Municipal officials looking to make area more bike-friendly

Intelligencer Journal

Published: Aug 12, 2008
02:07 EST

By TOM KNAPP and STEPHANIE WEAVER, Staff

For years, the health benefits of riding a bicycle have been touted by everyone from health professionals to off-road enthusiasts.

These days, the big advantage is in the wallet — bikes are fueled by pedal power, not gasoline.

Consequently, there are more bicyclists on the road, and some local governments are scrambling to adapt to the change.

"It's not just for recreation anymore," Roni Ryan, assistant borough manager in Elizabethtown, said Wednesday. "It's a necessity."

But making way for bikes isn't always easy to accomplish.

"We need to take steps," Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz said.

"We're a community with no bike lanes, so we need to educate people how to ride bicycles, what safety measures to take and what equipment to wear, as well as making sure motorists are keeping their eyes out for bicyclists on the road."

Susquehanna Fire Company runs bicycle safety events that are mostly for kids, Lutz said, but this summer's program drew "quite a few adults" as well.

Safety is the best alternative in towns that don't have room for many bicycle amenities.

"When you have older communities such as Columbia Borough, your streets are pretty well fixed," Lutz said. "That doesn't give you much leeway to create bicycle lanes."

Ryan said bicycling "is a pretty major topic in our regional comprehensive plan."

Elizabethtown is working with its neighbors — Conoy, Mount Joy and West Donegal townships — to devise a blueprint for biking in northwest Lancaster County, she said.

"We realize that more folks want to bike, and not only as a recreational thing," Ryan said.

"It's economic development; quality of life. It affects local businesses and people getting to and from work. It touches on all of the pieces we are working on in our community."

The four municipalities have formed a committee to explore options for bicyclists and pedestrians, she said, that could expand on recreational facilities such as the Conewago Trail in Mount Joy Township and the river trail in Conoy.

"We'd like to accommodate bikes in the downtown, but we're not quite equipped to do that right now," Ryan said.

"We're hoping to unveil a draft of that plan … later this month to show potential connections and locations for pathways," she added. "We'll also be incorporating bike racks into the square (at High and Market streets) this fall."

Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray said the city has "some bike racks, but we don't have enough."

The mayor hopes frequent city bicyclists will provide input as to where more bike racks are needed downtown.

The city traffic commission has applied for a federal grant to conduct a traffic study to include bike lanes, he said.

"We have looked at a bike lane on Prince Street … from the city line to James Street," Gray said. "But we felt we should wait until a more comprehensive study could be done to figure out how we could better incorporate it into the city."

There's a logistical problem of fitting bike lanes on streets with parking on both sides, he added.

"We would like to be as bicycle-friendly as we can be, but we realize we have a long way to go before we can call ourselves that," Gray said. "But anything we can do to encourage bicyclists would be a positive advantage for our residents."

Mount Joy zoning officer Mark Heister said council began looking more than a year ago at a trail plan through and around the borough.

"We get new subdivisions and developments on the perimeter of town, and we have trails put in with them. We have a lot of links to be connected — it's still a bit piecemeal," he said. "Our concept is a wheel with spokes, so you can ride easily in and out the borough."

In East Petersburg, manager James Williams said there are a few bicycle routes through the borough, including a bike path and walkway through the northeast section of town.

Developments on the outskirts of town often pave roads with a 3- or 4-foot-wide bicycle lane. The borough also is linking to trails in Manheim Township, he said.

"Most of our roads are fairly wide, so there is room for both vehicles and bicycles," Williams said.

The borough hasn't started installing bike racks, he said, "but that's probably not a bad suggestion."

Millersville Mayor Richard Moriarty said he and his wife "bought bikes a few weeks ago. We bought them primarily for exercise, but we use them to scoot to the grocery store, the drug store and things like that."

Millersville doesn't have bike lanes but "I've found Millersville bike friendly," he said.

There are racks for parking bikes at Millersville University and the borough park, Moriarty said, but "most businesses don't have any at this point. It would be nice to start seeing some."

Elsewhere in the county:

• Lititz police officer Ken Wolfe said bikes, motorcycles and scooters all are being used more in town.

"I don't see an increase in (the number of) bike stands," he said, "but the ones we do have are full."

Borough manager Sue Ann Barry said Lititz doesn't have dedicated bike paths, but noted a recent study showed that some borough streets are broad enough to accommodate bikes and cars.

• Strasburg borough manager Lisa Boyd said a grant last year paid for new racks at several key locations, including the municipal building, town square and community park.

Boyd said more bikes and scooters are showing up in town.

• Akron borough manager Dan Guers said he hasn't seen much change in the number of bikes being used downtown.

Adamstown secretary Mary Burkholder and Christiana manager Bud Rettew agreed. Neither borough has much in the way of bike paths or racks, they said.

• "We've always seen a good number of bicyclists in town, so we haven't seen a huge increase," Denver borough manager Michael Hession said Wednesday.

Bicycle stands were installed at several new locations last year, he added.

• Quarryville manager Al Drayovitch said the borough has bike paths only in its park area, although some local businesses have installed racks.

Drayovitch said discussions about adding more bike paths have "come up periodically through the park committee." However, because of a limited area of land the borough controls, he wasn't sure what could be added.

"The borough is a fairly compact area," he said. "It's fairly easy and convenient to get around on a bicycle."

• Officials in New Holland and Ephrata boroughs both said they have not seen more bikes on their streets.

A few local bicycle retailers said Wednesday the gas crunch isn't affecting sales much — the economy is too depressed and the price of new bicycles is rising sharply because of an increase in the cost of the aluminum used to make them — but they said people are fixing up old bikes and outfitting them with racks and saddlebags.

"They're pulling them out of their garages, trying to save a penny where they can," said Bill Bradley, manager of Bike Line at 117 Rohrerstown Road.

"We're seeing a sharp increase in the number of repairs," added Bob Addams, owner of Bicycle & Fitness Outfitters in Elizabethtown.

"People are running around town on their bikes to get a few things instead of using the car so much," he said. "Hopefully they're getting some exercise, too."

E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com

E-mail: stephweaver@lnpnews.com