Bicycle safety advocates say they were snubbed by the Philly mayor’s office when they tried to deliver petitions

They gathered about 6,000 signatures on a petition calling for concrete-protected bike lanes.

They said they had told the mayor’s office earlier that they were coming to drop them off.

But what could have been a routine political ritual turned awkward outside Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office in City Hall last week as security officials intercepted five activists bearing a pile of papers. They left them on a table and departed without a conversation.

“We just want the mayor to take the time to hear us and work with us,” said Chris Gale, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. “Traffic safety is an issue people care about, all across the city. … We support the mayor and want to collaborate with her.”

The bicycle coalition, along with Families for Safe Streets, 5th Square, and Philly Bike Action had been collecting the signatures — as well as about 4,000 written messages — since July 17, when Barbara A. Friedes, 30, a physician who was an oncology resident, was struck and killed while riding in the Spruce Street bike lane by a driver police said had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.16%, twice the legal limit.

The petition called for city bike lanes to be protected from traffic by concrete bollards or barriers, an end to city permits allowing congregants at seven houses of worship to park in bike lanes, and an increase in funding for Vision Zero, a city program aimed at reducing traffic fatalities.

A bicycle coalition staff member was notified by the mayor’s office on Aug. 15, the day of a protest rally outside City Hall, that “security protocols” required petitions to be dropped off at a security checkpoint.

City officials familiar with the situation said the group had no meeting appointment, and at about 5 p.m., no senior mayoral aides were available to greet them.

The Managing Director’s Office, which is in charge of the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure and Streets Department, said in a statement released that afternoon that the administration would review the petitions and consider the opinions of advocates and concerned citizens.

“Every life lost or maimed in an incident of roadway crashes matters to Mayor Parker. We’ll examine every possible solution and action to make Philadelphia safer,” the statement said.

Several advocates said they’d rather have a chance to engage with the mayor herself than another statement.

“The way I see it, with the car culture in Philadelphia and parking, no one in leadership really wants to have these difficult conversations,” said Caleb Holtmeyer, a cofounder of Philly Bike Action. “Bike lanes and other safety projects involve trade-offs such as less parking, and “people have a lot of emotions.”

There’s been progress on bike lane parking without government action after months of protests by Bike Action and others. Six of seven houses of worship have voluntarily relinquished their permits allowing congregants to park in the Spruce and Pine bike lanes during services. The seventh, Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, plans to follow suit.

The crosstown Spruce Street bike lane, as well as its twin along Pine Street, have only flexible plastic lane dividers separating cyclists from traffic. Experts say the safest bike lanes are protected by concrete barriers.

In an appearance July 25 on WHYY, the mayor declined to commit to adding protected buffers to the Spruce and Pine Street bike lanes — or detail any other specific projects or initiatives as a response to widespread outrage.

“There are multiple traffic-calming measures that are needed in neighborhoods across the city of Philadelphia,” Parker said. “In every zip code in the city, there is a great demand for traffic-calming measures, and we’re going to do everything we can to ensure they’re enacted. And yes, protected bike lanes are a part of that.”

As for bike lanes, she said, “It’s just not one aspect that I want to take out and say, ‘This is the one thing.’ I support a comprehensive approach.”

All told, several vehicle-related fatalities or serious injuries across Philadelphia in July spurred traffic-safety advocates to step up demands for safety improvements.