Trails and Other Things

I completed the Schuylkill River Trail count and survey today. It was a beautiful, hot summer day. There were folks out for a long run, a causal ride with a child, and others running errands to the store, etc. One trail user was actually in his car...but brought his family to see where he runs almost daily. They stopped to talk and share their comments about the trail and the work they are seeing all over Berks County.

My favorite responders were those coming/going to work! I love the commuters on the trails. The runners are fun to watch...but I didn't get to chat with many of them. They are so committed to keeping their stride and heart rate up that they didn't get a chance to tell me their opinions about how we are meeting their needs. So: If you're a runner who uses the trail system in Berks -- write to me to let us know what we can do to better serve you. Your input is important -- and we can't meet your needs without your voice in the process of advocacy.

Wonderfully, almost everyone I spoke to was happy to answer questions to help support our trails and to thank us -- advocates, organizations, and funders for making bicycling and walking so much better. They each were eager to share their ideas about how to make biking and walking better as well.

It was fun to see our own Emily Weidner coming back from a Girl Scout training today. She took a small group of Scouts on a ride today. It's always a pleasure to chat with Emily. She is so excited about the application for Bicycle Friendly City status through the League of American Bicyclists. She is so positive -- and determined to see the project through to completion.

We are likely to make good progress if my dreams come true. I am hoping that funding is available to place more bicycle racks in the city. A new member, David, shared some excellent resources: http://www.dero.com/custom_racks.html. Check out all of those designs...but as you are searching through the site, don't miss the Bike Bike Racks -- actual bicycles that serve as functional street art -- for bicycle parking. They can manage up to four bikes -- two on each wheel. Really lots of fun. Of course, a good online search for 'custom bike racks' gives lots of excellent, really neat designs.