The Streets Department announced today that work on the North American Streetscape Project, which includes roadway resurfacing, line striping and bike lanes, will begin on Monday, April 16.

The project will go from Girard to Indiana Streets and also includes the removal of unused trolley track infrastructure and the installation of ADA ramps.

Most of the corridor will feature raised bike lanes along the center of the street, though in the north section, between Huntingdon and Indiana Streets, the bike lane will be on the right side of traffic to make way for motor vehicle parking in the center.

The project is being funded by a TIGER grant and has been planned over several years.

While the project itself is a welcome improvement for this section of North Philadelphia and North Philadelphia, the plans are not without their faults.

Center bike lanes, though protected, are not as efficient for getting cyclists through as protected lanes against the curb would have been. This is something we, and many advocates and volunteers, brought up at 2016 meetings at the Crane Arts Building on North American Street.

Bike lanes against the curb was met with opposition from several other stakeholders involved, some of whom argued against any and all bike lanes.