Philadelphia City Council is back in the swing of things after summer recess and held their first Streets and Services committee meeting on Monday, September 29th. We were there to testify on four bills that would improve safety for all road users across the city.
What was up for a vote?
Bill no. 250649
Amending Section 12-701 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Designation of Bicycle Lanes,” to authorize a bicycle lane and removal of a travel lane around City Hall, under certain terms and conditions.
In 2009, the Center City District proposed a concept of protected bike lanes on Market St and JFK Blvd.
Shortly thereafter, Mayor Nutter’s Office of Transportation partnered with the Dutch Cycling Embassy’s “Think Bike” workshop program to develop a concept plan for parking-protected bike lanes on Market St, JFK Blvd, and Penn Square around City Hall. The Bicycle Coalition and other stakeholders, including the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, participated in an on-road bike safety audit and a working group to develop the concept.
Since that time, Protected Bike Lanes have been installed on JFK and Market Streets, and the City has found that bike traffic has increased while bicycle crashes have been reduced. However, the proposed separated bike lanes around Penn Square have not been implemented. As a result, the bike lanes on JFK and Market on 15th St are open-ended, and there is a lack of connectivity to the separated bike lanes.
This proposed bike lane would connect with existing lanes on W Market St, JFK Blvd, 13th St, 15th St, the bus–bike lanes on E Market, and the new protected bike lanes further east on Market St in Old City.
Completing these separated bike lanes around City Hall would reduce the potential for chaotic bike movements between 15th, Broad St, Market St, and JFK Blvd as cyclists attempt to navigate safely across multi-lane, high-volume intersections. Furthermore, it would simplify chaotic motor vehicle traffic movements, making it safer for all road users and providing shorter crossing distances for pedestrians.
In June 2025, Council Member and Streets and Services Committee Chair Young introduced an ordinance that would remove a travel lane around city hall on Penn Square in order to build a bike lane. Penn Square is a state route and has seen a number of serious crashes in recent years including a crash last November that resulted in a driver losing their leg. This vote would have been the bill’s first consideration, however, Streets and Services Chair Young, held the bill without a vote. Advocates were thrown off when realizing the bill was not being considered. When being asked why there would be no vote, Chair Young refused to comment. We will continue to advocate for this bill and hope to see it brought up for a vote soon. PennDOT has signaled that they plan on moving forward with the plan to add the bike lane but there are still questions about what this would mean for the project long term.
Bill no. 250712
Authorizing the Streets Department to establish parking and stopping regulations on both sides of 47th Street between Chestnut Street and Kingsessing Street, under certain terms and conditions.
Last Spring, Council approved a legislation to add a southbound parking protected bike lane to 47th St and change the road to one way going north. The Streets department installed the new bike lane over the summer. This ordinance would give the Streets Department authority to set parking and stopping regulations meaning they can create sections that don’t allow for any stopping or designate loading zones. We were supportive of this legislation to further enhance the safety of 47th st by reducing conflicts between drivers and bicyclists. This bill passed out of committee and will now go to second and final consideration before hitting the Mayor’s desk.
Bill no. 250770
An Ordinance amending Chapter 12-3400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Use of An Automated Speed Enforcement System to Improve Safety,” by providing for the use, administration and enforcement of automated speed cameras on designated state routes, under certain terms and conditions.
Crashes by Corridor, 2019-2023
- SR 2016 – (Allegheny) 75 KSI/51 Speed Related/153 Pedestrian Involved/5.6 Miles
- SR 1004 (Erie, Torresdale) 51KSI/ 56 Speed related/ 119 Pedestrian involved/9.7 Miles
- SR 2001 (Richmond, Delaware, Oregon) – 46 KSI/37 Speed Related/77 Pedestrian Involved/ 10.1 Miles
In December 2023, the Governor signed a bill that would make the automated speed program on Roosevelt Boulevard permanent and add 5 additional permanent corridors. In the last year, in partnership with the PPA and PennDOT, the city has begun the process to install the cameras on the new corridors (At the beginning of September, the Broad St. cameras were installed and turned on). In the Spring the City passed an ordinance to allow speed cameras on Route 13 and this bill would enable the City to install automated speed cameras on three additional corridors throughout the city listed above. All of these corridors are on the Philadelphia High Injury Network where 80 percent of all crashes involving a death or serious injury occur, representing just 12 percent of the City’s streets. Speed Cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard have been in operation for five years and have yielded results that safety advocates and traffic engineers once only dreamed of.
Bill no. 250718
Amending Chapter 12-900 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled “Parking Regulations and Penalties,” to confirm regulations adopted by the Department of Streets that establish and revise time-limited and other rules restricting parking, stopping and standing, including the establishment of time-restricted loading zones, in the Center City area, bounded by Spring Garden street, the Schuylkill River, Bainbridge street and the Delaware River; and to reauthorize changes and additions to such parking rules in the Center City area by the Department of Streets on an ongoing basis; all under certain terms and conditions.
This legislation is in response to the lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group who opposes adding protected bike lanes on Spruce and Pine and the addition of loading zones which give space for people to load instead of stopping in the bike lane.
This bill reaffirms that the city has the authority to manage all parking and loading regulations in Center City. Updating loading zones and parking is important for adapting roads to meet the needs of today. Good curb management can help alleviate congestion, reduce crashes, and help us all share the road.
The bill was amended in committee to narrow the scope from Center City to just Spruce and Pine Streets. We do not believe this move is necessary and think that the City should have the authority to add loading zones on public streets where it makes sense without needing to pass individual ordinances per project. We have historically asked the City Council to repeal the bike lane ordinance for this same reason. These ordinances create unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to building safe streets.
We will continue to monitor these bills as they move forward to second and final consideration in the next two weeks. There will be opportunities for the public to give testimony at both upcoming votes so email nicole@bicyclecoalition.org if you want more information.