Houses of worship shouldn’t get to park in bike lanes on weekends

One warm Sunday this fall, I loaded my daughter onto my bike’s child seat and set off for an afternoon ride. We caught Spruce Street and headed west, intending to ride the Schuylkill River Trail.

With its separated bike lane, Spruce seemed like the obvious choice to safely cross town with a 2-year-old onboard. So far so good. Then things got complicated.

When I got to 17th Street, parked cars filled the bike lane, from corner to corner. I’d hoped to avoid riding in a motor vehicle lane, but there wasn’t a choice. (Good thing I looked before changing lanes because the driver of the pickup truck behind me wasn’t looking for me.)

In the car lane, things were good for a while, but with 35 pounds of toddler on my back wheel, I could only pedal so fast. Before long, cars lined up behind me. And that’s when the honking started.

If you’ve been south of Locust Street on a weekend, you’ve likely witnessed a scene like this yourself. The source of this chaos is that the Department of Streets has been issuing parking permits to houses of worship — churches, synagogues, and the like — along that corridor, allowing them to use designated bicycle lanes as private event parking every weekend.

While we as a city should welcome these congregations, this misuse of public streets hinders Philly’s efforts to move into a safer, greener future.

The city of Philadelphia has openly stated goals concerning sustainability and traffic safety, most notably its Vision Zero initiative, which is “dedicated to eliminating traffic deaths on Philadelphia streets by 2030.″ These goals are more imperative than ever, as we hear too many stories of preventable deaths. According to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia has a higher rate of traffic deaths per capita than Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

In October, the city lost one of its biggest biking enthusiasts, Andrea Gonzalez, after she was struck by a car while riding in Cherry Hill. Gonzalez had made a career out of biking around Philadelphia to connect community members with resources. She was also planning her wedding. Last month, former — and beloved — Masterman High School teacher Kevin Saint Clair was struck by a car while riding his bike in Roxborough.

» READ MORE: Kevin Saint Clair, a cycling and rowing stalwart and Masterman ‘GOAT,’ died after being hit while riding his bike

Infrastructure like the bike lanes on Spruce and Pine Streets go a long way toward realizing Vision Zero’s objectives. Together, these lanes form the main east-west corridor for Philadelphians commuting by bike or other forms of micromobility — such as e-bikes and e-scooters — in Center City.

Conversely, this willingness to take away bikers’ access to bike lanes on Sundays reflects the city’s lack of commitment to Vision Zero’s goals. So is it any surprise the city has been so slow to implement additional traffic safety measures?

Every time I see a cyclist awkwardly avoiding parked cars, I’m reminded that schemes that offer drivers free or cheap parking only shift the cost of parking from the vehicle’s owner and onto the surrounding community — this time, in the form of danger and inconvenience.

We could rationalize these obstructive permits as “only a few hours a week,” but there is much more to it. These “few hours” happen on weekends, when recreational riders less acclimated to city traffic venture onto streets and could most benefit from safe cycling infrastructure. If the city has a mission to promote sustainability, these are precisely the individuals who should be given a gateway into safe city riding. This group includes families with children, who are uniquely vulnerable street users. As a parent who regularly bikes with a toddler, I can personally attest to the difference dedicated infrastructure can make.

Additionally, allowing these streets to be used for parking one or two days a week sends a strong message that the city places a low value on the bike lanes. Casual observers, unaware of the permits, presumably pass Spruce and Pine Streets thinking that contempt for the law is normal and tolerated, and may not think twice about blocking bike lanes during the week.

The Streets Department should stop issuing these permits.

The Streets Department should stop issuing these permits. Members of these congregations choosing to drive can do what every other visitor to Center City with a car does: pay to park in a private facility or designated curbside space. Congregations in town could purchase bulk passes from private lots at a discount for their members. Other options include major transit stations, cabs, and ride-hailing services.

Philly is a great city, and the diverse congregations that call it home are part of the mosaic that makes Philadelphia what it is. The vision of a safer, greener, more livable Philly is within reach, and we should all share that vision.

We know that when we treat our neighborhoods like neighborhoods, not parking lots, they thrive as communities. What we need is the will among city officials to get us there.

Christopher Dascher is an organizer with Philly Bike Action, an organization that advocates for cyclist safety at the neighborhood level.