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Ramp To Replace Stairs For Ben Franklin Bridge Pedestrians and Cyclists

By Mike DeNardo

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- A bicycle and pedestrian ramp at the New Jersey end of the Ben Franklin Bridge is one step closer to reality, now that funding has been announced.

Currently, if you take your bike across the south walkway of the Ben Franklin bridge, you'll have to carry it up or down about three flights of stairs at the Camden end.

But funding for design and construction of a more cyclist-friendly ramp is part of a new, $4-million package for 13 bike trail projects across the region.

"The Ben Franklin Bridge project is probably the biggest and most visible," says Barry Seymour,  executive director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, which approved the funding.  "Other projects are on the Manayunk Bridge across the Schuylkill River, projects up in Mercer County, Burlington County, out in Chester County -- all over."

The funding is part of a $10-million grant from the William Penn Foundation to build a 750-mile trail network around the region.

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