Philly Adds First Protected Bike Lanes

It’s a banner day for bike riders throughout the City of Brotherly Love. For a long time, biking advocates have pushed the city’s administration for protected bike lanes, an amenity featured in just about every other major American city. Bike lanes make commuting safer not just for bikers, but for pedestrians and motorists as well. When Mayor Jim Kenney was sworn into office, he promised that bike lanes would be one of his priorities. Now, the fruit of that promise has come to bear.

The new bike lanes will feature a buffer zone between parking and biking lanes.

On Friday, Kenney, biking advocates, and other city officials were on hand to cut the ribbon on the city’s first bike lanes, located on Ryan Avenue. The mile-long, two-way lane runs past Abraham Lincoln High School, Austin Meehan Middle School and Pennypack Park in Philadelphia’s Mayfair neighborhood. This is the first of 30 miles of bike lanes that Mayor Kenney has promised to have installed while he’s in office.

“This protected bicycle lane is an important first step to celebrate as we start to create a network of protected bicycle lanes in the City,” Kenney said. “My administration is committed to introducing more protected bicycle lanes in order to provide safe and comfortable routes for Philadelphians of all ages and abilities.”

The bike lanes run between the sidewalk and parking lanes, with a 4′ buffer zone in between and “flexible delineator posts” to add an additional degree of security for bikers and to separate them from traffic. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia enthusiastically praised Kenney and the City of Philadelphia for putting words into action and creating the new lanes: “Our members and staff are pleased to provide feedback to the city about the importance of protected bike facilities for the safety of all users, and we look forward to seeing more protected bike lanes in the coming years.” the group’s executive director, Sarah Clark Stuart said.