I told you so

In more than one post I have taken issue with with the deal the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia made with the Philadelphia City Council for the Safe Streets Bill. Which gave the Philadelphia City Council final approval on all new bike lanes, if they affected parking or traffic lanes. I’m sure the BCGP tried to rationalize this decision by thinking that they would be able to find reasonable accommodation. In the event the City Council tried to use their new political tool.

Now it looks like that choice has come back to haunt them. In this case it involves extending  the 22nd St bike lane. As part of Philadelphia’s 2012 Bike/Pedestrian plan this stretch of road was to be redeveloped to include a bike lane. Currently a five block section of 22nd St between Spring Garden and Fairmount is being resurfaced and new lane markers will be put in.

But that it not going to happen and if you cut through all of the doublespeak in the BCGP’s blog post (http://tinyurl.com/ktbelz5) it all boils down to one thing. City Councilman Bill Greenlee claims that there is community opposition to the bike lane and thus the City Council will shut down any development of the 22nd St bike lane extension. The BCGP will need to demonstrate that there is overwhelming support for the bike lane from the residents and business owners along this five block stretch. Even then I remain skeptical as Bill Greenlee will merely call in enough favors to make the process as difficult as possible. As he is the architect of the bill that gave City Council control over all future bicycle lanes.

While the BCGP might be able to marshal its resources this time to overcome the resistance of the Philadelphia City Council. What about the next time? Bicycle lanes in Philadelphia was part of the BCGP’s long term goals. Once achieved, the BCGP negotiated final decision making out of the hands of trained professionals, including Traffic Engineers. Into the hands of irrational professional politicians, all in the name of the Safe Streets Bill. I cringe to think what the BCGP will do to complete “The Circuit”.

The BCGP says that this is “an unfortunate complication”. I believe that this will be the first of many unfortunate complications to come. How many more sacrifices will Philadelphia cyclists have to make at the expense of the BCGP’s long term goals?

Olley, olley, oxen free

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has finally revealed the details of the Safe Streets bill they were negotiating just in time to have it summarily rushed through committee and city council to make sure there was the illusion of public discourse and approval.

There are some aspects of the bill that in small ways will provide protection for bicyclists; two existing laws have been amended. The first now allows cyclists to ride two abreast instead of single file and the second does not require cyclists to ride in a bicycle lane if one is available. While these may seem minor, almost petty changes it does protect the bicycling community from potential retaliatory ticketing by the police. Which a cyclist in New York City was subjected to when he asked a police officer to stop blocking a bicycle lane with his squad car.

It also raises the fines for cyclists who run red lights, stop signs, and riding on the sidewalk. Holds drivers responsible for dooring and most importantly parking in bicycle lanes. This will not resolve the problems of church parking on Spruce and Pine St. as this is a long standing deal with the city and it is not going to change.

Councilman Mark Squilla has made statements that lead me to wonder if this bill is the tip of the iceberg. That may lead to more restrictive actions to come, since he has described it as “a good start”. He has concerns that “the bill doesn't specifically address enforcement, a bone of contention” The problem is that you can not mandate the Philadelphia Police Department enforce these new traffic laws any more than any other.

While this bill does address some of the long standing issues regarding bicycle infrastructure in Philadelphia it has come at great cost. The Philadelphia City Council passed a bill this spring that gives them the final decision about bicycle lane placement. Leaving infrastructure in the hands of a group of people whose decisions will be swayed by populist opinion instead of experienced professionals like traffic engineers. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia signed off on that bill as “A Bill We Could Live With”. Lets hope that this doesn’t become something that comes back to haunt us.

Philadelphia City Council's Three Blind Mice

 It seems that three blind mice from the Philadelphia City Council are causing mischief. Philadelphia is a city rife with serious issues in need of the city councils urgent attention. A murder rate from guns at an average of one per day, a school district that is facing a financial short fall of 200 million dollar due to mismanagement, and 40,000 abandoned properties with millions of dollars in taxes uncollected. These properties have blighted neighborhoods and recently caused the death of two Philadelphia fire fighters.

Instead the three blind mice of the city council, MarkSquilla, Bill Greenlee, and, Ciy Council President Darrel Clarke are intent on revisiting the past. Trying to enact a policy requiring all bicycle lanes within Philadelphia to get city council approval. In May 2011 the city council tried to enact a similar policy, in an underhanded, but expected manner for Philadelphia politics. The bill was announced just days before the Memorial Day weekend and fast tracked to be voted on just after the holiday weekend. When the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia mobilized its membership to speak at the meeting the time for the public to speak was moved up and when that didn’t work one council member tried to disqualify everyone who spoke against the bill by claiming they were members of the Bicycle Coalition were not part of the public.

A recent post on the BCGP website these council members are taking the same approach, with hearings to occur in late May, most likely using the identical bill from last year. This also means that we can expect more of the same hearing delays as last year. An aspect of this bill claims that it is trying to incorporate input from the local community. That is until the community disagrees with the politics and  lack of vision of city council members.

It's truly pathetic that the Philadelphia City Council continues to use bicycle infrastructure as way to distract from real issues that need to be addressed. 

Chinatown and Bicycle Lanes

There has been an outbreak of NIMBYism in Chinatown. It appears no matter what is done to make Chinatown more accessible and create positive change there is a vocal minority seeking to maintain a status-quo. Instead of making an effort to benefit from these changes for the community and business they would rather impede and obfuscate.

A temporary bicycle lane from North 13th Street and South 10th Street between Market and Vine Streets has been created for a period of 3 to 6 months. A test to see if this is a viable location. It didn't take long for the standard list of excuses to surface, supported by the usual list of players from the private and public sectors.

First is 1st District City Council candidate Mark Squilla who suggested to Wilson Wan to organize a petition against the bike lane. This isn't the first time someone who is on the city council or running for city council has tried to go after bicycle lanes. Instead of doing their own dirty work, like DiCiccio and Greenlee, the ploy is to make this look like it is motivated by local citizens.

Next was Chinatown Watch Chairman Joe Eastman who feels that this is about city government dictating policy without taking any input from the community. When in reality his true concern was about; "This is a commercial area. If we lose any of these parking spaces, people will go somewhere else.” A sentiment also stated by Wilson Wan.

Last up is Jong Chin, who has owned a restaurant on Race Street since 1965 and Executive Director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. He is concerned that the bike lanes will make the streets too narrow for fire trucks as well as buses that pass frequently en-route to New York City.

What everything boils down to is three motivations; politics, safety, and commerce.

Politics – Mark Squilla is exploiting local residents on an issue that will have little impact on community and has become a tactic used by current city council members to get their names in the paper. At the same time they avoid dealing with any of the real quality of life issues their constituents face like unsafe schools, crime and the no snitching mentality. Bike lanes are just low hanging fruit that require no real commitment or effort and gets their names in the paper.

Safety – A very common tactic is to claim that bicycle lanes will impede the ability for emergency vehicles to navigate through the street. As if somehow cyclists will not get out of the way of an emergency vehicle with it's lights and sirens running. If anything cyclist can get out of the way faster and leave more room than a car. This was the same excuse made when a bicycle lane was installed in front of Thomas Jefferson Hospital and yet no emergency vehicles have been delayed from accessing the hospital.

Commerce – This is what it really boils down to. Fear that a bicycle lane will lower the revenue of area businesses by reducing parking. In a city like Philadelphia where the majority of its residents get around using public transportation and an increasing number of cyclists. I seriously doubt that the loss of a small number of parking spaces is going to have any effect on a restaurant, more likely is a lack of imagination.

So what would I do?

If I were a restaurant I would have weekly cyclist special, it is much easier for a cyclist to pull over and lock their bike easier than a car. As a cyclist I would hold an organized ride to Chinatown where every rider would go into a restaurant in Chinatown along the bike lane and have lunch. Calling ahead and making reservations if possible.

A Call to Arms – After Action Report

Councilman Bill Greenlee has agreed to table his bill requiring a vote from the Philadelphia City Council on the installation of bicycle lanes, for the moment. While consistency and transparency was the battle cry of Council members Green, Greenlee, and DiCicco when it came to installing new bicycle lanes. Obfuscation and opacity was the process used in the attempt to move this bill forward.

The Time Line

This bill was presented Thursday May 26, on the verge of the Memorial Day weekend in the hopes that no one would notice it. When the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia did, the bill was moved to a fast track vote for June 2, announced on May 31, again trying to take advantage of the Memorial Day weekend. When that didn't work the bill was moved from being last on the agenda to the middle of the agenda, during the committee meeting.

The Response

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia should be commended for making effective use of e-mail ad social media to get the word out that created over 400 e-mails to Streets Committee members. As well as Twitter to update and alert anyone planning on attending the meeting on June 2.

The Committee

During the actual meeting Council Members Green, Greenlee, and DiCicco were dismissive and contemptuous of anyone who came to speak, including the representative from the mayors office. 60 of the people who came to speak were not considered part of the general public and were instead referred to as members of the BCGP. DiCicco claimed he only got negative comments about the bike lanes and Green said bike lanes have nothing to do with traffic or public safety.

What would I do?

Its only a matter of time before Councilman Frank DiCicco finds another patsy. This is his second attempt to dismantle bicycling infrastructure and try to pass punitive bills against cyclists and I'm sure it won't be his last. I still believe that in the future any response should include a Courteous Mass protest ride past the home of a bills sponsor and includes a stop at a nearby post office for everyone to mail letters to the council members involved. Along with a media alert to ensure that their actions can't be hidden from the public.

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.

A call to arms

A call to arms

In 2009 Philadelphia City Councilmen Councilman Frank DiCicco attempted to introduce a bill that would have levied excessive fines and bicycle confiscation, far in excess of what automobile drivers might have to face. In addition requiring everyone owning a bicycle who is over the age of 12 to register their bicycle with the police department at a cost of $20.00 per bicycle. Fortunately nothing came of it.

Now City Councilman at Large Large William K. Greenly has decided to make it next to impossible to create bicycle lanes. By introducing a bill that would require Philadelphia's City council to approve any future bicycle lanes, co-sponsored by Council members Darrell Clarke and Frank DiCicco. It appears that bicyclist and bicycle infrastructure have become the political low hanging fruit of the Philadelphia City Council an easy way to score points with local voters while achieving no benefit. Requiring City Council approval of all new bike lanes is bad policy because City Council approval is not needed for new vehicular travel lanes, crosswalks or bus stops.

Do you really want something that will have long term impact to the city of Philadelphia in the hands of a group of people who are only concerned about the next election so they can keep their jobs instead of qualified traffic engineers. Philadelphia has bad track record with it's elected officials and government agencies. We've seen city council members abuse the DROP program and the Philadelphia Housing Administration and the school system are both under federal investigation for abuse of power and misappropriation of funds. The Philadelphia City Council keeps trying to engage in brinksmanship almost like a game of Russian roulette in The Deer Hunter and intimidate bicyclists throughout Philadelphia.

So what would I do?

While the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is asking people to e-mail City Council members, what is really needed is a visible public response, one that can not be ignored. I would create a Courteous Mass Ride, a group ride that obeys the traffic laws so the ride becomes a parade instead of peloton. Each rider would bring a letter addressed to Councilmen William Greenlee, Darrell Clarke and Frank DiCicco. it would depart from City Hall the route would pass by Councilman Greenlee's home and then over to the post office at 900 N. 19^th St. in Philadelphia where the letters would be mailed. If you take this approach it could take 15 to 30 minutes for the entire mass to pass his house and with advance notice to the media would make a great photo opportunity. Similar rides could also be created for the bills sponsors.

Any volunteers who want to annoy some sacred cows?

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