On June 17, 2026, more than 75 advocates, committee members, and allies gathered to talk about one shared goal: safer streets for everyone who walks, bikes, or rides transit in Philadelphia.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP) policy team brought together all of its active mobility work together with both staff and community leaders, including Circuit Trails, Transit Forward Philadelphia, and Families for Safe Streets Greater Philadelphia (FSSGP) to share our 2026 priorities, hear directly from the community members about what they want to see in 2027, and talk about strategy planning for 2027.
Our 2026 policy priorities and victories can be found here.
What We Heard
Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke spoke about the Transit Access Fund and how community members can help codify permanent funding for the Zero Fare program, which currently allows over 60,000 income-eligible riders to use SEPTA free of charge. A bill is under consideration in City Council that, if passed, would put a ballot question forward to advance the program. We’ll need people to help push this forward this fall.
We also heard about the Circuit Trails, which recently wrapped up a call to action alert raising awareness for a comment period for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning (DVPRC) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and about New Jersey (NJ) E-bike legislation efforts aimed at making it easier for people to use their e-bikes legally and safely.
Families for Safe Streets Greater Philadelphia (FSSGP) gave updates on Intelligent Speed Assistance, and the Jay Alert pilot program and both BCGP and FSSGP gave updates to ongoing efforts to legalize parking-protected bike lanes.
Breakout Session Highlights
After the main session, attendees split into smaller groups to dig into specific topics. Here’s what came out of each:
Regional E-Bike Legislation
Pennsylvania still doesn’t have an e-bike classification system, and the group discussed what that gap means in practice. Ideas included:
– Regulating e-moto sales and require proper disclosure and licensing
– Creating clearer, regularized categories for different e-bike types, paired with public education. Many neighbors lump all e-bikes and e-scooters together with traditional cyclists, which fuels confusion and frustration
– Looking at the three-class system already used in 41 other states as a model
– Coordinating enforcement alongside legislation — for example, California’s Attorney General issued a consumer alert that successfully stopped Amazon from shipping illegal e-motos, and a similar approach could work in Pennsylvania
– Bringing all stakeholders to the table: riders, manufacturers, and food delivery companies
– Supporting and organizing delivery workers (deliveristas) so they have a voice in shaping the rules that affect them
If you’d like to get involved in the NJ E-Bike campaign, contact John Boyle: John@bicyclecoalition.org
Circuit Trail Development
Wishlist items included a trail connection to the airport, a trail along Stenton Avenue in Erdenheim, the Pennway Street Trail, a Roosevelt Boulevard trail, the Wissahickon Gateway Trail, and a rail-trail connection from the Manayunk Bridge. The group also emphasized the need for trails that support everyday commuting, not just recreational riding.
To get involved and support these efforts, please contact: Patrick Monahan, Regional Organizer at the Bicycle Coalition, Patrick@bicyclecoalition.org
Mass Transit
Transit Forward Philly is a proud part of the mobility movement. Please join us for our upcoming events here. At the social, we discussed:
Accessibility Audits
This group focused on what actually makes a transit stop usable, including elevators, loading pads, raised trolley platforms, seating and shelter, shade, clearly marked lanes and stops, and real-time arrival info. The City Hall Broad Street Line stop came up as a clear example of an inaccessible stop in need of attention.
The group also discussed how members can get involved — whether by joining a coordinated audit of the city’s top 100 transit stops on June 30th, or by conducting their own audit along a personal transit route.
Transit Access Fund Advocacy
This group mapped out concrete canvassing opportunities to build support for the Transit Access Fund, including: Attending community events, doing canvassing at transit stops, and doing education and outreach over the summer.
Please sign the petition in support of the Transit Access Fund
State Funding for Public Transit
The group pointed to a real gap: cities currently can’t tax themselves to fund public transit. They also flagged the need for more vocal allies in smaller systems across PA — and noted how often elected officials who’ve never personally used transit are the ones making decisions about it.
Please fill out this form to let Governor Shapiro and your state representative and state senator know you want new revenue going towards Mass Transit.
Safe Streets
Philadelphia Advocacy and Legislation
A wide-ranging discussion covered:
– Concrete-protected bike lanes as a stronger alternative to parking-protected lanes
– Daylighting intersections,bumpouts, and the value of pairing these interventions with containerized trash programs to make it easier for the city to say yes
– A broader conversation about dangerous driving and obscured license plates, and how enforcement (including PPA) could address it
– More pedestrianized streets, more Neighborhood Slow Zones, raised crosswalks, and children’s bike safety
– A need for clear advocacy guides to help neighbors push for crosswalks, signals, and lights — including how to file a 311 request and contact City Council members
State Advocacy and Legislation
This group dug into several active legislative priorities:
– Red light camera reauthorization and expansion. Most red-light runners are also speeding, and the data shows these cameras work
– Expansion of Automated Speed Enforcement. Currently limited to just six state-approved roads, alongside Intelligent Speed Assistance. Two closely connected measures that could meaningfully reduce crashes
– Allocating a percentage of transportation funding specifically toward multimodal transportation
Looking Ahead
Across every breakout group, a few themes stood out: pairing complementary bills like Intelligent Speed Assistance with automated speed enforcement, and building sustainable, long-term funding for transit. We also heard real enthusiasm for accessibility audits and small, hands-on actions – like reporting worn-out or missing signage – that make an immediate difference for people getting to where they need to go.
We’re grateful to everyone who came out to share their ideas and energy. This conversation continues on July 15th at our Legislative Committee meeting at 6pm over Zoom where the Bicycle Coalition Board , Staff, and community advocates will keep informing 2027 priorities and working through these breakout topics together.
Thank you to Walnut Lane Strategies for providing food and beverages, and to everyone who made this meeting possible. We hope to see you at the next one.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia leads the movement to make every bicycle ride safe, to empower youth and adults to ride, and to foster a ridership that reflects the diversity of the region. Join or renew to continue that advocacy and education work throughout the region. More info here.