As we approach the final days of 2022, BCGP staff has been reflecting on the “wins” of the year. Here are our top six (in no particular order):
$26 million in federal, state, local, and private funding to start design and construction on the Spring Garden Street Greenway (SGSG).
Once completed, the SGSG will provide a much-needed east/west protected bike lane along Spring Garden Street from the Schuylkill to the Delaware, and will also serve as a connecting sector of the East Coast Greenway (a series of traffic-separated biking & walking routes that are being developed from northern Maine through the Florida keys).
$6 million increase in Philadelphia’s Vision Zero budget (from $1 million to $7 million) for the coming fiscal year.
Since 2020, the Bicycle Coalition—along with AARP and the Livable Communities Network—has advocated for an increase in the City’s contribution to its Vision Zero budget. Our effort leveraged District Council Member Jamie Gauthier’s #JustServicesPHL campaign, which drew attention to the need for more resources for traffic calming.
30 miles of protected bike lanes in the City of Philadelphia, achieving the goal BCGP called on Mayor Kenney to reach.
In 2022, the City of Philadelphia (and PennDOT) constructed nearly 10 miles of protected bike lanes and adjacent side paths to bring us to that total mileage. Improvements included bike lanes on Chestnut Street (the longest in the city at 3.8 miles), Washington Avenue, and Lehigh Avenue (the first east/west parking-protected bike lane in North Philly) and 15th Street. Visit our blog for a more in-depth look at protected bike lanes in Philly.
16 miles of Circuit Trails completed, bringing the total distance of trails built to 374 miles.
Making your ride better with more trails and protected bike infrastructure is at the heart of our mission. One of our longest-running campaigns, this year The Circuit Trails opened new segments across nine counties and included an additional 1.3 miles of trail improvements in the region.
1,150 participants in free BCGP safety and education programs in communities across the Philadelphia region.
93 Core Team youth athletes rode with Bicycle Coalition Youth Cycling during the Fall and Spring seasons, while 510 people joined BBSP‘s free bicycle safety education rides and/or learned to ride for the first time, and our neighborhood bike hubs at Bartram’s Garden and Hunting Park introduced free bicycling to 492 adults and children.
Six languages of new bicycle safety and education materials were created and made available via social media and community ambassadors.
Through our new program VeloLingo, bike safety educational materials are available for free in Spanish, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Russian, Mandarin, and English. These resources are available via @biking4beginners, a Youtube video, webpages, & pamphlets distributed around the city. In addition, more than 180 people participated in classes and rides through this program.
For more about these milestones and a complete list of our 22 Highlights from 2022, visit BCGP’s Year in Review.
Cover photo courtesy of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability.