Bike Programs, Community Garden Win Awards

Assistant Borough Manager Erica Batdorf demonstrates how to
put a Bike Pottstown bike on the front of a PART Bus
this summer when the Bike and Ride program was announced.

Transportation initiatives based in Pottstown, and the borough’s community garden are now award winners.

Biking projects were recently recognized with three awards from Communities in Motion, a foundation associated with the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association dedicated to sustainable communities.

The “Bike and Ride” program initiated this year by Pottstown Area Rapid Transit, which allowed for bicycles to be carried by PART buses, won the only award in the “Development” category.

The “Bike Schuylkill” program developed by the Pottstown-based Schuylkill River Heritage Area was one of nine award winners in the “Park, Recreation of Open Space” project.

The Bike Schuylkill program (known as Bike Pottstown in Pottstown), managed by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area, is a completely free bike share available in three Schuylkill River Trail communities: Phoenixville, Pottstown and Hamburg.

Schuylkill River Heritage Area Executive Director 

Silas Chamberlin, left, and grants program coordinator 

Tim Fenchel with their Star Award. 

The program’s signature yellow cruisers can be borrowed at no cost to anyone aged 16 or over providing a driver’s license or valid state ID.

“We are pleased to have this very successful program recognized by our partners,” said Schuylkill River Heritage Area Executive Director Silas Chamberlin. “Bike Schuylkill and Bike Pottstown not only encourage healthy lifestyles for people who ride on the Schuylkill River Trail, it also affords an alternative means of transportation. People borrow the bikes for doctors’ appointments, shopping and even job interviews.

In the “Planning” category, the “Walk and Bike Pottstown” program — which aims to improve walkability and bikability in Pottstown with Safe Routes to Schools and added bike lanes — was one of six award winners.

Communities in Motion also recognized Pottstown Assistant Borough Manager Erica Batdorf as the first ever “Sustainability Super Star” for her ongoing significant support of multiple sustainability projects in the Borough of Pottstown and beyond, including Walk & Bike Pottstown and Pottstown Area Rapid Transit.

MOSAIC Garden Director Laura Washington, with some

young visitors.

Batdorf, who is a board member of Communities in Motion, also gave a presentation at the award ceremony on the Walk and Bike Pottstown program.

* * *

It’s not just things in motion in Pottstown that have been recognized. An award was also provided to something that is very much rooted in one place.

Mosaic Community Gardens on Chestnut took home a Blue Ribbon at in this year’s Pennsylvania Horticulture Society’s Gardening and Greening Contest.

A blue ribbon and garden sign have been awarded to the gardens for its ability to motivate people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture in the category of Community Combination Garden.

There's a Rack for That

Have you ever seen a place that you might like to bike, but you don't want to or can't bike to get there?

There's a rack for that.

And its on the front of Pottstown's signature PART buses.

VeloPorter bike racks, funded by a PennDOT grant, have been installed on all PART buses.

This allows bike riders to easily load their own personal bicycles, or any of the free Bike Pottstown bikes, onto the bus and ride to their biking destination.

A kick-off event with practice loading and explanations about how the service will work will be held today at Smith Family Plaza in front of borough hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"Pottstown is growing as a multi-modal destination," according to Jennifer Ridgway, PART's director of operations.

She said being able to walk, bike or ride a bike to work or to school "is an affordable and sustainable alternative to traveling by car."

"The success of Bike Pottstown is no doubt related to the growing demand of the Pottstown community to explore our region, achieve a healthier lifestyle and enjoy the outdoors," said Tim Fenchel, grants coordinator for the Schuylkill River Heritage Area.

"The PART Bike & Ride Program will only enhance the user experience for bicyclists in the Pottstown area," he said.

PART, which stands for Pottstown Area Rapid Transit, serves a 54-mile area in the borough and the townships of Lower Pottsgrove, Upper Pottsgrove, West Pottsgrove, Limerick and North Coventry.

Peddle and Paddle Around Pottstown

The signature yellow bikes from the free bike share
program called Bike Pottstown

Blogger's Note: So slap me silly and call me Susan if this doesn't sound like a lot of fun to you, BTW, this post was brazenly stolen word for word from a link at the Schuylkill River National Hertiage Area:

The Schuylkill River Heritage Area will host three Pedal and Paddle events this summer that will take participants on a round-trip biking/kayaking adventure from Pottstown to Douglassville.

This is the second year the Heritage Area will organize Pedal and Paddles, which proved overwhelmingly popular when they were introduced last year.

The first event will take place on Saturday, June 30, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The others will be held on July 21 and Sept. 15.



Having recently helped spruce up Ganshahawny Park,
I can tell you from personal experience, it's a very nice place.

A fourth event, featuring a bike ride through Pottstown, with no paddling, will be held on August 25.

Each Pedal and Paddle will begin with a 4.5 mile bike ride from Pottstown’s Riverfront Park to Historic Morlatton Village in Douglassville, using yellow cruisers from the Bike Pottstown bike share program.

Participants will be given a guided tour of Morlatton Village, then take a short bike ride to Douglassville’s Ganshahawny Park.

There, they will eat lunch and receive a brief introduction to kayaking.

Then, they will paddle back to Pottstown in kayaks along the Schuylkill River.

Lunch, bikes, kayaks and all kayaking gear will be provided. Cost of the trip is $25 per person. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required.

The Aug. 25 bike ride will take participants on a guided ride along the Schuylkill River Trail in Pottstown.

Did you know the Schuylkill River Trail, now
goes right through downtown Pottstown?

They will then travel along the borough’s bike lane to Pottsgrove Manor for a tour of the 1752 home of Pottstown founder, John Potts, and afterwards a visit to the Schuylkill River Heritage Area's new River of Revolutions Interpretive Center on College Drive.

The day will end with lunch at a Pottstown eatery. Total cost is $15 per person, bikes and lunch included.

To register for any of the above events, call the Schuylkill River Heritage Area at 484-945-0200.

Please register for the June 30 Pedal and Paddle by June 25. All other registrations due one week before event.