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November 16, 2011

W-B has laid groundwork for bikers, expert says

By Matt Hughes mhughes@timesleader.com
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WILKES-BARRE – Transforming Wilkes-Barre from a drive-in drive-out community to a cyclist’s paradise won’t happen overnight, but local cycling advocates have laid the groundwork to make it easier to get around town on two wheels, an urban cycling advocate said Tuesday.

“(Wilkes-Barre is) a city that has great bones for bicycling,” said Alex Doty, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. “What you’re missing is a great infrastructure for bicyclists.”

Speaking to about 75 community leaders and cycling enthusiasts at Genetti’s Hotel and Conference Center Tuesday, Doty said the area has taken important early steps towards building a more bike-friendly city by building trails like the Wyoming Valley Levee and Back Mountain trails and creating awareness of bike riders.

Though only a fraction of a percent of area residents commute to work by bike, 23 percent of city households do not own a car and 9 percent walk to work. That means there is room for expansion, Doty said.

But expanding urban biking infrastructure will require significant planning, money and, most importantly, collaboration among interested parties.

Doty said disparate groups in Philadelphia tried for years to secure funds to build sections of the Schuylkill River Trail, but failed to win support among their government representatives until they combined their efforts. When they did, they were able to secure $23 million in federal grant funding, and spurred a biking infrastructure buildup that has given Philadelphia twice as many bike commuters as any other major American city.

Cycling proponents said the local cycling movement is growing strong and excited to meet those challenges.

Albert Martino, founder of BikeWB.org, said he has collected more than 2,000 signatures in support of building bike lanes in Wilkes-Barre, and Bill MacLunny, president of the Luzerne County Transit Authority bus drivers’ union, said he’s seen a significant increase in bike commuters since the LCTA installed bike racks on its buses last year.

“There’s a lot more people riding,” MacLunny said. “People taking them to work and riding back because we don’t run that late, or riding them in and going back on the buses.”

Recent months have also seen the development of a trails and greenways master plan to link Luzerne County’s trails and the introduction of a bike share program based at Genetti’s.

Wilkes-Barre spokesman Drew McLaughlin said the city supports the efforts of local cycling advocates, and that the addition of biking infrastructure will build on the infrastructure investments the city has already made, like the construction of the Intermodal Transportation Center, downtown streetscape renovation and Coal Street corridor project.

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