We're organizing community support for rapid implementation of protected bike lanes so people of all ages in every neighborhood can begin to benefit from a true network of safe infrastructure.
Before he was elected, we asked Jim Kenney whether he would prioritize protected bike lanes in our candidate questionnaire. He committed to installing 30 miles. The City has since received grant funding to install 10 protected bike lanes. However, this may not happen until 2018, even though it could happen virtually overnight with enough political will and community support. That's where we come in.
In Spring 2016, we gathered 1,108 petition signatures in support of Mayor Kenney's proposed 30 miles of protected bike lanes.
On Tuesday, June 14, we held a rally with the Bicycle Coalition and Fairmount Bicycles to draw more public attention to the issue. We also delivered our 1,108 signatures to Deputy Managing Director Clarena Tolson.
Read more coverage from our June 14 rally:
"'Every four days, someone is killed by a vehicle, whether walking or in a bike or in another vehicle,' said Clarena Tolson, deputy managing director of the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS), who accepted the petition."
"'Protected bike lanes reduce the conflict points between motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians,' 5th Square co-founder David Curtis said. 'The result is better protection for bikers and less congestion and faster through times for motorists, despite slower top speeds.'"
"'These grant-funded street upgrades can and must be installed quickly and with as much physical protection as possible as a first step toward make our city's transportation network safer for everyone,' said 5th Square co-founder, David Curtis."
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:
"'Mayor Kenney is supportive of this notion and concept of protected bike lanes and has committed to 30 miles of them during the course of his administration,' said Tolson. 'We don’t just need the bold and the athletic in the street. We need everyone who would like to ride a bike in the street.'"
"Philly residents can’t wait any longer for safe bikeways... Dozens of people gathered to demand 30 miles of protected bike lanes, and soon."