See those blue areas? That means ‘no bike lanes’ for residents.
The Bicycle Coalition recently completed a new map for our “Bike Maps” page, depicting areas throughout Philadelphia without any viable transportation infrastructure for people who want to use bikes.
Using census block groups, Bicycle Coalition research director John Boyle created the map to show places where people who want to ride bikes do not have access to even the most basic infrastructure: Standard, 5-foot bike lanes.
Studies show that people use the bicycles—the most sustainable, cheapest, often quickest way to get around a city—when they are given reliable infrastructure. And many people throughout cities in the United States are ready to ride their bicycle for commuting purposes, if only they felt safe doing so. Living in a bike lane desert does not give the average person much incentive to begin commuting via bicycle.
If you look at this map, you can probably see some of the worst places for those interested in cycling: Large portions of South Philadelphia, and North Philadelphia. There are streets throughout both those sections of the city that could be made better for bicyclists, but a combination of political confusion and emotional worries over what bike lanes “do” to a neighborhood, and pure cynicism, have helped create more dangerous areas for people who want to ride a bicycle.
Check out this map, and all our maps, on our Bike Maps page.