Plans For Bike Ramp On Camden Side Of Ben Franklin Bridge Delayed Again
By David Madden
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) - Biking enthusiasts are wondering why the Delaware River Port Authority decided to remove construction of a ramp on the Camden end of the Ben Franklin Bridge that could accommodate them, as well as the handicapped, from their five-year capital plan.
The Philadelphia end has a ramp, but Camden's has steps and they're not in the best of shape.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has been lobbying for a dozen years to get that changed and really thought 2012 would be the year.
But the agency is focusing on capital projects dealing strictly with safety issues on the bridges and PATCO, although coalition member John Boyle doesn't buy that.
"There's nothing in the mission statement that says pedestrians and bicyclists and the disabled are exempt from their core mission."
Cost estimates for the ramp exceed $3-million. Authority officials stress they have not ruled it out …just delayed it in the name of economy.
