photographs by michael persico

Spokes Person

The naming of Philly’s bike/ped coordinator comes at the perfect time.

by Keith Bandelin

Philadelphia bicyclists are becoming accustomed to good news. There’s a project under way to install about 1,400 bike racks around the city. SEPTA now has bike racks on 100 percent of its buses. Serious attention has been paid to the idea of implementing a bike share program. There’s also the Bicycle Network Plan, connecting existing and proposed bicycle routes in and around the city.

Whatever the reason—gas prices, traffic or just interest in exercise—bicycling is increasingly being recognized as transportation worthy of municipal support.

The biggest sign of success is Mayor Michael Nutter’s decision to create the position of Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator. The position is intended to ensure that pedestrian and bicyclist interests are being fully addressed.

According to the League of American Bicyclists —an organization that ranks bicycle-friendly communities nationwide—there are striking differences between Philadelphia and other more bicycle-friendly cities.

When the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia applied to the League last year to have Philly recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community, the city failed to rank. Portland, Ore., moved from gold to platinum status (the highest possible) and New York City got its second bronze—the lowest ranking, but a ranking nonetheless.

“Philadelphia has all the ingredients to become a truly Bicycle Friendly Community,” the League stated in its written evaluation, acknowledging Philly’s supportive city government, established bike culture, effective cycling advocates and bike clubs. But the League said Philly needs more safety education, stronger law enforcement and an updated bike plan.

That update is now in its development stage, and its success is crucial.

“The gaps where there are no bike lanes have the largest amounts of crashes,” says Deborah Schaaf of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, regarding the lack of connectivity between the 205 miles of bike lanes throughout the city.

The plan should be finished in the next 20 months, with the goal of increasing the amount of bicyclist trips by 5 percent while reducing the number of bicycling traffic crashes by 10 percent.

As for law enforcement, “A lot of police officers are not fully educated on the rights of bicyclists,” says John Boyle of the Bicycle Coalition. “We need more traffic monitoring to increase rider safety.”

But bicyclists don’t always follow the law, either. According to Coalition figures, 25 percent of Center City cyclists ride on the sidewalk as opposed to the street. Factors like cars parked in bike lanes and bike lanes that end abruptly or need better connectivity may explain some of that behavior.

“Bicyclists get mad at the motorists, motorists get mad at the bicyclists and pedestrians get upset with both,” says Stephen Buckley, director of policy and planning in the city’s Office of Transportation and Utilities.

“Everyone needs to follow the traffic law or they should be ticketed,” says Elizabeth Kiker, director of communications for the League. “Motorists can’t cut around cyclists and cyclists need to signal before they turn. Everyone is accountable.”

Fortunately, there is much the city can do to reduce bicyclist-motorist tensions.

Fishtown wheeler dealer: A sculpture/bike rack gets a lot of action outside Johnny Brenda’s.

On Ogontz Avenue, for example, a “road diet” has been designed to reduce the number of motorist lanes, add bicycle lanes and lower motorist speeds as well as increase pedestrian safety.

When Civic Center Boulevard is rebuilt as a one-way street, the city will install “contra-flow” bicycle lanes on opposite sides of the Boulevard—one going with and one going against the flow of motorist traffic.

Schaaf says there’s a strong demand for two-way bikeways in locations “where traffic volume is very strong, like on Columbus Boulevard.”

Another concept, the “bicycle boulevard,” gives priority to local motor vehicle traffic and bicyclists while discouraging through-traffic on roadways. This has been implemented effectively in cities like Berkeley, Calif., and Portland, but it’s unclear if it would work well here.

Buckley says the city is also in the process of developing a “complete streets” policy to balance the needs of different commuter groups, requiring city departments to include walking and bicycling as an integral part of their planning wherever practical. The city hopes to operationalize the policy in the next year.

No matter how much en- gineering and city planning takes place, though, concerns about safety and traffic still keep 60 percent of the population from bicycling, according to a 2005 Bicycle Transportation Alliance study. Yet other research shows that when bicycling doubles, the risk for each person riding declines by about a third.

“The best way we can improve bicycle safety is to get out there and ride our bicycles,” says the Bicycle Coalition’s Boyle.

Taking its cue from the League of American Bicyclists, the Bicycle Coalition has begun development of a Bicycle Ambassadors Program, which will have a full launch in spring 2009. Ambassadors get out and preach the bicycle gospel by meeting with Philadelphia residents and visitors, giving presentations and participating in community events.

Hans van Naerssen, president of the Bicycle Coalition, is very optimistic about Philadelphia’s bicycle-friendly future.

“I suspect within a year or two, Philadelphia will get the bronze,” he says.

Keith Bandelin is a PW intern.