphila.org/docs/SOCC2011_sustainability.pdf
• In 2010, when the Center City District approached major West Market Street and JFK Boulevard office building managers and owners with plans for new landscaping along these auto-dominated streets, the number-one request was for new buffered bike lanes to accommodate the growing chorus of requests from tenants and their employees.
  • http://www.centercityphila.org/docs/SOCC2011_sustainability.pdf
• Thirty-eight percent of Center City residents walk to their jobs, 21% take public transportation and 4% frequently take their bikes. The quality of the public environment is as much about making Philadelphia more competitive nationally and internationally, as it is about sustainability.
  • http://www.centercityphila.org/docs/SOCC2011_sustainability.pdf

2. Investing in the regional trail network creates jobs and contributes to our economy.

• Pedestrian and Bicycle infrastructure projects can create nearly twice as many jobs per dollar spent than typical road projects.
  • http://fastlane.dot.gov/2011/01/new-data-adds-job-creation-to-the-many-benefits-of-bicycle-infrastructure.html
• Over 800,000 people use the Schuylkill River Trail per year, an activity that directly contributes $3.6 million to the local economy annually.
  • http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/wherewework/northeast/Schuylkill%20River%20Trail%20Users%20Survey_Final_low%20res.pdf

3.  Low cost investments in the regional trail network yields high returns in public health and helps individuals and local businesses save in healthcare costs.

• According to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control, a $1 investment in trails for physical activity led to $2.94 in healthcare savings.
  • http://www.americantrails.org/resources/health/trailinvest.html
• Analysis of responses to the 2009 Outdoor Recreation in Pennsylvania Resident survey conducted by the Pennsylvania DCNR reveals that, on average, regional residents perform 41 percent of all moderate or strenuous physical activity in a park or on a trail.
  • http://www.greenspacealliance.org/EconomicStudy/Econoimc_Value_SEPA.pdf
• Through the use of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s parks and trails, the region avoids a total of $199 million per year in direct medical costs and $596 million per year in indirect costs.
  • http://www.greenspacealliance.org/EconomicStudy/Econoimc_Value_SEPA.pdf
• It is estimated that employers avoided $10.2 million in indirect workers’ compensation costs because of the physical activities their employees participated in on protected open space in southeastern Pennsylvania.
  • http://www.greenspacealliance.org/EconomicStudy/Econoimc_Value_SEPA.pdf
• Using a per-worker annual lost productivity cost estimate, it is estimated that businesses in southeastern Pennsylvania avoid $485.4 million in costs per year because of the physical activities their employees engage in on protected open space in the region.
  • http://www.greenspacealliance.org/EconomicStudy/Econoimc_Value_SEPA.pdf
• Biking can improve air quality, promoting the public health of all city residents. While an eight mile car ride adds 15 pounds of air pollution to the atmosphere, a bicycle ride creates no emissions.
  • http://dirt.asla.org/2011/05/17/how-to-design-a-bicycle-city/
• According to the PA Health Department, 60% of Pennsylvania residents are overweight. People can burn 300 calories per hour while biking leisurely. Using a bicycle to commute incorporates exercise into a person’s daily routine and improves overall physical fitness.
  • http://dirt.asla.org/2011/05/17/how-to-design-a-bicycle-city/
  • http://www.phillyhealthinfo.org/index.php/health_topics/category/Obesity/

What role does PEC play?

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council works to coordinate trail building across the region through extensive partnerships with local governments and organizations. In particular, PEC focuses on completing sections of the East Coast Greenway to build a continuous trail through the Philadelphia region from New Jersey into Wilmington, DE.

Examples of PEC’s Southeast Pennsylvania trail building projects:

• PEC coordinated and wrote the TIGER grant which brought $23 million to Philadelphia and Camden.
• PEC completed and collected feasibility data for the entire 60 miles of the East Coast Greenway in PA.
• PEC commissioned the North Delaware Riverfront Greenway Masterplan in 2005 to guide the development of the East Coast Greenway along the Delaware River and the redevelopment of this abandoned and underused waterfront.
• The 58^th Street Greenway, a 1.5 mile long neighborhood bikeway, will connect neighborhoods in Southwest Philadelphia to Center City, Cobbs Creek Park and historic Bartram’s Gardens.
• Currently, PEC is working with consultants to design the Spring Garden Street Greenway, at the northern edge of Center City Philadelphia.  The greenway will extend from river to river, connecting the Delaware River Trail to the Schuylkill River Trail. Not only does this project provide a trail, but it will also include a complete street design to capture stormwater runoff and spur private investment in local neighborhoods.
• The Bensalem Greenway will be a six mile pedestrian and bicycle trail along State Road in Bensalem Township, Bucks County. This will close a critical gap in the East Coast Greenway, connect people to important ecological and historical resources in Andalusia and Pen Ryn Mansion, and provide a new connection to the Ddelaware River Waterfront.

Schuylkill Banks, Philadelphia