#unblockbikelanes is working

Since the creation of the #unblockbikelanes hashtag by the Philadelphia Parking Authority I have been highly skeptical that the PPA was going to follow through on ticketing cars parked in bike lanes. Lets face it the PPA twitter responses of “we’ve added it to our list” does not give you the impression that they are doing anything.

So I did some research, the PPA has risen to the challenge and is taking enforcement of cars parked in bike lanes seriously.

Total number of tickets issued

April, May, & June 2013 - 242

April, May, & June 2014 - 475

This is a 96% increase over the past year.

With the largest increase in tickets at three locations.

Street	2013 Tickets	2014 Tickets	Percentage increase
Spruce St. 1400 - 2300	127	252	98%
Pine St. 300 - 2100	62	91	46%
N. 13th St. 99-100	3	63	2000%
Total	192	406	111%

This is a good start, one that I hope will continue to be growing trend. There are some larger issues that will take time as it is going to involve a change in culture and tradition. The two most challenging will be churches that use bike lanes as parking on Sundays, especially the ones that have made arrangements with commercial parking lots. Or the issue police officers using the bike lane at 13th St by the court house.

I would like to suggest that during one the annual bicycle enforcement sweeps of the PPA to host a bike lane liberation complete with a brigade of clowns, as inspired by New York City’s Times Up. A fun, non-threatening piece of street theater that could be created by local cyclists. Along with a police escort to encourage recalcitrant car drivers to move their vehicle and a PPA agent to ticket unoccupied cars.

A Penny for your thoughts

Attention ladies, I am a man. Or as I have been recently informed a self identifying CIS-Male. One of the challenges that women face is cycling in skirts and until I start riding in kilt I may never fully grasp the challenge. On the other hand I am always fascinated by problem solving and solutions.

Recently I came across these two videos. The penny in your skirt trick seems to be a very low tech solution

Penny In Yo Pants from Johanna Holtan on Vimeo.

The one I was really fascinated by was this one. It reminds me of the same technique used by women who ride side saddle on horses.

Personally though I would recommend to a woman who rides in a skirt and uses bicycle for transportation to consider options that have stood the test of time. Skirt and mixitie frames are designed for women who ride in skirts. Add a skirt guard to your rear wheel and you're ready to ride in your most fashionable attire. Of course if you are riding for speed or sport then you should have a specific frame to match those needs

The best example of how men and women pair bicycling for transportation and fashion is the bicycle fashion blog, Copenhagen Cycle Chic. Created in 2006, Copenhagen Cycle Chic reflects the diversity of a city where 52% of the population rides a bicycle every day and of that group 75% ride year round, including very snowy winters.

Locked and Loaded

A bicycle was stolen in Philadelphia on Wednesday. But unlike any other cyclist who can only file a police report and hope that maybe it will be recovered. The effort to find and arrest this thief will receive the maximum effort that the Philadelphia Police Department can afford. For this was not just any bike, this was a Philadelphia Police Department bike. In other words it was an official police vehicle. Stolen at 12:00pm at Broad & Moore the miscreant rode the bike for three miles and abandoned at 13th & Girard where it was recovered.

This is not the first time this happened to the Philadelphia Police Department. It just goes to show you that no matter what kind of bike you ride if you don’t lock it up someone will steal it.

Its moments like this when I have to ask myself; What grade would Hal Ruzal give the Philadelphia Police Department when they lock their bikes?

Sisyphus had an easier task

For the past few years the Philadelphia Mayor's office has been testing parklets throughout Philadelphia. A parklet is created by temporarily converting two parking spaces into an out door seating area. For anyone to use. Studies have shown that with the increased foot traffic businesses have seen an increase of 15% to 40% in revenue.

With this success of parklets the Philadelphia City Council is now moving a bill through its chambers to cut through the red tape of the permitting process the Streets Department uses. And by eliminating red tape I mean that the Philadelphia City Council has once again made it impossible for any new pedestrian or bicycling infrastructure to be created.

Now if you want to get a bicycle corral or parklet in your neighborhood you only have to do one of two things. The first is to get 100% of the community would have to agree to the installation of a bike corral or a parklet. Which will be an easy-peasy thing to achieve since we can always count on a entire community to agree to on a single subject. All it will take is 1 person to stop the process in its tracks.

Fortunately there is a second option. Get your district Philadelphia City Council member to write a letter stipulating that he or she felt the great majority of residents were in favor. Which leaves at the mercy of professional politicians who make up the Philadelphia City Council. Meaning you are going owe and be owned by your district Philadelphia City Council member for a future I.O.U. You may not like.

The harsh reality of this bill is that the Philadelphia City Council has eliminated all of the red tape that normally makes obtaining a permit possible a Sisyphean task.

It seems that every time Mayor Nutter dares to create any kind of infrastructure that benefits pedestrians and cyclists you can always count on Philadelphia City Council to do everything they can to turn it into a political power play. And with this bill moving through Philadelphia City Council it appears nothing has changed.

Ode to a Tank

Over the course of 40 years as a cyclist I have seen many things change. Frames have changed from steel to aluminum to hi-tech blends and carbon fiber. Tires have gone from skinny racing tires to 4' wide Fat bike tires. Shifting has gone from friction to indexed and even electronic. Mountain Bikes were home made contraptions and have become the most technologically sophisticated bikes engineered. And just when I thought that big box stores would kill consumer demand for quality bikes a resurgence of hand built bikes has occurred.

But the one thing that has never changed for me was my tank. In 1992 I needed a bike to get to and from work. Living in a city with no bike shops that were close to me I wound up in K-Mart and bought a steel frame, 10 speed mountain bike. A 25 pound monster with friction shifters, that never got any maintenance, and I babied by keeping it indoors. I logged thousands of miles commuting, running errands, and occasional recreational rides. Over the years I worked on jobs that required me to travel to large scale work sites and my tank came with me. So I could get around on site because I often had to park at remote locations. My tank was also theft proof as no bike thief in their right mind was going to steal an antique like mine locked with the latest Kryptonite lock.

But in 2007 my tank gave up the ghost and repairing a K-Mart bike was not worth the cost. Two new bikes with lighter frames and high end components eventually replaced my tank. In the last few years I rebuilt two project bikes, just to see if I could do it. With the help of Neighborhood Bike Works Bike Church and now battered and greasy copy of Bike Repair for Dummies.

Now I find myself preparing to build a new tank. Something that will get me around town, carry things I may buy along the way, and never attract the attention of a bike thief. My new tank will be a three speed bike. Complete with fenders to keep water and dirt off me when I ride through a puddle, a chain guard so I won't get a gear ring tattoo, a rear mounted basket to carry stuff, and a skirt frame. So if I have to stop suddenly I can keep my man parts pain free. Along with a quick release front rim for easy transport in my car.

I'll rebuild the build the bike; repack all of the bearings in new grease, replace worn out parts, and clean out all of the accumulated grime in the nooks and crannies that bikes have. When I am done I will have a tank that will be as good as the day it was first assembled. And like my first tank it will remain with me for many years to come. Continuing to serve in the same tradition of my first tank.