Thank You Captain Brian Korn

On an almost daily basis the bike lane at 13th St between Arch and Filbert  is blocked by marked and unmarked police and civilian vehicles. Most likely because they have business at the Municipal Courthouse. Fortunately all of these individuals have alternative options for parking. On one side of the street is an official police parking lot and on the other a public parking garage. Unfortunately there are those who chose not to avail themselves of these choices. 

The Philadelphia Bicycle Journal would like to recognize Captain Brian Korn (@PPDBrianKorn) of the Philadelphia Police Department, 6th District for making an effort to help unblock the bike lane at 13th between Arch St. and Filbert St. On several occasions this sign has been sighted.

Captain Korn should be commended for taking the initiative to address this matter. I can only hope that the Philadelphia Police Department will institute a permanent solution.

Protect and Serve

When it comes to the #unblockbikelanes and the Philadelphia Police Department they have a unique relationship. There is the WaWa at 22nd St. & Lombard where the bike lane is treated as an active loading zone, which encourages civilians to park in the bike lane as well. At 13th St. & Arch you can expect the bike lane to be blocked by six police cars on a daily basis, due to its proximity to the courthouse. This one is particularly frustrating as there is a gated lot for police parking on one side of the street and a public parking garage on the other.

Over the Labor Day weekend the Philadelphia Police Department had to add insult to injury at the bike lane on Spruce St. between 38th & 39th. Traffic cones were placed along Spruce St. between 38th and 39th, creating a buffered bike lane. To keep people from using the bike lane as quick parking for the WaWa and other restaurants on that block. This didn’t stop the PPD from repeatedly parking in the lane to block access to it, as confirmed by this Twitter thread.

Now I get it, on duty police officers need their breaks and an opportunity to eat just like everyone else. They also need to stay close to to their vehicles, but to deliberately block a buffered bike lane means a cyclist can’t go around the offending vehicle and get back into the bike lane. They have to ride the length of the street putting themselves at risk and impeding the flow of traffic.

So what is the solution? I don’t think the the PPD will have the same sense of humor as the Philadelphia Parking Authority did when Kid Hazo ticketed one of their vehicles.

Even some kind of polite form letter may not work, people get very touchy when you a lay a finger on their car. Its really going to take a change of the internal culture of the PPD. A good start would be with buffered bike lanes and 13th St. & Arch.

Bike Thief Alert #2 - Arrested

 Meet DJ Domie or Papi D as he likes to call himself. Business man, DJ, and alleged bicycle thief. We have to use the word alleged because he has not been convicted in court....yet.

I am an alleged bike thief

I am an alleged bike thief

I am an alleged DJ

About two months ago this Bianci bicycle was stolen in the vicinity of South 22^nd St and St. Albans in North East Philadelphia.

 and in late August this ad appeared on Craigslist;

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/4031719655.html

I Have A Bianchi bike that i want to sell lookin for best offer and no not no 7,8, 900 dollars for it look it up before you offer lookin for a far price is not a cheap bike.


A member of the Philadelphia Stolen Bikes Facebook page spotted it and alerted the owner who posted the stolen bike. A meet was set up to look at the bike which included under cover and uniformed officers from the Philadelphia Police Department. Once the owner identified the bike an arrest was made. After that it was all down hill for alleged bike thief DJ Domie/Papi D. and alleged comedian. When he claimed "his cousin who is the number one rider in philly gave it to him".

So now what? Before everyone runs out to the hardware store to buy pitchforks and torches to form an angry mob. DJ Domie/Papi D. brought a concealed and loaded hand gun with him, he most likely will be charged with a felony, and spend some time in prison. Its also safe to assume his friends have a similar affinity towards concealed weapons, so visiting his neighborhood would not be a good idea.

What you can do is share this post with everyone you know. You never know who is going to see it and what they may be able to do.