The coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt life in the region; overall, residents of Allegheny County are still traveling less compared to 2019. However, bike miles have gone up.

“We pretty much had our best May ever,” said David White, executive director of Healthy Ride, Pittsburgh’s bikeshare system.

The nonprofit’s ridership increased 43 percent from 2019 to 2020. Much of the growth stemmed from Healthy Ride’s partnership with Port Authority: anyone with a Connect Card can take unlimited 15-minute trips. However, beginning May 1 of this year, average trip length increased by 60 percent.

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Greensburg is planning a $389,000 project to improve the Five Star Trail, making the popular running and biking destination more accessible to city residents.

“We’re basically trying to improve the connections between the neighborhoods that are adjacent to the Five Star Trail,” said Jeff Richards, Westmoreland County parks planning coordinator and vice president of the Five Star Trail chapter of the Regional Trail Corporation.

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Last month, SPC Transportation Planner Leann Chaney presented “Planning for Active Transportation in Southwestern Pennsylvania”.

The webinar provided an overview of SPC’s recently adopted active transportation plan and companion, web-based toolkit known as the Active Transportation Resource Center. The Active Transportation Resource Center is a central clearinghouse for the latest information on active transportation. Resources include information on programs that support biking and walking, potential funding opportunities, design guidelines, and more.

“Planning for Active Transportation in Southwestern Pennsylvania” was the first webinar in the Penn State Extension Winter/Spring 2020 Land-Use Webinar Series that runs through May. The series informs municipal elected and appointed officials, planners, landowners, farmers, and community organizations about land-use issues and decisions in their communities.

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