4 Miles of New Lanes and 9 Miles of Upgrades: 2017 Philly Bike Infrastructure

According to the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (oTIS), the City of Philadelphia added and improved 33 miles of on-road bike infrastructure (bike lanes and sharrows) in 2017. Included in this number are approximately 4 miles of new bike lanes and 9 miles of existing conventional bike lanes that were upgraded with a painted buffer. The […]

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DVRPC Releases Report To Improve Bike and Ped Safety on Callowhill

As a feeder route to the Vine Street Expressway, Callowhill Street between 2nd and 6th Streets is as wide as 76 feet with 3 to 5 lanes of traffic. This creates a barrier for bicycle- and pedestrian-travel along or across. The City of Philadelphia asked the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) conduct a study to look […]

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Elderly Woman Killed Crossing The Street On Washington

Tragedy struck again on December 22, as a so-far unidentified 83-year-old woman was killed by a driver crossing Washington Avenue before dawn. Early reports have yielded few details but we will update this post as information comes in. Washington Ave is a four lane road that with a center turn lane that serves as a parking/loading area […]

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NACTO 2017 Showcases Progress in Chicago

  Thanks to a generous grant from the Knight Foundation, I was able to attend the NACTO 2017 Conference in Chicago from October 30-November 2 in Chicago. NACTO or the National Association of City Transportation Officials. The City of Philadelphia is a founding member city of NACTO and was well represented by Streets Department Engineering Manager Vadim Fleysh along with Mike […]

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Vote For Better Roads and Sidewalks on OpenDataVote

OpenDataVote encourages citizens to get involved in the process of open government and cultivates government transparency through the release of data and they asking you to vote for the data that you want the City of Philadelphia to publish on OpenDataPhilly Non- Profit organizations were invited to submit data ideas. The three organizations that win […]

Thank Councilman Bobby Henon for Securing Philly’s First Protected Bike Lanes

As readers of this blog and our newsletter are well aware, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has spent the last few years advocating for physically-protected bike lanes on Philadelphia’s streets. We’ve been in talks with several city agencies and city officials about installing such safe infrastructure for Philly’s cyclists. Councilman Bobby Henon, of Philadelphia’s 6th […]

These 3 Projects Should Be Completed by the 2016 Democratic Convention

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably well aware that the Democratic National Convention is coming to Philadelphia in 2016. Already, you’ve probably read stories detailing the role former Governor Ed Rendell played in getting the convention here, what sort of food the Democrats should not eat while in town, and the places […]

So, How Did #UnblockBikeLanes Work Out?

You tweeted, we listened. In November 2013, after beginning a dialogue with the Philadelphia Parking Authority about illegal vehicle parking in city bike lanes, we suggested the PPA embark on a social media campaign to hear citizen complaints directly. In December, that campaign—on Twitter, with the hashtag #unblockbikelanes—began. The goal was for PPA to gather information […]

Councilman Greenlee Shelves 22nd St. Safety Plans

For the time being, 22nd Street will have no lane markings.  At-Large Councilman Bill Greenlee has rejected two different pavement marking plans prepared by the Streets Department that would have made 22nd Street safer for all users, including motorists. As we reported a month ago, when the Streets Department “milled” 22nd Street earlier this summer, it planned to […]

Bit by Bit Washington Ave Gets Striped

This month, the Streets Department is laying down thermoplastic markings (a.k.a. fresh coat of line paint) on parts of Washington Avenue.  As we described in a June blog post, a new striping plan (officially called the Washington Avenue Transportation and Parking Study) was developed by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission after two public meetings in late 2013 and […]