Traffic reporters suggested switching to buses or even driving (not telling you where you could even possibly park). Bicycles were not mentioned as the way to get around Center City and South Philadelphia, even bicycling to the rail stations would have been great advice.
So we would like to hear your bicycling experience in Center City and South Philly today?
Phillies Championship Parade
Originally uploaded by emilydenaro
http://www.emilydenaro.com/
12 comments:
I meandered my way across the Bridge (it was by far the most crowded I've ever seen it) and then was stuck on the east side of Broad – I couldn't get through the crowd to even see if I could sneak across Broad... not a big deal though!
This cyclist and I had the streets almost to ourselves to watch the Phillies Parade. No crowds and the Police were great and let me cycle next to the parade. All I could do to contain my Cycle Fever and yell “GO CYCLIST” OK, OK, HiViz Green is not the same as Phillies’s Red, but just as important!
Russell Meddin
Rode back and forth b/n Art Museum and Manayunk. Tons of walkers coming to the parade; crowds waiting for public transportation..only a few smart souls breezing by on bikes wearing phillies gear.
Northbound Aramingo ave was gridlocked from well south of Allegheny all the way to where it opens into 2 northbound lanes. But the bike lane stayed completely clear.
...What a great day to be on a bike!
Jon S
Hey, that's my photo!
Thanks for crediting. :)
I rode from 37th to 2nd on Chestnut for my evening commute home at ~5:00 pm. There was a noticeable lack of cars, but that was more than compensated for by pedestrians wandering into the street blind to any approaching bicycles (i.e., me). Because there were no cars and many people, I ended up riding on or close to the centerline to best avoid people falling into the street from the sidewalks. The pedestrian problem was noticeably worse outside of bars... hmm, I wonder why? ;-)
Michael M
Rode from West Philly to Philadelphia Community College at around 7:30-8:10. Used Chestnut, 22nd, and Spring Garden. Conditions seemed about normal around then, although there were lots of Phillies fans around. Rode home at 4:30 ish and things seemed fine. I didn't occur to me until later that I had dodged a bullet (since my normal routine is to take SEPTA).
Adam K
My normal bicycle commute is from west to east at 8am, and then back around noon. The early trip was ok, but lots of clueless pedestrians. The trip back for my second job was a disaster, I ended up detouring way north around the parade route and getting to my second job about 40 minutes late. There were many people in the streets including small children, even in areas where there was traffic flow. Quite dangerous for all concerned. But, I'm still glad I decided to stick with my bicycle, and not to depend on SEPTA for the day!
i had a meeting in king of prussia at 10AM, drove back into the city around 12:30 when there was no traffic on 76. Dropped off the car at work and rode my bike from fishtown down 2nd into old city, then meandered SW to Reed and 13th. Walked the rest of the way due to ped traffic. I managed to get there just in time to see the whole of the parade and enjoy a bit of the experience. The crowds weren't packed back 60 deep.. just a row or two. I could get all the way up to the curb line. Then after about 45 minutes, I was able to hop back on my bike and scoot past much of the stop cars that were clogging the streets... got back to fishtown in under 18 mins to meet-up with friends. Great times for everyone in Philly.
Pedestrians are also known as traffic calming devices...
My usual trips back and forth seemed better than usual and my ride parallel to the parade was surprisingly nice. Though I was almost hit by a red-light runner while crossing washington, for the first time, but I think it did not represent a pattern.
Parking was too easy, suggesting not many cycled to the parade.
I too, checked out the bridge, I was curious how many people realized it's potential after hearing about patco congestion. It was ten times busier than I'd EVER seen it. much busier than I'd expected.
I rode down broad after the parade, when motorist access was still somewhat limited, which was fun, dodging all the litter and, still, plenty of peds running interference at intersections.
I would say a nicer day than average for cycling, while driving and transit sounded horrible.
I certainly never attempted crossing broad during the parade, if I had, I would have found a septa tunnel.
-matt
after watching the parade at walnut & taking a long lunch, broad street was still closed to cars & pedestrians were supposed to be walking on the sidewalks, guided by the police milling around. my husband & i decided to take advantage of the giant bike path & bike as far south as passyunk, which took only about 10 minutes. it was great!
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