Despite the deluge of rain, Philly’s first one-way protected bike lane opened Tuesday as scheduled along Chestnut Street in University City.
The 1.1-mile stretch of Chestnut between 45th to 34th streets is now home to a bike lane that is protected by delineator posts and a parking lane. It’s the first of its kind for the city, but not the last, said Mayor Jim Kenney at today’s unveiling.
The Chestnut Street Transportation Project took six years of planning (on the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s part) and another three weeks of construction to build out the bike lane. The goal of the protected path is to increase safety among pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists; this particular stretch is heavily trafficked by all three and has experienced some of the highest rates of crashes in recent years.
The project was spearheaded by the Office of Complete Streets as a Vision Zero project. This initiative, which has been adopted in multiple U.S. cities, calls to eliminate traffic deaths on city streets. Philly in particular has one of the highest rates of traffic-related deaths per 100,000 residents—there are approximately 100 traffic-related deaths each year in the city.
Philly’s only other protected bike path is a two-way lane on Ryan Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. The lane opened nearly a year ago in September 2016. Mayor Jim Kenney has pledged to create 30 miles of protected bike lanes in Philly during his tenure.
Update: City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell said she thinks the bike lane should be temporary and revisited after a three-month trial basis, citing concern from her constituents, according to Newsworks. But Mike Carroll, a deputy managing director for transportation and infrastructure Systems, countered that the protected bike lane is indeed permanent.
Mayor Kenney also weighed in, saying, “We are still a car-centric society in Philadelphia and other cities have come along further than we have. Everyone needs to share the space safely."
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