Latest news with #PhillyBikeAction
CBS News
18-07-2025
- CBS News
PPA starts issuing tickets for blocking bike lanes, volunteer group assists in enforcement
Thursday marks one year since Barbara Friedes, a doctor at CHOP, was killed by a drunk driver while riding her bike in the bike lane on Spruce Street. A drunk driver drove into the designated bike lane and killed her. Since her death, there has been change and controversy surrounding bike lane safety in Philadelphia. "I absolutely think it was a turning point. It really woke something up in the city and the general public about what's been going on our streets," Jessie Amadio, a member of Philly Bike Action, said. CBS News Philadelphia investigations found countless cars blocking bike lanes, including by churchgoers on Sunday, who had permits from the city to park there. That permit no longer exists, and a new law cracks down on vehicles blocking bike lanes. Ironically, a memorial known as an "angel bike" in honor of Friedes is chained to a "No Stopping" sign along Spruce Street. Up until a few weeks ago, it was a "No Parking" sign, meaning cars could park there for up to 20 minutes before the Philadelphia Parking Authority could ticket them. "We're really changing the culture of that street because for so many years, you were allowed to pull over in the bike lane and stop for 20-plus minutes and then unload things. That's changed," Rich Lazer, executive director of the PPA, said. Signs were updated in June along the Spruce and Pine streets bike lanes, and after a warning period, the PPA started issuing citations last week. Since July 8, it has issued 59 citations on Spruce Street and 36 on Pine Street for cars blocking the bike lanes. Thanks to Philly Bike Action, a volunteer advocacy group in the city, enforcement has been bolstered even more. "Our goal is not to snitch. Our goal is not to, you know, get people tickets. Our goal is for the city streets to be safer for everybody who moves around them," Ee Durbin, a Technical Lead with Philly Bike Action, told CBS News Philadelphia. Durbin is the brains behind Laser Vision, an online tool that allows people to report violations straight to the PPA in real time. "They've been a great partner in this, and the app's working great, people are using it," Lazer said. Since the app launched last month, the PPA says they've received roughly 2,000 reports. They get about 300 to 500 a week and even though the PPA already had an online form for public reports, Laser Vision makes the process easier. You take a picture of the vehicle in violation and most other information is automatically filled in, like location and vehicle description. Some cyclists say they've come a long way since Dr. Friedes was killed, but still have a long road ahead, as cycling advocates are growing impatient that there still isn't a plan for concrete protection along the Spruce and Pine bike lanes. "It's been 12 months, and the bike lanes are just as unprotected as they were the night that Dr. Friedes died," Amadio said. Concrete infrastructure is supposed to be Phase Two of the Mayor's bike lane safety project. A spokesperson with the city didn't give a timeline for that project. A lawsuit was filed by a neighborhood group looking to block that project, saying it will create congestion and obstruct emergency vehicles.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Nonprofit creates tool to report obstructions directly to Philadelphia Parking Authority
It's getting even easier to report cars blocking crosswalks, loading zones and bike lanes in Philadelphia with a new tool from nonprofit Philly Bike Action. The nonprofit created a new tool called Laser Vision where people can report sidewalk, crosswalk and bike lane parking obstructions directly to the Philadelphia Parking Authority's Mobility Access Violation form, the website said. Philly Bike Action said the tool will help make the streets and sidewalks safer and more accessible. From a smartphone, people can take a photo, follow the prompts and then submit the violation. "Laser Vision will record the date, time, and location of the obstruction, as well as the make and model of the vehicle," Philly Bike Action! said on the website. To use Laser Vision, the user has to create a PBA account.
CBS News
13-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Philadelphia mayor's new budget includes big boost to traffic safety, bike lane protection
Mayor Cherelle Parker's proposed budget, released Thursday, included a major victory for Philadelphia street safety advocates. Parker set aside $5 million for Vision Zero, Philadelphia's long-term traffic safety initiative, and an additional $5 million for concrete protection along Spruce and Pine streets, the city's two most popular bike lanes. Currently, the bike lanes along Spruce and Pine mostly consist of green and white paint, which designates the cyclist lane from the vehicle lane. Some of the intersections also have flexible white posts that stand about 3 feet tall. The mayor's new budget includes funding to add concrete protection to the Spruce and Pine bike lanes, a project some cycling advocates say will save lives. Jessie Amadio has been fighting for safer bike lanes in Philadelphia for years. Her message, along with other members of Philly Bike Action, became more urgent last summer when Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Dr. Barbara Friedes was killed by a drunk driver while riding her bike in the Spruce bike lane. "To have the city kind of step up and say we also want to make sure that the concrete protection for Spruce and Pine is fully funded no matter what the situation is with federal grants, it's just phenomenal," Amadio said. Last year, advocates criticized Parker's commitment to traffic safety and insisted on more funding for Vision Zero and concrete barriers for bike lanes. On Thursday, they received both. "Every Philadelphian deserves to travel safety throughout our city and return home safe and unharmed," Parker said during her address to Philadelphia City Council. The timeline and design of the bike lane project are unclear. Some possible ideas could include concrete curbs or large planters. City council still has to approve the mayor's proposed budget. Nicole Brunet with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia spent Thursday afternoon dissecting the budget and trying to determine which line item applies to which project. "There's a lot more in front of us, but having the money ahead of time — that was the biggest obstacle, so that's exciting," Brunet said. Some neighbors and business owners have resisted concrete protection along the bike lanes, saying it would make it impossible to quickly load up children and senior residents or drop off groceries. Others say it would make it harder for emergency vehicles to pull over. Investigation finds drivers parking in bike lanes For months, CBS News Philadelphia has reported on efforts to make biking and bike lanes safer in the city. After over a decade, a church in Center City decided to stop using a city-issued permit that allowed churchgoers to park in bike lanes for Sunday services. Several other houses of worship have also stopped using those permits. Advocates have said, and our investigation found, that obstructions in the bike lanes — whether from delivery trucks, ride-hail vehicles, or residents making quick stops — divert bicyclists into the street, where they risk getting hit by a driver or a suddenly opened car door. Over the summer, the deadliest time for cyclists, CBS News Philadelphia observed several obstructions in bike lanes along Spruce Street, which currently has just painted lines as the only separation between traveling cars and the bike lane. Most signs in the city say "no parking" rather than "no stopping," which means drivers can legally block the lane for up to 20 minutes before being ticketed. Some residents along Spruce Street said they need to park there, at least temporarily, to drop off items or unload groceries. Still, our investigation found numerous cars parked for more than 20 minutes and up to 75 minutes with no driver inside. After our investigation, Council President Kenyatta Johnson introduced the " Get Out The Bike Lane" bill. The legislation proposed increasing fines for parking or stopping in bike lanes. In Center City and University City, the fines would go from $75 to $125, and in other parts of the city, they would go from $50 to $75. Johnson's bill also proposed changing many signs along bike lanes to read "no stopping." The bill passed the following month.
