Tomorrow morning at 9AM the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Neighborhood Bike Works will be installing a demonstration On Street bike parking facililty at 40th St near Walnut in front of the Bridge Cinema. The bike rack will be in place for two weeks.

The purpose of the demonstration will be show that one parking space can provide bike parking for 8 to 10 bicycles. There are currently 6 such bike corrals in Portland OR and one in New York City and are at locations where there is heavy demand for bicycle parking.

Why do they need "on-street" parking? Most of the bikers in Philly don't use the street at all. I see countless bikers riding on sidewalks and when they are in the streets, they don't bother to follow any of the traffic laws... they ride the wrong way, cutting off cars and pedestrians without signaling, etc. I would much prefer to see enforcement of the biking laws to make biking, driving, and walking safer for everyone.

This will never happen. I also agree why do bikes need on street parking? There was recently a bill proposed to turn unused handicap parking spots into Motorcycle/Scooter parking spots which failed. So I don't see this making it that far. Good idea though but I would prefer spots for motorized bikes since there is plenty of parking already for pedal bikes off the street.

Maybe, Maybe Not. We think we have a good argument though. I don't think that taking out a dozen of the 14,000 on street spaces is going to make a dent in the parking problem (there are far more dumpsters taking up spaces). We are replacing parking in the same amount of space by a ratio of 8 to 1.

On Monday we will be releasing a report
Bicycle Parking:Key to A Greener Philadelphia which lays out our
observations and recommendations to improve bicycle parking in the city.

I do not see all the bike racks and the other things installed on sidewalks to secure bikes being used to capacity, so I just don't understand why parking for bikes would have to infringe on street parking for vehicles, even minimally.

if you walk or take septa you won't have to park anywhere.

I'm in favor of anything that makes biking easier and driving harder. Less people would drive cars if it were more difficult to drive and park cars.

I would much rather see resources go to making public transportation more appealing than making driving more difficult.

People who currently drive will be more apt to drive less if they are given access to a good and extensive public transportation system. Given the choice between replacing their current commute via auto with bike or public transport, most people would go for public transport. They remain protected from the elements, just as they did in their car. Comfort is a big factor when trying to encourage someone to alter their lifestyle.

Couldn't agree more. I would also like to see more done to make cycling more appealing. I'll have to check out that "facility" once it's installed. One thing I'll say, is that the biggest disincentive to me cycling more is having to haul a set of locks with me to secure the bike. I'd rather just use the bike for trips where I won't be leaving it unattended. Having parking facilities where I maybe pay a fee and get a code to unlock the bike later would be a big incentive for using my bike more.

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you couldn't pay me to ride a bike in philly.

You might be a good audience for the proposed bike sharing program. You could ride it from point A to B and then just park & lock it & it's not really your problem anymore.