Tenth Presbyterian Church gives up bike lane parking permits

Under pressure for weeks from bike safety advocates, Tenth Presbyterian Church said it will relinquish permits that allow congregants to park in nearby bike lanes on Spruce and Pine Streets during service hours.

The last 18 Sundays, Philly Bike Action protested outside Tenth Presbyterian, calling on them and seven other churches to stop using bike lanes for parking in the interest of protecting cyclists.

On Wednesday, Tenth Presbyterian requested new parking permits from the city that don’t include bike lanes, citing an increased struggle to find parking near the church, reports of vandalism, and particularly public opinion. The current proposal plans to relocate parking to Lombard and Locust Streets.

“Many of our neighbors see us as self-centered, pursuing our own interest and unconcerned with their welfare,” the Rev Timothy Geiger told his congregation on a Facebook live session Wednesday evening. “That’s something that could easily become a stumbling block for them as we tried to invite them to know the Lord and to know us as a church.”

Beyond faith, logistics for service attendance had also become complicated.

Philly Bike Action had an agreement with the church to protest only on Spruce, but after the death of Barbara Friedes, the CHOP medical resident killed last month in a Spruce Street bike lane near Rittenhouse Square while biking home, the protest extended to Pine Street. The church sits between both streets.

This further affected the 350 congregants attending church every week, arriving in about 230 cars, Geiger said stressing that half of the congregation are seniors and young children.

During the latest protest, the group — including women with infant children in baby slings — lined up on the edge of the bike lane to prevent cars from parking after police asked protesters to remove the orange cones they had placed there.

“People feel the only way to be protected is by doing this themselves, because the city won’t protect them,” said organizer Caleb Holtmeyer at the time. “Without this space people are not able to ride safe.”

Law enforcement had been present at the protest for the last month, following reports of vandalism, including nails in tires and smashed mirrors. Philly Bike Action denied that any of its members was involved in that destruction.

Following Tenth Presbyterian’s announcement that it will no longer use the bike lanes for parking, the group is “very excited and happy that they wanted to make safety a priority,” Holtmeyer said. They won’t be back protesting this weekend and are working on a thank-you letter to the congregation, Holtmeyer said.

Tenth Presbyterian joins Old Pine Street Church, Old Saint Joseph’s, Saint Peter’s, and the Philadelphia Ethical Society in relinquishing permits allowing people to park in bike lanes.

Society Hill Synagogue and Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel have not indicated whether they intend to stop using bike lanes for parking.

Holtmeyer is “optimistic that if one of the congregations that uses the most street parking can change, then the few remaining that use a block or two can make the changes, as well.”