After more than a year of hard work by the staff of Centre Region Council of Governments (COG), along with community input, cyclist support, CentreBike advocacy, and municipal meetings…. the Centre Region Bike Plan was agreed upon and adopted by a vote of the COG General Forum on Tuesday December 15.

This is exciting news for our community!

We want to send a big thank you out to all of the people who made this happen – particulary Trish Meeks, of COG, for her hard work and dedication, and to COG’s Transportation and Land Use Committee, for their support of this effort: Eric Bernier (College Township), Rob Cooper (Penn State University), Theresa Lafer (State College Borough), Jeff Luck, Chair (Patton Township), Todd Kirsten, Vice Chair (Halfmoon Township), Steve Miller (Ferguson Township), Paul Rittenhouse, Sr. (Harris Township).

Take a moment at some point to email, call, or tweet your thanks to your local elected official!

What is the Centre Region Bike Plan?

You can read more about the Centre Region bike plan by checking out the Bike Plan’s Executive Summary. But in a nutshell, it is a long range plan that will guide bicycle infrastructure and programming across all 6 municipalties (plus the Borough and PSU) for years to come.

You can read the summary of the plan, or the full plan, on COG’s website:  www.crcog.net/bikes

What Happens Next?

The Centre Region Bike Plan is intended to be a guide for future decision-making around cycle projects and programs. While some projects are already in motion; others are a long way off.

Each municipality will determine which programs and projects they will fund and implement in the foreseeable future. COG will also use the plan to help guide region-wide decisions, and to inform PennDOT about any potential routes or areas that may impact PennDOT work.

CentreBike will also look to the plan to help us focus our efforts. Many of the shorter-term recommendations are proposals that our members can help with, and we’ll keep you informed about opportunities to get involved.

One of CentreBike’s big goals is to continue to improve bicycle safety in our community. We’re lucky to have safe routes, paths, and roads for cycling, but we believe there is always room for improvement.

That’s why we’re proud to share that, through a partnership with the Centre Region Bicycle Advisory Commitee, the State College Borough and State College Area School District, we’ve helped to implement an important new program at State College High School this year.

As part of the required Driver’s Education class, 400 students per year will learn how to share the road safely, as motorists and as cyclists.

The material focuses on state laws surrounding bikes and cars – to make sure our newest drivers know exactly what the laws are, whether they are behind the wheel, or out on their bikes.We know that not everyone in our community is familiar with these laws, and this program is another positive step in the right direction.

Special thanks to Kelly Doyle, from the State College Borough, for compiling and implementing the materials, and to Brad Fisher, for being a great partner at SCASD. In 2016, we hope to look for other ways to bring this important education to young people in our region!