The Mystery of the Plungers on 22nd Street

If you were on your way to work Thursday morning driving along 22nd Street from South to Spruce, you may have noticed an unusual site. Specifically, you might have noticed plungers along the side of the road. Yes, plungers – an item found most commonly in lavatories – along with fresh chalk markings on the pavement. What does it all mean?

The plungers were meant as makeshift dividers for a worn-out bike lane in Center City. (Photo: PATRICIA MADEJ/PHILLYVOICE STAFF)

The installation, which had been mostly knocked over by Thursday night, was the work of Safer Streets PHL – a month-old anonymous group made up of a collection of cyclists and urbanists from the metro area trying to “make the streets safer for everyone.” The plungers were meant to protect a bike lane that has no protection from traffic and the pavement markings of which have been worn away by time and weather. Drivers, consequently, treat the space like another driving lane, making life dangerous for cyclists. “Despite being one of the most utilized bike lanes in the city, the paint has largely worn off it, and drivers treat it like another lane,” the group said in an email to PhillyVoice. “Our long-term goal is to make the roads safer for all road users. We’re doing this by drawing attention to existing infrastructure that needs repair and potential projects for PennDOT and the city.”

The group is not wrong in their concern, says the Philly Voice. The Center City District published a report in October of last year that noted an increased amount of biking commuters, and which pointed out that the only two streets with bike lanes were 13th and 22nd streets. According to the report, bikers on these arteries accounted for almost 40 percent of all rush hour bike commuters in Center City.

Philadelphia is not turning a blind eye to the dangers faced by those on bikes. Recently, the city began work on its first one-way protected bike lane on Chestnut Street between 34th and 45th streets.