Concrete-protected bike lanes could soon be a reality for Center City streets months of outrage among cyclists in response to a crash that killed a doctor from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The city’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) will go public later this month with a plan to add additional protection, including concrete, for bike lanes on Pine Street and Spruce Street, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia said , an interest group. CBS News Philadelphia.
BCP and other groups have been calling for concrete barriers for years to protect bike lanes along key corridors like Pine and Spruce — where Dr. Barbara Friedes was riding her bike in July Police said a speeding driver entered the bike lane and struck and killed her.
Friedes might have survived if the lane had been closed to car traffic by a barrier, cyclists say.
Nicole Brunet, policy director for the BCP, said OTIS met with members of the Center City Residents’ Association Tuesday evening and presented a plan for improvements to the bike lanes, including concrete protection along pine and spruce trees.
Brunet called the plan “really exciting” and said it “sets a precedent for bike lanes throughout the city.”
OTIS will later present the plan to civic associations along the two streets, Brunet said.
In addition, Brunet said the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee just passed HB 1283, which would allow for the installation of protected bike lanes on state highways. The next step is a vote by the entire Senate. If passed, the bill would only need Governor Josh Shapiro’s signature.
For months, CBS News Philadelphia has reported on the efforts to make bicycles and cycle paths in the city safer. After more than a decade, a Center City church decided to stop using a city-issued permit that allowed churchgoers to park in bike lanes during Sunday services. Several other places of worship have also stopped using these permits.
Advocates have said, and our own research has shown, that obstacles in bike lanes – whether vans, car-shares or residents stopping quickly – lead cyclists to the street where they risk being hit by a driver or a sudden opened car. door.
Summer, the deadliest time for cyclistsCBS News Philadelphia has observed several obstructions in bike lanes along Spruce Street, which currently just has lines painted as the only separation between moving cars and the bike lane.
Most signs in the city say “no parking” instead of “no stopping,” meaning drivers can legally block the lane for up to 20 minutes before receiving a ticket.
Some residents along Sparrenstraat said they had to park there at least for a short time to drop off items or unload groceries.
Yet our research found that countless cars were parked for longer than 20 minutes and up to 75 minutes without a driver in them.
Following our investigation, Philadelphia Council President Kenyatta Johnson introduced a bill called “Get Out The Bike Lane” legislation.
Johnson introduced legislation in September, on the first day of the fall session, that would increase fines for parking or stopping in bike lanes. Fines would range from $75 to $125 in Center City and University City and from $50 to $75 in other parts of the city. Johnson’s bill also proposes changing many signs along cycle paths to ‘no stopping’.
No timetable has been released for when the bike lane barriers could be built and completed.
Joe Brandt contributed to this report.
Liz Crawford
