Letter: Maybe close Creek Road

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on August 9, 2022

I've had a thought that's been on my mind from when I was chair of our first Chadds Ford Open Space Committee a while ago.

During the Dad Vail, Stokesbury, and other regattas on the Schuykill River, Kelly Drive is completely closed all day long, usually from 5 am to 6 pm, to all traffic so spectators and crews can access the river bank;
Media, then West Chester, then Kennett, and Phoenixville regularly close off streets for outdoor dining, and we all love it and adapt.

Here is my question to pose to fellow Chadds Fordians and nearby communities: why should we who like to walk and bike in our beautiful area not be able to enjoy the ride or be able to walk safely on Creek Road on, let's say, a Saturday morning between 5 a.m. and noon? Why not have the road closed to vehicular (four-wheeled) traffic so "share the road" actually MEANS SOMETHING?? This is an all-the-time thing for vehicles traveling in Ridley Creek State Park whose owners live in the park. They travel at 15 mph and are the only people who can use the 5-mile loop used for walkers and bikers. There are enough accesses to get to residences on much of Rte. 100 that I think it could work to divert auto traffic off Rte. 100 for designated periods.

I would never take my bike on any road in Chadds Ford or nearby because it's been too risky in the 30 years I've lived here. Yet you and I pay taxes to maintain roads we don't get to use unless it is in a car or other motor vehicle. By law, a portion of every dollar must be used for ALL traffic. We have become a car-centric country, and it's time to rethink.

I was an advocate for the Octoraro Trail, which would have gone from Pennsbury Township across the Brandywine to meet the Chester Creek Trail, which was planned to tie in with the Middletown Trails, which would have tied into Ridley Creek State Park trails and beyond. And now we have the new Wawa train station where the trail connection to Chester Creek Trail would have been. A perfect [electric or otherwise] bike commute from any of the communities surrounding Baltimore Pike and the Chester Creek Trail. What a missed opportunity that was! Eventually, it will probably still happen, but anything that gets cars off the road is a step toward saving our burning planet, you, and your children and grandchildren—and making our community more walkable and bikeable.