Philadelphia City Council votes on bicycle safety bill

Bicycle safety bill passes Philly City Council

During Thursday’s Philadelphia City Council meeting, members gave their final vote on a bike lane safety bill and it passed unanimously. Many advocates have fought a hard fight for the measure.

CENTER CITY - A bill that would prohibit vehicles from stopping or standing in any bike lane in Philadelphia was passed unanimously by Philadelphia City Council.

Mayor Cherelle Parker is expected to sign the bill, and has 10 days to do so. When she signs it, according to city council, the law will go into effect immediately.

"It is simply to keep people from double parking in bike lanes," says Chris Gale, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. "Prioritizing an inconvenience of safety over vulnerable road users is unconscionable."

Gale was one of many that spoke in front of City Council Thursday before they voted to pass "Get Out the Bike Lane," which will penalize stopping, standing, or parking in a bike lane with a fine of $125 in Center City or $75 in the rest of the city. It will replace the current law that only prohibits parking in a bike lane, with lower fines.

Some people that live along Spruce and Pine streets called on council to give it more thought.

"I am a mother to a child with a disability," says Kate Jay, who lives in Society Hill. "How are they supposed to have safe ADA access to their homes if no one can stop to help unload them or their mobility device?"

Vice Chair of Philly Bike Action, Jessie Amadio, says she worked with city council for months on the measure, and feels they should be allies with those that have concerns.

"Most people in Philadelphia don’t live on streets with bike lanes in front of their house that they can just stop in whenever they want. Most of us live on one-way roads," says Amadio. "It’s actually safer because you don’t have room for a car to weave around, we just have to be nice to each other on the road."

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Council President Kenyatta Johnson says they are working with the city’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems to expand loading zones on Spruce and Pine Streets to accommodate elderly neighbors and people with disabilities, among others.

The bill was introduced two months after Dr. Barbara Ann Friedes, 30, was struck and killed while legally riding in a bike lane on Spruce Street, near 18th Street. Officials say the driver, Michael Vahey, was drunk and speeding.

"We have to also change the culture in the city of Philadelphia and encourage people to just slow down, slow down," says Johnson.