PPA will soon launch cycling patrols to crack down on parking in bike lanes

Starting Monday, if you park your car in that nice wide-open bike lane, leave your work truck there all day, or keep the van idling as you deliver packages, you are more likely to get a ticket and a fine.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority is launching a regular patrol of eight enforcement officers — riding bicycles, of course — to crack down on vehicles that illegally block the lanes.

They have been a persistent problem in the city’s expanding network of designated bike lanes. For years, the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia and other advocates have pushed for consistent enforcement.

“It’s like cat and mouse,” said Rich Lazer, executive director of the Parking Authority. “Anytime there’s not a concentrated effort, you know somebody’s going to take the chance, right?”

The city has about 20 miles of protected bike lanes, including lanes separated from traffic by parked vehicles on Market Street, JFK Boulevard, Race Street, and the Chestnut Street Bridge. PPA’s new patrol will concentrate on the bike lanes in Center City, University City and South Philadelphia, Lazer said.

Parking or standing in a bike lane carries a $76 penalty in Center City and University City; in other areas, the fine is $51.

PPA officials have been talking with the Bicycle Coalition about how to combat the problem since 2014 and announced last May that permanent patrols would begin soon. The first bike officers will roll out Monday morning fresh from training in defensive riding by the Philadelphia Police Department, which uses bicycles on patrol and in crowd control.

Former City Commissioner Al Schmidt, when he was a member of the PPA board, proposed in August 2021 that the agency establish a program to enforce bike lanes. Two bike riders had been killed in crashes with cars near his home in northwest Philadelphia and he noticed cyclists swerving into traffic to avoid vehicles blocking the lanes.

It’s always been illegal to park in and block bike lanes, and PPA did give tickets for it, along with other agencies, but it hadn’t had a program dedicated to the task.

In recent years, the parking agency has taken on a larger role in traffic safety, running the speed-camera program on Roosevelt Boulevard and red-light enforcement cameras throughout the city, as well as battling quality-of-life nuisance violations such as the recent and continuing crackdown on abandoned vehicles and those with no license tags or VINs.

Lazer said the new patrol is part of PPA’s contribution to the city’s Vision Zero program, which envisions a reduction to zero in traffic deaths by designing “complete streets,” on which pedestrians, cyclists and motorists share the road.