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Philadelphia proposes concrete separation for bike lanes on Spruce and Pine Streets

Using concrete barriers, such as curbs, to separate bike lanes from traffic is considered the most effective safety measure for cyclists.

A cyclist uses the bike lane on the 1800 block of Spruce Street in July, as Philly Bike Action held a vigil for Barbara Friedes and other cyclists killed in motor-vehicle crashes.
A cyclist uses the bike lane on the 1800 block of Spruce Street in July, as Philly Bike Action held a vigil for Barbara Friedes and other cyclists killed in motor-vehicle crashes.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

City transportation officials are recommending $4.8 million in safety upgrades to the heavily used bike lanes along Pine and Spruce Streets, including concrete elements to protect cyclists from motor vehicle traffic.

Among the potential additions that the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems is presenting to the public:

  1. Concrete curb sections in the existing painted bike-lane buffer along each block.

  2. Planters in the buffer at intersections. The city says it is looking for a partner organization to maintain them.

  3. More daytime loading zones in parking lanes located across the street from the bikeways on the two corridors. Some were installed in June, but OTIS is considering more.

Meanwhile City Council is considering a bill introduced by Council President Kenyatta Johnson to designate bike lanes “no stopping” zones from the current “no parking.” A longtime goal of city cyclists, that change would allow the Philadelphia Parking Authority to ticket cars faster.

“This is what we’ve been asking for, and it’s exciting,” said Nicole Brunet, policy director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. “If it happens, it will set a precedent for bike lanes across the city.”

She thanked Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Johnson for listening to the concerns of cycling and traffic-safety advocates.

When the bike lanes are blocked by parked cars and contractors’ trucks, cyclists have to weave out into traffic to get around them.

OTIS officials and two neighborhood associations have scheduled a public open house for Oct. 17 to discuss the proposals. The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Jefferson University Bluemle Life Sciences Building, at 10th and Walnut Streets.

The announcement comes after a public uproar, sparked July 17 when a speeding driver veered into the Spruce Street bike lane, snapping flexible plastic barriers and killing a young pediatric oncologist who was riding her bike there.

A 68-year-old man was charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence after striking Barbara Friedes, a resident at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She was on her way home.