How to Keep the South Street Bridge Bike Lane Safe After CHOP Expansion

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has proposed a new building for Schuylkill Avenue with driveways that will connect to the South Street Bridge. We testified on the project at the April 1st Civic Design Review meeting and sent a letter to CHOP today that further clarifies our concerns about the impact of the driveways on the bike lane.

The two proposed driveways for the new CHOP office building seriously degrade the safety of the bike lane on the South Street Bridge. While it would be optimal if the project could be designed to require only one driveway, whether with one or two driveways we believe the safety of the bike lane can be restored by repositioning and protecting the bike lane.

The driveways onto the bridge came as a response to strong community desire, expressed at CHOP-held community meetings, that the project not create increased traffic on neighborhood streets. The second driveway was added to facilitate SEPTA buses reaching the site, as transit access is a priority and buses can't otherwise make the difficult turn from the bridge onto Schuylkill Avenue.

For bicyclists, adding one or two driveways creates additional turning conflicts, on a downhill, on the most bicycled bridge in Pennsylvania. Continuing the existing bike lane to the right of these new turning conflicts seriously degrades the safety of this bike lane.

To mitigate this danger, the bike lane should be:

• Repositioned to the left of the vehicles turning into the new driveways. 
• Protected from encroachment by vehicles crossing the bike lane to get to the right turn lane. 

This will require some sort of physical barrier to cars encroaching on the bike lane and also the creation of a right turn-only lane. There are design solutions in the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide that can restore the bike lane to its present safety level, such as flexible bollards that can be removed during snow season. Other cities have used these solutions but Philadelphia has not yet tried them.

We have asked for the chance to meet with CHOP and the Streets Department to develop a solution that repositions the bike lane and protects it from right-turning traffic.

We made a word choice error in an earlier blog post by suggesting that CHOP had only recently shared plans for the new building with the Bicycle Coalition. In fact, CHOP’s designs have been publicly available but we only commented on them earlier this month.

Peter Grollman, CHOP’s Vice President for Government Affairs, Community Relations & Advocacy, serves on the Bicycle Coalition board.

Impact of CHOP Expansion Upon South Street Bridge on Meeting Agendas This Week

Recently news broke of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)'s plans to build a new building adjacent to the South Street Bridge on the east side of the river. The building will impact the bike lane and sidewalk on the bridge.

CHOP's proposed expansion at 700 Schuylkill Avenue is going to be reviewed at two public meetings this week. On Tuesday, April 1st at 1 pm, the project will undergo a Civic Design Review (CDR) at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (1515 Arch Street). On Wednesday, April 2nd at 5:45 pm, CHOP will present to the South of South Neighborhood Association Zoning Committee at the Philadelphia School's new addition (2501 South Street, aka the new complex across 25th St from the liquor store).

We are concerned about how this project will impact bicycling and walking on the South Street Bridge. The South Street Bridge is the most biked and walked bridge in Pennsylvania, and bicycle and pedestrian safety must be prioritized in any changes that are proposed for the bridge and its bicycling and walking facilities.

Under the City's existing Complete Streets Policy, full consideration to the accommodation of the safety and convenience of all users must be made, and the safety of those traveling in the public right of way shall be prioritized. It goes without saying that "all users" includes bicyclists and pedestrians.

CHOP has already presented several versions of plans on its proposed impact to the bridge, and it is expected to announce new plans this week. We will review those plans and work with CHOP and the City's Streets Department to find a solution that provides the highest protection for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Disclosure: CHOP's Vice President for Government Affairs, Peter Grollman, serves on the Board of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

The Future Of The Schuylkill River Trail At South Street - A Preview On Wednesday

Someday, all these lines will be dark green

There's a boardwalk coming which will connect the Schuylkill River Trail to the South Street Bridge...

There is built trail at Gray's Ferry Crescent just waiting for a connection...

Learn about the future of the Schuylkill River Trail for West & South Philly at a public meeting next Wednesday.

Date: Wednesday, February 8th
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Rainey Auditorium at Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Come to this public meeting to learn about plans being considered to extend and connect the trail through the Gray's Ferry Crescent, the new Penn Park, and the West Bank Greenway. (See event flier below)

Green Bike Lanes Finally Coming to the South Street Bridge

Green Bike Lanes on the South Street Bridge will be here soon. Later this week, Streets Department crews will begin painting the bike lanes on the west end of South Street from 33rd St to Convention Ave. In October, crews will painting the bike lanes on the bridge. Work on the project is expected to be completed by the end of October (weather permitting).

Bicyclists should expect intermittent bike lane closures during the project.

Sunny Days on the South Street Bridge, reading a book and riding on green bike lanes.

South Street Bridge Celebration

Here are just our pictures and videos uploaded for today's South Street Bridge Opening.



South Street Bridge Reopening on Flickr

South Street Bridge Gallery (other users) on Flickr

Update on Spruce, Lombard, South and the South St Bridge

November 6th will be very important day for Philadelphia bicyclists, perhaps even more important than the ribbon cutting of the Spruce and Pine bike lanes last October. The South Street Bridge opening combined with new bike lanes on Lombard and South plus fresh pavement on the east of Broad sections of Spruce and Pine will create a nearly contiguous string of bike lanes from Front Street to the Cobbs Creek Parkway.

So here is the current status if the three projects:

South St Bridge - Sidewalks complete, street surfacing taking place.










Lombard and South Bike Lanes - Streets Department has traced the bike lane lines with spray paint on Lombard and South from 21st to 27th St.










Spruce and Pine Street resurfacing - As of 10 AM the paving crew was located on Spruce St at the 7th St intersection and moving west. On Friday Spruce from Dock St to 7th St was paved.

What to do at the South Street Bridge Opening

Mayor Nutter will open the South Street Bridge on November 6th to bicyclists and pedestrians at 3pm. But, bicyclists and pedestrians are welcome to bike and walk across the Bridge at 2pm for an hour before the ceremony and before motor vehicles are allowed on.

The Coalition will lead an ad-hoc bike parade. Come with your bike dressed up and bring the kids!



















2010 July 4th Bike Parade in North Wildwood, NJ


UPenn's Museum of Archeology and Anthropology is offering bicyclists, walkers and transit riders half off their admission price on November 6th as part of their "Green and Sustainable Day" and free cab rides across the Bridge from Velopark bike cabs to celebrate the Bridge's re-opening. The Museum also placed new ganged inverted U racks on Spruce (South) Street.

Buffered Bike Lanes For Lombard and South!

13 months after the rollout of the buffered bike lanes on Spruce and Pine comes the new bike lanes on Lombard and South from 21st to the South Street Bridge. I envision legions of cyclists crossing back and forth over the South Street Bridge. I also envision Stu Bykofsky in a dark corner of his basement typing furiously.















A quick and dirty rendering of the buffered bike lane at Lombard and 27th (via Google Street View).

The Bike Lanes are likely to be striped by the first week of November. Next Spring plans are to add Sharrows on 24th and 25th Streets as well as on Locust from 25th to 22nd. Navigational signs will also installed, guiding bicyclists from Front Street/Penns Landing to the South Street Bridge and the University of Pennsylvania.

Of course as we have seen before, life in the bike lane won't be a panacea. For example the Philadelphia School at 25th and Lombard will have school buses and vehicles unload and load students twice a day. The 40 bus which runs on a moderately frequent 15 minute schedule (30 minutes on weekends) will also provide some conflict. But with no major churches west of 22nd there shouldn't be too many parking issues on weekends. On the plus side you should be able pass by all the suburban and Delaware teens stuck in Saturday night South Street traffic.



Click on the map to enlarge.

Lombard and South Bike Lanes Meeting at the Philadelphia School - 10/14 @ 6:30PM

In anticipation of the reopening of the South Street Bridge the City is proposing bike lanes on Lombard Street and South Street from 21st St to the South Street Bridge to improve connections with the Spruce and Pine Bike Lanes.

October 14th, 2010
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
The Philadelphia School
2501 Lombard Street

I know that we have been bombarding you with meetings to attend this month, it's an indication that things are getting busy around here. However if you can only get to one then pick this meeting. You're support for these proposed bike lanes is critical and we need a great outcome to make this happen.


View Larger Map

Speaking of Spruce and Pine it was recently announced on the Brownstoner Philadelphia blog (which is quickly becoming one of my favorites) that those bone rattling streets will be repaved as early as this month and that the South Street Bridge may open in November.

|And now for the Bad News...|

A First Look At the South Street Bridge

Last week the Streets Department rolled out three different design option for the towers on the new South Street Bridge.














To me the images look like major improvements over the first tower design, but what is of interest to me is the look of the street from the sidewalk. One through lane and a buffer, bike lanes and a wide sidewalk. This must be a dream right?

For details on the current tower designs and general information about the South Street Bridge go to http://potholes.phila.gov/southstreetbridge and click "Tower Design Options".

Bicyclists Urged to Ride Safely on South Street Bridge Detours

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia stresses need for increased safety measures for bicyclists

With the South Street Bridge scheduled for closure on Monday, December 8, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is asking bicyclists to ride safely on detours.

"We are urging bicyclists to stay in the road, to follow bike lanes and to not ride on sidewalks," said Breen Goodwin, Bicycle Ambassadors Coordinator, a community adult education program sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the city of Philadelphia, University City District and Fairmount Park.

"Shaving a few minutes off your bike commute is not worth the increased risk posed to yourself and others by riding against traffic or on the sidewalk," added Goodwin.

The anticipated increase in motor vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic on all detour roads makes it critical that rules of the road be followed and enforced for all users. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is especially concerned that bicyclists who want to go to Center City may try to use Walnut Street Bridge, either by riding on sidewalks or in the bike lane going in the wrong direction.

"We have made several recommendations to the city on how the detour can be improved for bicyclists, chief among them is to create a complete bike lane on 33rd Street so that bicyclists know that they should ride all the way up to Chestnut Street to go eastbound," said John Boyle, Advocacy Director for the Bicycle Coalition.

A complete list of the Bicycle Coalition's recommendations for improving the detour can be found at their website www.bicyclecoalition.org.

A recent count of all of the five Schuylkill Bridges found that the South Street Bridge is the most heavily used by bicyclists. As documented in the report Double Dutch: Bicycling Jumps in Philadelphia, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia found that 160 bikes cross the South Street Bridge per hour during rush hour.

"Over seven percent of vehicular traffic on the South Street Bridge is bicycles, which is about 1,700 bicyclists a day," said Boyle. "All those bicycles are now going to cross the Walnut and Chestnut Street Bridges, doubling bicycle traffic on those bridges."

In order to assist bicyclists, the Bicycle Ambassadors will have a street team at key intersections during the morning and evening rush hours on the first day of the closure. Ambassadors will be handing out detour maps as well as rules of the road for bicyclists. A copy of the map is also available on their website.

"We are pleased that the South Street Bridge's makeover is finally beginning," says Alex Doty, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. "The new bridge will be safer for bicyclists and more pedestrian friendly and we thank Mayor Nutter and his administration for their leadership."

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization making bicycling better through advocacy and education by promoting biking as a healthy, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly form of transportation and recreation.



View Larger Map
Sayonara Southie

Volunteers Needed For SS Bridge Closing Day

The Bicycle Ambassadors are looking for a few good volunteers.

With the closure of the South Street Bridge on Monday, we are looking for some volunteer Ambassadors to come out and help distribute educational flyers to cyclists in the University City neighborhood during the morning and evening rush hours.

If you are interested, please contact Breen Goodwin for more details.

email:
breen@bicyclecoalition.org
phone:
215.BICYCLE (242-9253) ext. 5

One Last Ride on the South Street Bridge on Monday

The South Street Bridge will be closing for two years on Monday December 8th at 9:30 AM and the Bicycle Coalition will be hosting one last bike ride over the bridge. We will be meeting along with the South Street Bridge Coalition at Hollenbeck Hall just west of the I-76 Interchange on the Bridge at 8:45 AM.

South Street Bridge to Close on December 8

Bicycling between Center City and West Philadelphia is about to change dramatically. The closing of the South Street Bridge will disrupt the commute pattern for nearly 1000 cyclists. The Bicycle Coalition is working behind the scenes to ensure that new traffic patterns are safe for bicyclists. Look for more bicycling detour information on the BCGP website in the coming days.



Philadelphia Ped Bike Coordinator Charles Carmalt looking over detour options with Breen Goodwin and John Boyle
Photo: Sarah Clark Stuart