On today's Take Note we're talking with Centre Regional Planning Agency's Senior Transportation Planner, Trish Meek, and the Mayor of State College, Ezra Nanes, about biking in the Centre Region. The Centre Region has been recognized as a silver level bicycle friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists. And since taking office, biking infrastructure development has been a top priority for Ezra Nanes and the State College borough.
Here's that conversation:
John Weber
Trish Meek and Ezra Nanes thank you for talking with us today.
Trish Meek
It's great to be here.
Ezra Nanes
It is. It's wonderful to be here, John, thanks for having us.
John Weber
What does it take to be a silver level bicycle friendly community?
Trish Meek
From a regional perspective, there's an organization called The League of American Bicyclists, and they have set up a program where they evaluate communities based on some "E's" they call them. So engineering, education, encouragement, evaluation. And they start to look at communities to see if they meet those minimum standards related to how many miles of bike paths do you have? Do you have educational programs? How do you get people interested in active in riding? Originally, the Centre Region applied for this designation in 2012, and we were bronze. We were very happy in December of 2020, when we were elevated to a silver level community. So, you can go to platinum. So there's a lot of work to be done. And so we're happy to always be working on these types of projects.
John Weber
Yeah, some progress to go steps between to get there to the next level. Ezra, throughout your campaign for Mayor and time in office, you've prioritized the importance of inclusion, justice, and equity. How does your plan to improve bike infrastructure further these goals?
Ezra Nanes
When people ask me what I want to work on, I always talk about bikes. But I then I stop, and I come back, And I say the foundation of everything we do is inclusion, equity, justice. So that's the foundational work that we have to do. But there are so many things that we can do. So what I've been doing is ridiculously oversimplifying to bike infrastructure investment. And the power of these investments is that they increase access to community resources. And they make it possible for people of all ages to get safely and efficiently to parts of the community, the resources of the community. And that makes it more equitable, because you don't have to necessarily buy and pay for and park and fuel a vehicle, a car, to get somewhere that you need to go. Being able to bike and walk places makes it easier to get around. But increasing access to community resources and reducing the overall cost of transportation for individuals are two ways that investing in this infrastructure makes our community more equitable and inclusive.
Trish Meek
And sustainable. So we always have to put the plug in there.
Ezra Nanes
Yes. Thank you!
Trish Meek
The Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) just adopted a climate action and adaptation plan. And biking is a big part of that plan and how we meet those goals.
Ezra Nanes
Under sustainability there is a lot of incredible stuff. And for me, personally...there's a lot of things. There's investing in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. But the transformational effort is the pedestrian and bike infrastructure investments that we are going to make.
Trish Meek
Yeah, and we always love to use the phrase people powered transportation. So really, that's at the heart of what we need to do in our region to meet all of the goals that Ezra just talked about. How do we get people moving in different ways?
John Weber
With the local affordable housing shortage and high cost of living, people who may not have a car may need to live farther away and bike in. Are their bike infrastructure plans to address these potential cost of living disparities?
Trish Meek
I'll just start off by saying that in 2015, the Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) adopted a bike plan so that we can bring up and collect data on existing conditions. So what is on the ground and what have the municipalities already planned for? But what that will lead us to is in 2023, and '24, we're going to move towards what is likely an active transportation plan. So more than just biking. So pedestrian activity as well. That will give us a much larger breadth of what we need to do. Biking has come so far since that plan was originally adopted in 2015. And I don't just mean in the Centre Region, I mean globally. So things that have happened in recent years, have helped people understand there's different ways to move. And the entire issue related to affordable housing, and cost of living, you can look at the data. It's much cheaper to bike and you're getting other benefits. So you're getting outside, you're active. That plan will start to look at it in a much larger area. And I think that it will actually develop a much bigger footprint for what we need to do.
Ezra Nanes
Investing in affordable housing for our workforce and for people of differing socio-economic levels is top priority for the Borough Council in State College. And having more housing available within the borough and in the population center so that we do reduce some of those long transit times for people who are working in our businesses, which we need. The other thing I want to say is that the borough we are a municipality that has a budget that has to pass and fund all of our projects that go cross through the borough or in the borough in any way. However, Trish is really the key and the COG because this transit and infrastructure is not isolated to the borders of a municipality. It is regional, truly, because we have to look at that plan that Trish has and see that it's not just the borough, it's Ferguson, Patton, Halfmoon, it's Harris. Together, it's College. We all have to work together to connect the dots on this infrastructure so that if you do live out further and one of the townships that you can hop on an arterial bike lane and get into the place where you're working. Maybe it's Penn State, maybe it's one of our local businesses. So I think it's really important that we see how these things fit together. And that COG master plan is essential to the future of transportation in the region.
Trish Meek
And municipal boundaries are not a barrier. And everyone, our elected officials know that. They recognize it. And that's why it's important that we do a regional plan to connect all those routes.
Ezra Nanes
The thing with the regional plan is that unless the regional plan is being funded by the regional body, the regional plan isn't a plan that is definitely happening. So what we need to do is have all of municipalities line up, say, "this is our plan, and we are going to plan and invest in all of these projects." And that's the effort that we're in now, is to say, "we have a great plan, but we need to do the plan." And every municipality has to commit to that. I've been thinking about this in terms of cardiovascular life, you have arteries, right? We need these bike arteries where...like Atherton. Atherton's a car artery, it is not a pedestrian and bike artery right now.
John Weber
Slightly clogged artery at that. (laughing)
Ezra Nanes
Yes, maybe. Right, and we can unclog that artery for cars (laugh) by adding bike arteries. That's the thing. So if you can hop on a bike, or an E-bike, or in the future, even an E-scooter and get from A to B really efficiently, that is going to reduce traffic, make things more accessible. And then you start building these veins and capillaries that branch out right into all the neighborhoods in different areas to access all the resources.
Trish Meek
Yeah, and I think I heard you say once, Ezra, that the more people that bike, the safer it is to bike.
Ezra Nanes
Yes.
Trish Meek
So when we get people to move from cars to bikes, then people that are in motor vehicles, learn how to react and act around bikes, and it becomes so much safer.
John Weber
Thinking about kind of the safety of cyclists, you know, many bikers, they all talk about the tensions of sharing the road with motorists. Not all bikers are as confident in their ability to travel safely on busy streets or feel safe when there's no designated bike lanes. Are dedicated bike lanes with barriers from traffic a possibility in State College and the region in the future?
Ezra Nanes
Since you mentioned State College, I'm going to say emphatically yes. Definitively, yes. And that is the work that we are undertaking now. Like this work is not new. This is something that's ongoing. So when I come to office, I am simply someone who is going to talk about this a lot. But I am not the first person to talk about bikes. I did not invent this idea. But we need dedicated separated bike corridors and pedestrian corridors as well, so that cyclists are safe. And we have, we have bike corridors now. But in some cases, they are simply designated as a bike corridor with a bike painted in the middle of a road, that is a busy road for cars. And I grew up in the middle of Manhattan in New York City. I grew up biking where there were no bike lanes, it was four lanes of traffic. And as a young man, it was kind of exciting. It was definitely dangerous. So I'm comfortable biking with cars because I've done it for my whole life. But that is not the norm. And I would not have my children do that. And I would not have my mother, you know, in her 80's do that. But they should all be able to bike the same places that I can. It should not just be me willing to risk my... or understand how to navigate that. Probably the hardest part of this is that it's a shift in mindset and culture that has to be undertaken by the entire community to prioritize bike and pedestrian safety. And that's not really the mindset just yet. There are a lot of people who care about this. And I will say from being somebody who bikes a lot on all roads everywhere. I think we have really wonderful people driving but it is not always that safe. There are people who don't understand the rules and all it takes is one. So I think we have to really change the way we think about getting around and how we prioritize who is moving through a particular transportation section.
Trish Meek
Yeah, and I'll just add on to that, you know from an overall design perspective, we have just moved forward light years related to things called protected or separated bike lanes. And we know sometimes there are urban environments where you can't put in a full bike lane at that time. But these protected bike lanes are appearing everywhere. So we're starting to see them, they're more accepted by the engineering community. And that's the key. So one step at a time, we're getting much closer to providing those types of facilities. We don't have any yet. But I think that it's only a matter of time before we start to see them. And it's really about how people feel when they're riding. And some people will never feel comfortable in a roadway. And it's okay. But there's a large volume of people that will if we give them the right facility to ride in. And that's the goal, provide the infrastructure, and then the change will occur things.
Ezra Nanes
So there's some small connectors that we can do. And then we can start building to these bigger initiatives that cross municipal boundaries and things like that. We're not saying that nobody gets to drive a car anymore. We have cars. We live in the middle of Pennsylvania. At some point, you're probably going to need or want a car, but we're talking about reducing car trips, because it's so much easier than to bike and walk places. So you reduce the times people are getting in cars, reducing traffic, reducing demands on parking, and all the other associated effects.
Trish Meek
It's all about a balanced system. And that's what we need to emphasize, we need to accommodate everyone. And we know that there are a lot of people that want to walk and bike more. And if we make it safer, they will do it. And I just want to point out, when you walk and bike, you want the shortest path possible because you're using your own fuel, which is your body. You want to get from A to B quickly and safely. And I hope that when we do roll out public involvement for the upcoming plan, that people show up and tell us what they want, so that we can make it happy.
Ezra Nanes
We are a platinum when it comes to the people, I will say that (laughing). We are, we are platinum on the people. We have great people working on this in the borough, at the COG. So we just got to fill out the infrastructure.
Trish Meek
And why you'll see us do more than just engineering. So encouragement and education are critical just to let people know where they can ride. How they can ride. And by doing that infrastructure projects take time and money. Education and encouragement, we can give people the tools so that they can start riding now and they can ride more when the infrastructure is in place.
John Weber
Circling back to that bicycle education piece, Trish. We know that Pennsylvania law often requires four feet of distance to pass a cyclist on the road. But it seems like most drivers don't appear to know this law. How do you plan to address bicycle safety education and violations that are occurring?
Trish Meek
It's a really important question because as more people ride on the road, we want them to feel safe. And drivers need to follow the law. When the law was passed by the state of Pennsylvania, there wasn't a large release of information to the public. So if anybody's seen construction sites with the flashing variable message boards, as we call them. We're trying to use those during certain times of the year, to alert people it is the law to provide four feet to pass. One other thing that's really critical to our area is... there are league cycling instructors. So they're certified by the League of American Bicyclists. And we have six new ones coming into play in the Centre Region. CentreBike, which is the regional bike advocacy group, hosted a workshop. And individuals have been trained. And so you're going to see more qualified instructors out there teaching skills like on-road riding. But how do we get the information to the driver? That's the question, right? We can educate cyclists, but how do we get the driver engaged and understanding? And we're just going to try to roll out more information via social media. And PennDOT itself has tried to provide additional information. When you receive your driver's license renewal form in the mail. You might have received one that on the envelope has information about the four-foot pass law. So you might see PennDOT as well trying to distribute information. And really, we need that question when a 16-year-old takes the exam for the first time that they drive. We need them to know the law and that's a critical component, teaching new drivers how to drive.
John Weber
That's great news. If you're just joining us this is Take Note on WPSU. I'm John Weber. And today we're talking with Senior Transportation Planner, Trish Meek, and State College Mayor, Ezra Nanes, about biking Infrastructure and transportation inclusivity in the Centre Region. As the bike infrastructure in the Centre Region continues to develop, what can bikers, pedestrians, and motorists do to facilitate safe biking?
Trish Meek
I'll start with one single word, awareness. It's really important whether you are walking, biking or driving that you are aware of your surroundings. I think that if you are driving a large vehicle on a road, it is highly incumbent upon you to make sure you know what's in front of you. And if you see a biker, or pedestrian, you are aware of them, and that you prioritize their safety over your convenience in that moment. And I'll add to that, earbuds. In the state of Pennsylvania, you cannot wear earbuds in both ears and ride a bike. So it's against the law. You can use one for communication only. And it ties into just knowing what's going on around you. You have to hear and see how others are reacting in order to be safe on the roadway. So, ensure that you do that. And if you want to learn more about biking, with these new cycling instructors that we have, there'll be more street skills classes. So if you want to learn about riding in the road, what to do, and be a defensive cyclist. So make yourself seen when you're out there. We don't need people wearing black at night and not using lights. Lights are required in the state of Pennsylvania. When it's dark, you have to have a white front light and a red rear reflector. We say use lights all the time. Have them on and use a red rear light that blinks because we know motion attracts individuals, and they notice it. And with distracted driving, what it is in our community and in our country, you just need to be the person that everyone sees when you're out there. And that's a great way to be safer when you're riding.
Ezra Nanes
Absolutely, that's such a good point, Trisha, as a cyclist, you want to always make sure that you know that the people driving around you can see you. The way we design our roads so that they are safer for bikes and pedestrians, that is foundational. And if you don't do that you cannot ultimately solve this problem entirely by being a great cyclist. We need to make it safe by making the infrastructure safe as well.
Trish Meek
And Complete Streets is something that you're going to hear a lot about in the coming years. And the concept is, when you build or redesign, or do maintenance on a street, you need to do everything possible to ensure that all modes can use it. When it comes to infrastructure, it really changes the way that people use that facility. So a narrow street with trees, people automatically drive slower. You know, the speed limit sign that you post on the side of the road does not drive how fast someone travels on that roadway. It is how it is physically constructed. There is really an acknowledgment now by the engineering and the planning world that this is more significant than anyone ever thought. We talk about cyclists, but we need to think about it in a way that cyclists can be as young as two or three years old. So when you design that facility, you need recovery areas to handle young, starting, inexperienced cyclists. And we really need to start thinking about (ages) 2 to 99, when we design these facilities, not just what everyone thinks is the typical cyclist. Back to the kind of the infrastructure and the planning on a regional level for the cycling projects. I know that it's a bit of a slow process generally to get things approved on a regional level. But how are these projects for cycling, usually funded and constructed in the Centre Region?
Ezra Nanes
Absolutely. We were talking about the region and how we have to work together. I want to add Penn State to that. Because Penn State, hugely important partner in this effort to create safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure and complete streets. So there's infrastructure money out there right now...this is... I've really...a lot of people in, in government that have been through this before, this is generational money. This is not every year kind of money that's coming through right now. So we need to grab it and make sure that we can get some to do these projects, because one thing they take Trish is a lot of money, right? They take investment. And we're making these investments, of this scale, in parking and roads for cars currently. But we are not making that scale of investment, currently, in our comprehensive bike infrastructure. And that's what we do need to do. So we're going to work together and make this happen.
Trish Meek
We have a regional plan. So we're setting...we have that blueprint that will be put in place. So we may have a project that crosses regional boundaries, and we partner, you know, with local shares to make that happen. But ultimately, when it comes down to making projects happen, it's the local elected officials for that municipality and their staff that drives the process. Now, we're here to help. And there is a considerable amount of funding that's out there at the state and federal level. We just need to be ready to grab that money. Go for the money, get it, and then implement projects. And the plan is the foundation. So luckily, our municipalities and our elected officials for decades have been there to seek funding and make projects happen when they're possible.
Ezra Nanes
And we need to encourage partnerships with our local businesses and institutions that do have large workforces to have those facilities at their businesses so people can bike commute. So they can get to work and park the bike safely, in a dry spot. Hang up a you know a wet you know shell or jacket of some kind. Maybe even take a shower if it's a hot time of the year. That's all really essential to enabling bike commuting. When I go to any of my borough business, I am always on my bike. And it's been mostly cooler weather since I've officially taken over. But when it gets to be June, July, August, biking to council meetings, it's gonna be hot. But institutions need to have places for bikes and parking. Anytime I see a new building, anywhere. The first thing I do is I look around and say, "Where are the bike racks?" And sometimes, and I have to say sometimes, with some of the new buildings that have gone up, I will stand on the corner and look at that building. And I will look both ways, and I will not see a bike rack. This is a failure of planning. Some of the new buildings plan very extensively. We have new developments going in now that have hundreds of bike parking spots permanently inside and street level parking. And that's what every new development needs to be thinking about. Where is the bikes parking, how are we enabling this? So great point, Trish.
Trish Meek
Yeah. And we also need to make sure that they're great bike racks for any cyclist who shown up and found the substandard rack that doesn't support their bike properly and could damage it. It's a disappointment. Companion to the bicycle friendly community program, there's a bicycle friendly business program. And it can encourage and provide support to businesses. State College borough is leading the way. They're now a gold level bicycle friendly business. So they have the highest standing in the community right now with that. But we want to see dozens of bicycle friendly businesses, because you're providing services to the community beyond the typical. And it's good for your employees. So some of the current bicycle friendly businesses have bike clubs. So they'll ride over lunch, right. They'll offer prizes. One local business actually offered to pay for the cost of a bike if you committed to riding X-number of miles per week, or month. So in good weather. So you know there are...we understand there's restrictions here. And one of the things that we hear is that, "how can you ride when there's snow and ice." And I heard this quote at a conference years ago, and I loved it, "There is no bad weather, just bad clothing."
John Weber
Well said.
Trish Meek
Yeah, with the exception of ice, which can be a very dangerous situation when you're on the bike. I've taken a number of spills. Really, there's great gear out there. There's, you know, waterproof and windproof. And you know, you can do it and you can ride in all types of weather, if you choose that. When you look at some of the most bike friendly communities in this country, Minneapolis. They get snow, they probably get more snow than us and it gets colder there. And people are riding in large numbers. So it's really about the mindset.
John Weber
What are the bike improvements that we can expect to see soon in the region and State College? There are some projects underway. This year, we've got in the budget, a bike lane on Westerly and Easterly Parkway. So that's a really great corridor that needs this investment and that is in the budget. So that's happening. Another really important project that I want to flag because it is in development stages is Calder Alley. Calder Alley is a street that crosses through much of the borough of City College. It's between College and Beaver Avenues. And it is currently an alley with curbs and a lot of utilities. But there's using some of this federal ARPA money, there is work being done on the sewers. And as we dig up that entire corridor, we want to rebuild it as a bike and pedestrian prioritized corridor with outdoor seating and some nature and arts and culture. But that is something that I really feel is it going to be a signature project for the borough, and it's going to create an even more walkable, bikeable core downtown that's going to benefit a lot of businesses.
Trish Meek
Yeah, I'll just say there's some studies going on in some of the municipalities. And you know, each municipality has a different approach to which corridors they're evaluating. And I will say that our elected officials and our municipal staffs are always out there actively seeking funds to make projects happen. And a lot of times, some of these very critical linkages and connections are developer funded. I'll just say it doesn't always come from the government side of funding. So there's a really valuable tool called the "Official Map" that is used in some of the municipalities, where you actually draw lines where you want to see facilities. And when developers come in and show intent to actually put a development in that area, we ask them to consider that. And there's some clauses in there that gives the municipality the ability to purchase that property. So it starts a one-year clock. So there's a lot of technicality and law and how these things work. But Ferguson Township, for example, has been very successful in working with developments as part of their overall program and having developers build those facilities. And when you have somewhat of a blank palette, as far as there's clear property...the borough's a little more challenging because it is an urban built environment. And developments are a little different there. But for example, a newer development near the proposed White Hall Regional Park. The Blue Course Drive section of that roadway that was built that will connect from Whitehall Road to the new park. There's a shared use path along there. It was built as part of the development and it's a critical connection that will get us to the Musser Gap Greenway. So there's many different projects out there. Some are publicly funded; some are privately funded. They're all important though.
John Weber
Oh, yeah, that Blue Course to Musser Gap Valley Lands project is one of the things I'm most excited about too. Some of its outside the borough, but the university is giving land to connect Rothrock State Forest, Musser Gap to the Valley Lands that go across and reach up to Whitehall and Blue Course. So you connect nature with population centers, with a preserved natural space that helps our watershed. Preserves views and beauty, it's a really important project. I want to see Penn State see that one through because it's just in its, you know, early developmental stages. But that's a great one to flag, Trish. And there's so many others, there's some low hanging fruit, there's some big visions. When you think about communities across the country, how many are there where you can be in a vibrant downtown center, and within 15 minutes, you can ride to a magnificent natural area that's free to use? I'll just emphasize, we are so fortunate to have state game lands and state forest lands here with immense acreage that are free to use, and you can ride and walk there free once the connections are made. It's not seen in many other areas of the country.
Ezra Nanes
Yeah. And on top of that there's work in in Rothrock State Forest, Friends or Rothrock are developing additional trails to connect that gap to the trail network and fire road network on the other side of the mountain there. So it's like, it's all connecting to increase access on a tremendous scale. It's really, really amazing.
Trish Meek
Yeah, and when you think about it, previously, you needed a vehicle to get there. But when this connections made, you don't. So it's, everyone can use it. And it's a resource that's available to everyone. It was intended for the state forest to be open to everyone. And now it will be. I mean, you can't really think of anything more magnificent than that.
John Weber
That's the first I've heard about that connection, the Musser Gap. That's great.
Trish Meek
We have facilities for young children and families and hardcore road cyclists. But we also have these tremendous gravel paths, and single-track in the forest. This just doesn't happen everywhere. The races, the types of races that we attract, the potential here from that just because we have access to these trails is incredible.
John Weber
It's a lot to look forward to.
Trish Meek
Absolutely. Big, big, big things are coming for the Centre Region with biking.
John Weber
Thank you, Trish and Ezra, for talking with us today.
Ezra Nanes
Thanks, John.
Trish Meek
Thanks for having us.
John Weber
Trish Meek is the Senior Transportation Planner for bikes and pedestrians at the Centre Regional Planning Agency. Ezra Nanes is the Mayor of State College. For more information on Community Bike resources and events visit wpsu.org/takenote. I'm John Weber, WPSU.
