The temporary bike lane on the S 23rd has been scraped out and replaced with a sharrow in the travel lane.
Bicyclists who have been using the Chestnut St. Bridge detour can’t help but notice several unwelcome changes that emerged in early August shortly after the Chestnut Street Bridge closed on August 5th. The detour created by PennDOT experienced a backsliding.
We have asked PennDOT and the City to rectify the issues and they are currently working through them.
Problem 1: Eradication of the bike lane installed on South 23rd Street by PennDOT due to issues related to loading and unloading. One building had a handicapped zone in front of their building. Cars or trucks loading and unloading in the bike lane were spilling into the travel lane. PennDOT told us that the eradication of the bike lane was a “pause” and that they are working with the City to figure out a solution.
We think the solution is for those who need to load and unload to use Ranstead and Armory and Ludlow Streets.
Problem 2: The vertical barricades placed on Market Street in July were removed. We don’t know for sure who took them away or why, but have requested that PennDOT re-install them.
Problem 3: IRS Construction blocking the sidepath. The IRS erected a fenced-in construction project on top of the bike lane outline that had been placed on the sidewalk in front of the IRS building on Market Street. We informed the Office of Transportation & Infrastructure Sustainability about the problem on August 15th. The Streets Department will be addressing the matter directly with the IRS.
We have been told that PennDOT and the Streets Department will inspect the problems this week and develop solutions. We will provide updates on social media and this blog.