Hit and Run Underscores Need for Updated Bike/Ped Plan

Last night's community meeting in Center City was very well attended. If you missed it and want to attend, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission has two more meetings scheduled for the public to weigh in on how to make the city's streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Coincidentally, the next two meetings are in Northwest and North Philadelphia, the site of yesterday's hit and run in the Olney neighborhood. A 6 year-old first grader was critically injured by a woman driver while on her cell phone. The youngster was crossing the street near Godfrey Avenue and Franklin Street to get to an ice cream truck. She's now at CHOP with a head injury and broken leg.

Please note, unlike the CBS3 headline of the article in the link, this was no ACCIDENT! It was a CRASH. The woman crashed her car into a little girl and drove away.

Bike/Ped Plan May Community Meetings

Monday May 18th 6:30pm-8:30pm
North Philadelphia Seventh Day Adventist Church
SE Corner of 16th and Oxford Streets

Wednesday, May 20th 6:30pm-8:30pm
William Penn Charter School Cafeteria
3000 W. Schoolhouse Lane

Unfortunately, the May 20th meeting is the same night as the RIDE OF SILENCE, a free ride that starts at the Art Museum steps at 6:45 pm for a seven-mile, police-escorted ride through Center City. The ride asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. The ride aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

We (the Bike Coalition) really regret this scheduling conflict, as there will be cyclists who would like to both, but our requests to try and get the Northwest public meeting rescheduled to another date were not successful.