montgomery county today
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The county’s trail network provides a safe alternative to on-
road riding.
Bike parking is available at 22 of SEPTA’s 41 regional rail
stations.
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Pottstown
Norristown
Lansdale
Collegeville
Jenkintown
Conshohocken
476
276
76
476
t
u
422
t
u
202
611
100
309
Hatboro
Ambler
Pennsburg
73
663
29
29
73
BicyclePA
Secondary Route
Primary Route
FIGURE 70:
Recommended On-Road Bike Routes
Most of the roads that serve Montgomery County lack
special bicycle facilities. This forces riders into vehicle
travel lanes, which makes riding more dangerous and
uncomfortable—and may make drivers nervous as well.
Some of the problems these riders encounter include
narrow roads, speeding traffic, congestion, roadway
obstructions, and limited facilities at destinations. In
addition, most development is oriented towards vehicles
rather than bicyclists, often making it harder for these
users to access their destinations.
The lack of adequate on-road bike facilities in
Montgomery County can be attributed to a few factors.
For one, the limited cartway widths of certain roads
obstruct easy widening to allow for bike lanes. But the
fragmentary nature of roadway ownership makes
contiguous bike facilities difficult to create. The majority
of roads in the county are owned and maintained by either
PennDOT (which handles the higher level roads that
carry traffic throughout the county) or the local
municipalities through which roads traverse.
PennDOT’s policy for on-road bike lanes is to place all
liability and maintenance responsibilities onto the local
jurisdiction—even for PennDOT-owned roadways. Both
entities support and recognize the need for integrated on-
road bike facilities. Recently PennDOT, working with
DVRPC, several county governments, local
municipalities, and bicycle advocacy groups have made
progress to review and revise this policy.
Racks for bikes are available at several regional rail
stations in the county. The amount varies by line, but all
seven Montgomery County stations along the Paoli/
Thorndale line have racks (33 total) with capacity for 93
bikes. Along the Lansdale/Doylestown line, 12 of 16
stations have a total 45 racks with the capacity for 98
bikes. Only two of the six county stations along the
Manayunk/Norristown line (Norristown Transportation
Center and Spring Mill) have racks—ten total, with space
for 20 bikes.
Source: Montgomery County Planning Commission
