The Time is NOW for a Bicycle Friendly Philadelphia

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia released its 2008 Agenda for a Bicycle Friendly Philadelphia today, outlining the policy actions that it is requesting Mayor Nutter take to make Philadelphia the nation's most bike friendly city. Philadelphia could easily become a green city by encouraging more people to get out of their cars and use their bikes for short trips and errands. With its 225 miles of bike lanes and racks on nearly every SEPTA bus, Philadelphia has the beginnings of being a bike-friendly city.

In addition to establishing a bike share program,which the Coalition heartily supports, Mayor Nutter must take a number of important steps to make Philadelphia's streets safer for residents and visitors who want to bike for work, shopping or recreation. The highest priority steps Mayor Nutter should take are to:

• Establish a Department of Transportation,
• Create and fill a new position for a full-time Bicycle/PedestrianCoordinator,
• Develop and implement a new City-wide Bicycle Plan,
• Close the gaps in the existing bike lane network with particular attention to creating bike friendly streets that connect the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, and
• Create more bicycle parking on city streets and garages.

Read the full Bicycle Coalition's 2008 Agenda for a Bicycle Friendly Philadelphia