A Fox in the Henhouse

 For those of you who may not be familiar with recent events in Philadelphia. Following the death of Dr. Barbara Friedes who wass riding in in the bike lane along the 1800 block of Spruce St. at the hands of a drunk driver. The Philly Bike Action stepped up their bike lane parties, which they used as a way to keep cars from parking in the bike lane on Sunday's. Which has been going on since 2009. This has led to the elimination of this "privilege" by recent passing of a no stopping law by the City of Philadelphia. Which has led to pushback from individuals and Philadelphia RCO's in the forms of complaints about being excluded from the redesign to lawsuits.

But the most egregious and astounding example about how this is being addressed is coming from within the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, in the form of BCGP Board Member Jeff Braff. He is part of the Spruce & Pine St. Task Force, independent of the BCGP and the City of Philadelphia. Whose stated goal is to create an "alternative" and "independent design". In order to protect their privilege to park in bike lanes. While Mr. Braff has made it clear that he is doing this independently of the BCGP, that does not mean that his being a member of the BCGP board is a being ignored 

Board members on non for-profits are often recruited for their stature within a community and their ability to bring large donations from individuals. These same board members also use this as way to polish their resumes while providing little if any results. The BCGP has only one choice to deal with this. Mr. Braff needs to be removed from the board immediately and his actions on the task force need to be disavowed by the BCGP. Otherwise any credibility that the BCGP has regarding its advocacy work is nothing more than a Potemkin Village.

Or to put as simply as possible, the phone call is coming from inside the house.

Where Would Jesus Park?

In 2009 bike lanes were installed on Spruce and Pine streets to create a safe passage for cyclists to get across town. Prior to this there had been two car lanes and on Sunday's the local churches had an unwritten agreement with the Philadelphia Police and the Philadelphia Park Authority. Allowing their parishioners to park in the travel lane for Sunday services. When the bike lanes were installed this practice continued.

Five years later the number of cyclists in Philadelphia and the use of bike lanes has increased, while this practice continued. That was until Sunday, April 13, 2014 when the founder of Where Would Jesus Park held a peaceful protest on Spruce St. between 17^th and 18^th at the location of the Tenth Presbyterian Church.

You should read his account (click here for link). He spoke with parishioners and Pastor William Spokes offered to start a dialogue to find a solution. Based on that dialogue the WWJP founder came up with a reasonable solution that matched my own expectations. All of which require a simple change in church operations, that has no impact on people being able to attend Sunday services. Including promoting the use of spaces the church has leased at two nearby parking lots.

I believe that Pastor William Spoke of the Tenth Presbyterian Church and WWJP will be able to come to an equitable solution. That will set a new standard for the rest of the churches along Spruce and Pine streets.

In the meantime the peaceful protest will continue on Sunday, April 20 from 8am to 1pm. Please stop by,  if only for a few minutes to show your support.

****As of April 20, 2014, after a single protest this campaign has been suspended.****

Go # yourself

In December the Philadelphia Parking Authority and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia rolled out a new initiative, #unblockbikelanes. A Twitter hash-tag where people could report vehicles parked in bike lanes. But this is only being used to gather information to determine locations that are problem areas. Enforcement is still a ways off. 

While you can search for the #unblockbikelanes hash-tag, its hard to get a sense of where the problem areas are. So to that end I have created a Google map to track the reported locations. 

There are some criteria that I have used delivery; vehicles like UPS, Fed-Ex and similar delivery services are excluded because they are parked for a very short period of time The same goes for PPA vehicles and emergency vehicles that are doing their job. However police vehicles parked for nothing more than getting coffee should be setting an example for the rest of the public. Parking in bike lanes on Sundays along Spruce and Pine streets is not going to change so just tale the lane and if the cars honk, to bad for them. 

So what do you need to do? Take picture of the vehicle (you don't need the license plate),  Then post the picture and the location to Twitter using the #unblockbikelanes hash tag. With warm weather not that far off lets make sure that from now to September this hast tag is flooded with pictures vehicles parked in bike lanes. It will be harder for the PPA to avoid implementing an enforcement plan by next year. There will be a copy of the map embedded on the Philadelphia Bicycle Journal's Facebook page so you can watch for updates. 
Black Pins = Police car
White pins = commercial or private vehicles
Blue pins = Multiple vehicles in one spot

#unblockbikelanes

It appears that the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) is finally going to take the issue of cars and trucks parking bike lanes more seriously. They are asking cyclists to tweet locations where vehicles are blocking the bicycle lanes. Tweet the PPA at https://twitter.com/philaparking with #unblockbikelanes 

This came about through discussions between the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP) and the PPA in attempt on the part of the BCGP to deal with the fact that the PPA has not been enforcing the Safe Streets bill. Which includes ticketing cars and trucks that park in bicycle lane. So they created a hash tag on Twitter so they could crowd source a database of problem locations. The PPA released a statement:  

We’ll keep close watch of this hashtag to help us identify chronic problem areas throughout the city and make plans for the future. While we can’t promise that enforcement can be dispatched for every single tweet we receive—the logistics of that are just too complicated since cars often move before our parking enforcement officers can get to them—we are committed to working closely with the cycling community on this issue.

Keep in mind that this does not affect the on going parking situation on Spruce and Pine on the weekends. When churches use the lanes as expanded parking for religious services and for-profit functions.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia did make a valiant effort to explain how the the parking laws work. But what it boils down to is bicycle lanes are considered loading/unloading zones under city ordinances and its hard to prove that a car is parked. So PPA enforcement agents simply ignore the situation and allow it to fester. However since the PPA wants data lets not disappoint them give them as many pictures and locations as possible so they can see the extent of the problem. Let the PPA sort out what is legally and illegally parked.

With weekend temperatures in the 50's and 60's go for a bike ride, take pictures and write down the details of vehicles blocking bike lanes. I have no problem with commercial vehicles that are unloading that's just a part of doing business. Its the private vehicles and contractors that should be focused on, especially if they are empty and their flashers are not on. It is not your place to confront or chastise; document the problem including the block or intersection and ride on. Then keep this up the rest of the week. If you don't have a Twitter account, post to the PPA's Facebook page or e-mail them at Support@philapark.com. Just make sure to include #unblockbikelanes so your information can be identified.

When is a bike lane not a bike lane – Part II

The answer remains the same, when its in Philadelphia.

If you read my Call to Arms post, you are aware that the Philadelphia City Council is attempting to pass a bill that would require City Council approval for any new bicycle lanes to be installed. Something that is not required for bus stops or new lanes for cars. Now the City Council is fast tracking the bill for a vote on Wednesday, June 2 with hearings at 2pm. Giving the public only that time to provide input.

This is the sort of underhanded brand of politics that gives Philadelphia a bad name. There are far greater problems in Philadelphia than this and the deliberate attempt the City Council to prevent discussion makes it even worse. All this will do is create piecemeal development of infrastructure subject to the whim's of politicians. If City Council members want to score some points to get reelected they should focus on real issues like the schools, crime, or the trash that gets dumped in vacant lots and parks.

I hope everyone will make an effort attend the hearing and speak out against this bill. For more information about the hearing please visit this site. If this bill goes through the ride I hope someone will organize the ride I proposed.

When is a bike lane not a bike lane?

When its in Philadelphia.

In the last few years the city of Philadelphia has created and expanded a network of bicycle lanes that allow cyclists to travel throughout Philadelphia. A great benefit to many of the residents of the city who need an alternative to the cost of owning a car and may want to save money and time by not having to depend solely on SEPTA.

However there remains one glaring problem, lack of enforcement when someone uses them as a parking space. Other cities that have put in the effort to create this type of infrastructure have also made sure that bicycle lanes are treated as a lane of traffic, so if you park in one you can get ticketed. Unfortunately in Philadelphia that is not the case and with no protection bicycle lanes have become parking spots and loading zones.

I can be sympathetic to companies like UPS who are only making temporary stops. While ridding along the Spruce and Pine St. bicycle lanes it's hard to have any sympathy for someone who parked there car a bicycle lane and walked away from it. One of the worst examples of this occurred in December 2010 when a two way, contra flow lane was opened at 30^th St. between Walnut and Market. Which was immediately filled with a collection of vehicles using it for parking; including police cars, delivery vehicles, contractors, and several lunch trucks. Of course a picture is worth a thousand words and this link to a Flicker account will show just how egregious this is.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/philly_bike_coalition/sets/72157625616893838/with/5268749282/

It's time for the city of Philadelphia to close this loop hole by updating its traffic laws so bike lanes have equal protection under the law. As long as this practice occurs cyclists will be forced out into the street, abruptly, placing them at risk of getting hit. While leaving drivers under the impression that we can't stay in our lane.