Late last week, another cyclist was struck in Center City Philly in one of the alleged "safest" bicycling areas in the city. Luckily this latest incident didn't result in the loss of a life, but that doesn't degrade the urgency with which Philadelphia needs to act to make the streets safer for everyone (drivers and pedestrians included).
The cycling community took to the streets again this morning to call attention to our cause, this time creating another human-protected bike lane on 13th Street between Spruce and Pine Streets:
The main thing we're fighting for are protected bike lanes, but the easier-to-grant request is the re-painting of faded bike lanes and crosswalks. As you can see from the pictures above and this one below, this particular stretch is actually in much better shape than some of the bike lanes on Spruce Street were before they were re-painted:
Still, it could use a re-paint, especially because of constant construction and infrastructure repair projects which have required drilling into the asphalt. Many of these areas have been opened up in or around bike lanes, and then re-paved without being re-striped:
Doesn't look much like a bike lane, does it?
Beyond all of the needed infrastructure improvements, what I think is most important is education. That's the main reason the cycling community organizes these events, why I keep going out to support them, and why I keep writing on this blog. The duty is on everyone to be aware of their surroundings, to drive and bike and walk defensively and to understand why. Many of us grow up knowing the "common sense" laws of driving because that's how we were born and raised, but not nearly as many people know cycling laws. It's been more than 17 years since I got my driver's license, and the only reason I've recently reviewed the PA drivers' manual was to write a blog post for work last year. This is to say, we all need to do better. How many more times will a life need to be put in jeopardy before drastic change occurs?
Related, we'll be doing this again on December 28th, the one month anniversary of Emily Fredricks' fatal incident. If you're a cyclist and will be in or around Center City Philly, I strongly urge you join us.
#bikeyourbirthmonth
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