The Office of Transportation, Infrastructure & Sustainability’s (oTIS) is proposing plans to improve street safety on 22nd Street by moving the bike lane to the left-hand side of the street and protecting it with plastic delineator posts between South Street and Market.  

This plan can only move forward with the approval of 2nd District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, but we hear that Councilman Johnson is only listening to a small-but-vocal group of Center City condo owners who feel entitled to the convenience of curbside parking access at the expense of a safer street that works for all users.

In the past, Councilman Johnson blocked a protected bike lane from being installed along Lombard street; citing near-neighbors’ concerns about not having curbside convenience for their cars, and we hear he’s currently leaning toward blocking this critical safety improvement too—even though over 300 people have voiced their support of this project to community groups and nearly 200 have sent letters of support to the Councilman.

Unfortunately, Councilman Johnson still won’t support these crucial safety improvements to 22nd St, and we need your help to counter the negativity with a broad show of support.

Cyclists have been calling to protect 22nd street for years, since it’s one of the most biked streets in the city.  On average, over 1,500 cyclists per day used the bike lane in 2012.

Research shows that a cyclist in a left-hand bicycle lane has a reduced chance of being in the blind spot of a person driving. Left-hand lanes will also remove cyclists from the side of the street with bus stops, reducing conflicts between buses and people on bikes.

We know this section is dangerous. 74 people were injured in crashes on 22nd street between South and Market streets between 2013 and 2017; 36% were pedestrians and 11% were cyclists.

Show Councilman Johnson that you want a protected bike lane on 22nd street so parents can safely take their kids to school, workers can safely commute to work, and all road users are protected from the harm of speeding vehicles! These improvements will not only improve conditions for cyclists but also protect pedestrians and drivers.

Add your name to the petition to show your support for a safer 22nd Street, then share the petition on social media to help spread the word!

This is huge: Jim Kenney just became the first Mayoral candidate to endorse a Vision Zero approach to street safety.

The Kenney campaign rolled out a new website this week with several new official policy positions, and Vision Zero made it into the first round. Kenney has promised to organize a Vision Zero Task Force of stakeholders who will create an action plan to make our streets safer for all types of users.

Read the campaign's statement, and then sign our petition thanking Kenney for his support for Vision Zero:

Philadelphia's walkability and bikeability is an incredible asset which contributes to a high-quality of life and makes our city a highly desirable place to live and work. As Mayor, Jim will adopt a Vision Zero goal for the City of Philadelphia, which accepts that no traffic fatality is inevitable - whether pedestrian, bicyclist or driver.

As Mayor, Jim will take a multi-faceted approach to implementing Vision Zero. This includes continuing and expanding on the work of the Nutter administration by increasing the number and safeness of bike lanes throughout our City. Jim will form a Vision Zero taskforce made up of stakeholders from local and state transportation agencies, public safety agencies, advocacy groups, local businesses and community members. This taskforce will be asked to create a "Vision Zero Action Plan" for Philadelphia so that we can ensure that no more lives are lost needlessly to a preventable traffic accident.

Jim Kenney gets it. He has been a champion of pedestrian safety on City Council for years, and he believes that Philadelphia's streets are public spaces that must be made safe for all people. He's gotten our back, and now it's time for us to get his. 

Please sign and share our petition today to thank Jim Kenney for supporting Vision Zero and getting tough on dangerous street designs.

He took a risk for us by putting this on his agenda, and now it's up to us to prove to everyone that safe streets are a political winner in addition to being good policy. The more signatures we get, the more City Council candidates will see that they can also benefit politically by taking a hard pro-safety line.

This is a crucial moment in the 2015 campaign to elevate an issue we care about. Please take just a few moments to sign the petition, share it on social media, and then forward it to three friends.

Thank you for your help, and for everything you do for Philadelphia.