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Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Agenda
• Introduction
• Pilot Project Overview
• Q&A at Boards
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
History to Date
• Development and Evaluation of Options
• Meetings with District Councilmembers
• Meeting with Representatives from Community Organizations
• Meeting with Religious Institutions
• Meeting with Emergency Responders
• Meeting with Community Organization Boards
Philadelphia Bicycle Network: 50 miles of paved paths
Over 200 miles of streets with bike lanes
But few links into Center City
Yet Center City is where many of the region’s major attractions are located
Jobs
ShoppingTourism
Performing
Arts
Museums
Because of the lack of bicycle facilities in Center City and the potential to
connect the existing and proposed river trails,
we focused our analysis on this corridor south of Walnut Street
Center City Traffic Volumes
East-West Streets
4,564
3,377
2,086
2,573
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
Eastbound Westbound
Vehic
les/H
our
Available Capacity
Traffic Volume
East-west streets in Center City have excess capacity even during peak periods
Typical Existing Conditions –
Two narrow travel lanes and a narrow parking lane
Pilot Project –
One-way bike lane on two parallel streets
Advantages
Two lanes of traffic
Possible to pass a
stopped or slow moving
vehicle
Disadvantages
Stopped vehicles may
block either travel lane
unpredictably
Bicycles must compete
with faster motor
vehicle traffic
Bicyclists at risk of
“dooring”
Typical Existing
Conditions
Philadelphia Office of Transportation
Advantages
Bicyclists separated
from moving and
parked vehicles
Motor vehicle travel
lane clarified
Curbside remains
available for emergency
vehicles and loading
Disadvantages
Motor vehicles will
block the bike lane
when loading/unloading
goods or passengers
Permit parking for
religious institutions will
impact the bike lane
sporadically
Pilot Project
Conditions
After evaluating the streets in the corridor, we found that Spruce and
Pine were the best candidates for the a successful pilot project
SPRUCE ST
PINE ST
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
• Minimize conflicts with buses
• Close to Center City destinations
• Bridge over I-95 links streets with Delaware River and Penn’s Landing
• Close to Locust Street access to Schuylkill River Trail
• Pilot will test how bike lanes work with other tourist vehicles – horse carriages, tour vehicles, etc.
Why Spruce and Pine Streets?
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
• Longer distance with bus conflicts
• Poor linkage to Schuylkill River Trail
• Further from Center City destinations
• Higher traffic volumes west of 9th Street
• Reduced traffic because of South Street Bridge reconstruction
Why not Lombard?
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Will this impact residential parking?
• No change in residential parking is proposed at this time
• Consideration could be given in future to providing loading zones
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Will this impact emergency vehicles?
• Part of reason for Pilot Project will be to evaluate impact on emergency vehicles
• Hospitals in corridor will have to have adequate emergency access
• Fire and Police Departments are supportive of project
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
• Currently No Parking regulations prohibit parking in right travel lane but permit standing and stopping
• The same No Parking regulations will apply to the bike lane
• Taxis, residents will still be allowed to briefly stop or stand at curb as needed
• Delivery vehicles, moving vans will still be allowed to stop at curb to load or unload goods
What about passenger and goods loading?
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
What about parking for religious institutions?
• Special parking privileges for religious institutions will continue
• Limited to persons with parking placards that:
– Must be displayed on dash
– Are valid only during authorized hours
– May be used for special church events such as weddings or funerals
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
What about parking for religious institutions?
• Stricter enforcement of existing rules
• Signage may be installed to clarify rules
• Parking periods to be reexamined when existing authorizations are reviewed
• Parking privilege to be limited to hours when religious ceremonies are being conducted
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
How will the Pilot be evaluated?
• Motor vehicle counts
• Bicycle counts
• Motor vehicle queue lengths at key intersections
• Spot speed studies
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Will there be street repairs?
• East of Broad Street, streets will be resurfaced beginning in Spring 2010
• West of Broad, spot repairs will be made
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Next Steps
• Evaluate existing conditions
• Official start of pilot late September
• Evaluate late October/early November
• Findings of evaluation will be reported in early December
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Conclusion
• Create a safe route to attract cyclist
• Remove cyclists from the sidewalk
• Reduce cyclists on other streets
• Increase in cyclists will likely calm traffic on Spruce and Pine
• This is a pilot
Center City Bikeways
Crosstown South Pilot Project
Comments/Feedback
Charles Carmalt
Office of Transportation and Utilities