Staff Blog
The new bike lanes: They’re real, and they’re fantastic
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 11:38 am
posted by Brian Howard
categories Bikes
 |
| Photo | Brian Howard's Android |
| White Lines |
 |
They weren't finished as of last night, but they sure do look nice. If you're thinking that the bike lane looks kind of narrow, keep in mind that those two parallel stripes are NOT the lane. They'll be filled in with diagonal lines which will serve as the buffer between the car lane on the left and the bike lane on the right. If you're thinking that that's one huge bike lane, you're right.
This is awesome, but they’re going to need a lot of driver education to make it work. Won’t be cool when people start using it as the new double parking lane (or the running lane like I saw on Sunday a couple times)
I couldn’t disagree more. Taking two main streets of center city and making them one lane each was and remains a terrible idea, especially with the amount of double-parking that takes place on each street. Traffic on the city’s narrow streets was already bad; now it will be unbearable. The city just made right turns into a dangerous game that is an accident waiting to happen.
If they wanted a street to have a bike lane, the already one-laned Sansom Street was (and is) the perfect solution. Eliminate the street parking and make a two-way bike lane alongside the car traffic. This bastard of a street is closer to the center of the city and features mostly parking garages anyway so traffic is already light and slow-moving. It’s not a major vein like Pine and Spruce are. The city’s short-sighted plan is nothing a little paint on the roads couldn’t fix in a day or two.
Satten: I hear your concerns, but these are the concerns with Sansom as I see them:
-It does not run all the way from river to river (which was the point of this)
-It does not always run in a straight line. For instance, the 700 block of Sansom is offset from the 600 and 800 blocks by a significant enough distance to make it problematic. Given the direction of traffic on 7th and 8th, I think traffic signals would need to be installed as well.
-Most importantly, Sansom would only provide a west-bound lane. There’d still need to be an east-bound street for a counterpart lane since you can’t have bikes riding in both directions in the same lane.
-All those cars making that tight turn onto the street or into the garages — and invariably into and across the bike lane — would be, I think, treacherous.
It’s hardly a short-sighted plan.
Studies show that those to streets have an excess of taffic capacity even during rush hour, over 2000 cars per hour. There is extra room on those roads.
Double parking is an issue but as it’s an illegal activity I’m not sure why anyone should give credence as it to be a reason why a bike lane should not be installed.
Spruce and Pine are not narrow streets and if it gives reason for bikers to get of the actual narrow streets, those streets become less of a hassle for drivers. I ride south on 19th street and there’s no room for cars to pass. Not that I’m slowing cars down as I move fater than them, but if there were a bike lane on a south headed street I’d be there instead and the cars could have the road to themselves.
There are more than enough places for cars to drive. Give the bikes some room, also.
I was really excited about these lanes, but oh my god they are two of the worst paved streets in Philly, Pine & Spruce. I avoid riding on these streets at all costs. Once you bike & fall once, you never want to relive that again. PAVE THE STREETS DAMNIT!
Excellent work. The lanes look great.
@gabonghi: The streets are scheduled to be repaved at the end of the pilot program (spring, I believe), and if the lanes are deemed successful — i.e. if they’re used and they don’t snarl traffic — they’ll be painted on permanently when the streets are repaved.
Sans a physical barrier–railing, concrete divider, razor wire, mine field–the lanes are essentially useless.
I agree with @Dave Park: there NEEDS to be driver education about this! People really don’t understand what is going on and are parking in the bike line and just merging into it as they please. Granted, they haven’t finished the diagonal lines in the divider, so it’s hard to judge, but the really ought to put signs up, every few blocks at the least, to show people that pine and spruce are SHARED roadways.
All in all, a great move by the city, though. I hope Center City starts catching up with University City as far as cyclist integration goes!
@gabonghi: I have only been able to ride a little ways on Pine St. so far since the paint started going down. It seems, (and someone correct me if I’m wrong), that they are in fact patching up some of the more treacherous areas of the bike lane! I agree, these are two of the most scary streets to bike on simply because of how bad the pavement is, but I want these bike lanes permanent so I will use them regardless. As Brian points out, there is a plan in place to pave these streets after the winter– hopefully the lanes stay.
Overheard on Spruce Bike Lane- Driver A:”You are in the bike lane!” Driver B:”This is what I do every day”. 100 yards down Driver B cuts off Driver A to get around Double-parked UPS Truck.
who cares… if this is the biggest problem philadelphia has, yay for us!!!
I’ve ridden both lanes river to river, and they are magnificent.
And remember kids: bikes lanes are one way! And they’re for bikes! These aren’t bike/jogging lanes. They’re not open for biking in either direction. They’re for bikes going in the same direction of traffic. I’m sick of dealing with all the idiots in this city that don’t realize that.
Sansom is also not an option because some blocks are predominantly access to parking garages (where pedestrians narrowly avoid being hit by exiting drivers who don’t look) and access to large building. The rueful future of Sansom is widely believed to be that of an access alley.
@hiki”if there were a bike lane on a south headed street I’d be there instead and the cars could have the road to themselves.”
This is the problem with bike lanes. All roads are open to bikes, even if they do not have bike lanes. Unfortunately, the very existence of bike lanes make many people think bikes cannot or should not appear on roads without lanes. Cars do not get roads to themselves.
Rode both streets today and agree that paving is needed, but all in all a great improvement for biking in Philly!
Would have been a better idea to actually pave the streets smooth before painting them. I drive on Pine street all the time, and it’s rarely ever been a 2 lane road. (What with all the double parking in front of several restaurants, shops, pizza places (you know who you are). And also because what is now the bike lane was a lane even cars avoided because they suck so bad. Now you have bikers riding in that lane? great! Good luck trying to avoid cars, other bikers who are all now on these crappy bike lanes while trying not to pop tires and falling into all the holes
MB,
Unfortunately the very existence of roads means drivers think they own them.
Yes, bikes and cars are supposed to share the road. There are drivers, not all, who feel bikes do not belong in the road and encounters those while biking can be a jarring experience.
The idea of bike lanes is to provide a safer environment for bikers to ride. Just because they exist does not mean bikers will only ride on them, but where they exist means bikers will feel safer doing so.
If this pilot goes well there will be a physical divider where the diagonal lines are.
PS. I was riding on Spruce Street on Saturday and there were cars parked in the bike lane the whole block between 18-19 going to the synagogue. Nearly died, because the cars behind me were trying to pass on the narrow bit of road that was left.
I would like to thank the city of philadelphia for providing the new high speed lanes. Outside of running several idiots on bikes off the road, this made my commute home quick (70 on Spruce!!!) and easy.
BTW? does any one need a titanium bike frame? it’s lodged in the grill of my Dodge RAM 2500
The bikers on the Center City District staff have worked up a few suggestions/thoughts on the new lanes- http://centercityphila.org/about/BikeLanes.php
I am SO SO SO happy about the bike lanes. Those are the roads I take to and from school every day, and I feel so much safer now. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
i love the new lanes! i bike daily in center city and it is amazing feeling to not be worried if someone going 50 is going to drive up behind you and get mad & swerve around you. thank you to everyone involved in getting these lanes in!!
Spruce/Pine Bike Lanes Photo Of The Day- Mayor Nutter confronts a van driver to get out of bike lane: http://bit.ly/eRJPi.
Read about the ribbon cutting ceremony at http://blog.bicyclecoalition.org
A huge thank you to the city for enacting these bicycle lanes, and all the people who support them. I am a person who lives and works in the city, and I commute by bicycle across town daily. These lanes are fantastic, and even if the police don’t bother to enforce safety laws for bicycles and pedestrians, at least there is a bit of a buffer. YAY!!!!! I could not be happier about the change in my daily life!
Hey bob – my 9mm can travel over 800 mph. Wanna race?
@looking4bob – while bob’s half-witted comment about running bikers off the road with his Dodge Ram demonstrates his myopic disrespect for city living, raising the spectre of retaliation (especially with a 9mm) only plays into this image of the ‘kill or be killed’ wild west. Those of us who live shoulder to shoulder with each other in the city know how important (and fun) it is to co-exist peacefully and respectfully–regardless of whether or not we agree on an issue. Let’s keep the Dodge Ram and the 9mm out of the discussion, shall we?
Ride on the new lanes! The pavement is a pain – but this is our one big chance to make philly bike friendly – so suck it up!
So the pavement is bumpy, really really bumpy. But I definitely agree with tshirts, if the city sees them being used, they will make them permanent when the roads are re-paved in the spring. I rode home on pine yesterday and it was so great! I only saw one car using the bike lane as his personal express lane, and other cars were honking at him to get out. Two people that had to turn right actually stopped and waited for me to pass. This morning the ride up spruce was not as great. Even with the right (car) lane completely empty, all cars on a 3 block stretch decided to drive exclusively in the bike lane and from broad to 16th was nothing but delivery trucks. It still beats no bike lanes and hopefully people will get used to the new lay of the land. Having signed the bicycle coalition pledge, I actually stopped (and stayed stopped) at every red light. It took all my self control not to roll through, but whatever, I’m not in any rush to get to work anyhow. Thanks Nutter butter!
I meant “left (car) lane”
I have been riding in the bikes lanes as much as I can. It has been awesome to ride to work and not have to worry about getting squeezed out by some hugh SUV going 50!! The only issue I have are delivery trucks and people parking for church/temple. Do they not think that the lines apply to them?? I hope everyone gets out there and rides on these as much as possible. It would be amazing for these to be made permanent and for there to be a physical barrier in place!
The lanes are a major victory for sustainable alternatives in the city. However, we should urge the streets dept to patch portions west of broad – the quality of spruce and pine in some stretches CANNOT wait for the spring repaving. Seriously. Everyone get out and bike! Use the lanes!
p.s. I think the religious parking around Rittenhouse is legal. Not sure what the solution is, except for the motorists to take it easy when things are reduced to one lane for both bikes and cars.
The lanes are a major victory for sustainable alternatives in the city. However, we should urge the streets dept to patch portions west of broad – the quality of spruce and pine in some stretches CANNOT wait for the spring repaving. Seriously. Everyone get out and bike! Use the lanes!
p.s. I think the religious parking around Rittenhouse is legal. Not sure what the solution is, except for the motorists to take it easy when things are reduced to one lane for both bikes and cars.
[...] Previoiusly: The New Bike Lanes: They’re real and they’re spectacular! [...]
I think the comments of both @Satten and @Jamey are insightful. Unfortunately, I doubt drivers can be trusted/expected to take into account a lane of cyclists crossing intersections in the opposite direction to which they, themselves, are driving. Furthermore, as someone who has been run over by a van driver who clearly wasn’t looking directly in front of the vehicle he was driving, I wouldn’t trust the “buffer zone” between lanes to offer much protection without a physical barrier. I would prefer a tall curb, but, if the city is serious about these bike lanes, it should, at lease, install flexible barriers between cyclist and car traffic.
[...] The line repainting was still in progress, but the bike lanes which were billed as something of a temporary test when they were laid just over a year ago, were being repainted as [...]