Mayor Nutter Thanks Everyone, Drops Some Great Quotes At Bike To Work Day

"It is absolutely the best way to get to work. I always look forward to Bike to Work Day...This is the best thing I'm going to do today."

That was Mayor Nutter in Love Park this morning, speaking in front of press and a crowd of more than 100 cyclists for Bike To Work Day.

The event was well-attended by a wide spectrum of Philadelphia officials. Mayor Nutter, Deputy Mike DiBerardinis from Parks & Recreation, and Councilman Mark Squilla all participated in the ride. Deputy Mayor Rina Culter from MOTU joined us for the press conference.

One inspiring part of the event was the number of Philadelphia-based bicycling-related companies and organizations involved. In attendance was ZipCar (car-sharing), Fuji (major bicycling manufacturer), Gearing Up (bicycling-focused social service), Wash Cycle (bicycle-powered laundry service), Cosmic Cafe (food vendor for bike/ped trail), Pedal Co-Op (recycling and delivery) and Wheel Fun (bicycle rentals). Taken together, they represent a city with an established and growing bicycle culture.

Mayor Nutter used his remarks to thank a wide variety of event participants (including our own Alex Doty and Sarah Clark Stuart by name). He also hit on some important subjects for Philadelphia bicyclists:


On the new in-street bike corral program:
"These pieces of infrastructure allow businesses to trade one car parking spot for 12 bike parking spots. Businesses recognize this is good business for the bottom line. That is 12 folks who have parked their bikes and gone on to buy some stuff."

On bike lanes:
"I love the Spruce and Pine bike lanes. I really really do...In the two years following installation of these lanes, serious accidents that send someone to the hospital or require a car to be towed dropped 44%, which is about two dozen fewer serious accidents per year." 

Mayor Nutter leading the ride from Lloyd Hall

On parking in bike lanes:
"I'm going to be contacting police commissioner Ramsey and folks over at the police department. Nothing drives me crazier, no pun intended, than to see folks parked in our bike lanes or driving in our bike lanes with their cars. Move your car over! Stay in your lane! Stay. In. Your. Lane."

On bike sharing:
"We are hopeful that the Mayor's Office of Transportation & Utilities will continue to make progress on a bike sharing system in the coming year..."

On Philadelphia as a bicycling city:
"With all these... continued improvements I expect more and more people will take advantage of biking and Philadelphia will increasingly become known as a bike friendly city all across the United States of America and around the world. Give it up for Bike to Work Day!"

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a wonderful ride from Lloyd Hall to Love Park this morning. You can see more photos from the event on our Flickr site.