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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

New I-95 bridge should serve walkers, cyclists
The Scudder Falls Bridge heading into New Jersey. A new, $300 million toll bridge may not have room for bikes or pedestrians. (Laurence Kesterson / Staff Photographer)

 

Along a bucolic stretch of the Delaware River in Bucks County, it would be an absurd planning decision to build a new bridge that made no room for cyclists and hikers to cross between two historic canal trails.
 
Yet that’s exactly where the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission appears to be heading with its planned, $300 million toll bridge on I-95.
 
The new Scudder Falls Bridge linking Bucks and Mercer counties will have nine lanes for traffic, but bridge commission officials are crying poor about the cost of adding a walkway.
 
There are canal paths along each side of the river, stretching north to New Hope and Lambertville. State parks also flank the Delaware on both banks.
 
So the thought that bridge commission officials would miss an opportunity to provide a crucial link for recreational use of the area is mind-boggling.
 
Talk about decision-making that’s locked in a time warp: What happened to planning for “green” uses — like cycling and hiking? Or is the bridge commission fixated solely on moving as many people as possible by gas-guzzling cars, trucks, and buses?
 
Commission officials are seeking comments from the public, with a supposed deadline Thursday. Let them know that not one dime should be spent on a new bridge unless the design also provides a way for people to cross the river on foot and two wheels.
 
Comment by e-mail to ScudderfallsbridgeEAcomments@hntb.com or 1-800-879-0849.
Posted by Inquirer Editorial Board @ 1:44 PM  Permalink | 2 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:29 PM, 02/03/2010
    Thanks for calling attention to this. I've been driving across the existing bridge for 13 years and always try to glance north or south to catch the view of the river. It's a beautiful spot. It's so nice to cross the Washington's Crossing Bridge and share the bridge with pedestrians and cyclists. It would be so refreshing to the same at car-friendly Scudders Falls.
    — thephillyman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:14 AM, 02/04/2010
    Of course it should have pedestrian lanes. Why on earth, though, does it need 9 lanes for traffic. Right now, the 4 lane bridge is more than adequate, considering that New Jersey (illegally) prevented the completion of I-95 to connect up with I-287 to protect its Turnpike from free competition. Thus, I-95 essentially goes to nowhere, although truckers take it and then NJ-31 to avoid the tolls. Unless we are going to court to force NJ to build the only section of I-95 that never was built, we don't need that costly or large a bridge.
    — Palestra Jon


2 comments
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