Schuylkill River Greenways Unveils New Bike Repair Stations on River Trail

A bike sits next to a bright green bike repair station at the Schuylkill River Greenway’s office in Pottstown, along the Schuylkill River Trail.

Schuylkill River Greenways NHA Photo

Philadelphia, PA (December 19, 2019) – If you’ve ever ventured out on what you thought would be a refreshing bike ride, but instead found yourself seven miles from home with squishy tires, Schuylkill River Greenways has your back.

An all-new bike repair station opened on Thursday, Dec. 13 at the Schuylkill River Trail’s Walnut Street Trailhead, under the Walnut Street Bridge in Philadelphia. The Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area, along with representatives from Schuylkill River Development Corporation, REI Co-Op, The Circuit Trails Coalition, and Pennsylvania congressman Brian Sims and congresswoman Donna Bullock, attended the official ribbon cutting. Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area paid for the station, and six others coming soon. Schuylkill River Development Organization, based in center city Philadelphia, installed the station itself.

The bike repair station features an air pump, bike rack, and all the tools cyclists need to adjust and repair common bike problems on the go. In addition to the Walnut Street Bridge location, six more bike repair stations will open soon along the 75 miles of trail. Other bike repair locations will include East Falls, Phoenixville, Spring City, Pottstown, Union Township, and Birdsboro.

The Schuylkill River Greenways NHA boundary includes the river corridor, from its headwaters in Tuscarora, Schuylkill County, PA, to where the river flows into the Delaware River in Philadelphia. While there is potential to have a 137 mile trail, 75 miles of paved bikeway currently exist, with more paved trails under development or in the planning stages. The Schuylkill River watershed is the most densely populated region in Pennsylvania, with over three million inhabitants in the 1700 sq. mile region. Close to 25 percent of the U.S. population lives within a five hour drive of the scenic river.

Each year, the Schuylkill River Greenways NHA holds its popular Ride for the River event, hosting hundreds of cyclists as they bike dozens of miles and then relax with a music festival and locally-made ale. Sly Fox Brewery, a partner of Schuylkill River Greenways, brews their SRT ale especially for the NHA and, this past year, gifted them $7,763.25 of the SRT ale’s proceeds.

Schuylkill River Greenways Executive Director, Elaine Paul Schaefer, hopes the repair stations will serve the cyclists who love the trail, and encourage more riders to explore the river. “We believe the fix-it stations will help trail users have a positive experience and help connect more people to this incredible regional resource,” Schaefer said.

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