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Bicycle commuting in Philadelphia has increased by approximately 151 percent between 2000 and ’09, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. South Philly, in particular, has seen a dramatic increase in bicycle riders and, because of such growth, has been chosen as one of the first neighborhoods to be revamped to create bike-priority streets.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Community Design Collaborative unveiled preliminary designs for the Safe Streets for Healthy Neighborhoods initiative Feb. 1 at Guerin Recreation Center, 2201 S. 16th St.
The project, which was introduced in November, aims to improve neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia by creating a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly environment. The design team, however, emphasized the changes would impact the entire community.
“We want to reach the average citizen, and not just the bikers,” Susan Dannenberg, a coalition consultant said. “The improvements will change the quality of life for everyone in the area.”
At the initial November meeting, residents had come to a consensus that South 10th, 13th, and 15th streets from South Street to Oregon Avenue would be revamped. These streets were believed to have the most function and utility in the neighborhood with narrow, one-way streets.
Dannenberg presented pictures of Center City’s Spruce and Pine streets as examples of successful, safe bike streets transformed by the addition of trees as well as lane separators and symbols painted on roadways to indicate the presence of bikers, also known as sharrowing, at last week’s gathering.
The design team recommended similar treatments for these streets that would be executed in two phases: a Quickstart Conceptual Plan, which would need less funding and, therefore, could be applied to the streets quicker, and a Complete Streets Plan, which is long-term but more expensive.
Both plans would make use of painted stripes and sharrows to indicate to drivers that road space is being shared with cyclists. The design team also presented various traffic calming techniques that would use signs and speed “humps” to ensure that drivers stay at a safe, but reasonable speed.
The Complete Streets Plan is a broad overview of the initiative, the design team’s Julie Bush said. Colored curbside bike boxes and raised sidewalks would specifically benefit both bikers and pedestrians by forcing drivers to take note of crosswalks while the addition of trees and curb bump outs would act as a rest stop for bicyclists.
Locals gave feedback about the initiatives through discussion groups and questionnaires but the opinions were mixed among the 30-person audience. Many residents were in favor of installing trees along the sidewalks but others were concerned that more trees would mean less parking.
“We do live in South Philly,” Molly Henry, of 15th and Tasker streets, said. “Parking is always limited but cars are always around.”
Brian Kall, of 19th and Mifflin streets, agreed, suggesting parking permits for residents in the area.
Nevertheless, locals were excited to see changes that would trickle throughout the community and essentially affect the quality of living in the entire neighborhood.
“It’s nice to see the city taking a holistic view and trying to understand what the whole community of pedestrians and bicyclists would like to see change,” Kall said.
However, Charles Denny, a traffic engineer for the City’s Streets Department, emphasized that these are just plans.
“Everything is conceptual right now. There’s no funding as of right now, but there are people from the City who are interested in this.”
Charles R. Carmal, the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utility’s pedestrian and bicycle coordinator, agrees.
“These are ideas that could all be explored, but we need to get the ideas out there if we want anything to be done,” he said.
Even though City departments support the project, the initiative is not covered by the City budget. Finalized designs will be revealed in April during another public Safe Streets for Healthy Neighborhoods meeting, but supporters would need to garner support from their City Council leaders before any designs could be implemented.
Until then, Dannenberg hopes to get the whole neighborhood involved.
“The next step is to go to the people. Going to outreach programs, churches, community centers, and introducing ideas to other members of the community.”
For more information, visit bicyclecoalition.org.
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