SPOKE magazine Issue Three by spokemagazine

Issue 003

m a g a z i n e for the cycling citizen of Philadelphia

FREE

editors ALEX VUOCOLO alex@spokemag.bike

contributing writers ANDREW ZALESKI, SANDY SMITH, BRADLEY MAULE, TONY ABRAHAM

MATT BEVILACQUA matt@spokemag.bike

cover illustration MIGUEL CO

creative director ELLIOTT LAMBORN elliott@spokemag.bike

contributing artists DAN LIDON, MARY PELTZ, JUSTIN DURNER, KATE OTTE, SARAH VUOCOLO

staff designer JOHN CARDONE john@spokemag.bike

send all inquiries to: spokemagazine@gmail.com

marketing director HILLARY WICKLINE hillary@spokemag.bike outreach manager KATIE BOHRI katie@spokemag.bike

our online home: WWW.SPOKEMAG.BIKE printed by Evergreen Printing Company Bellmawr, NJ

ISSUE THREE

Table of Contents

8 14

Over the River and Through the Wood The reopening of the Manayunk Bridge Bradley Maule

The Shop

A bike-building coworking space emerges in Fishtown

22 25

Andrew Zaleski

In Yonder Valleys

Northwest Philly’s uphill battle

Sandy Smith

Park & Ride

When parks and green space intersect

Katie Bohri

The Two-Part Commute

SEPTA aims to integrate bikes into its transit system

Matt Bevilacqua

Little Boxes on the Roadside

Why Delaware County’s patchy bike network won’t cut it Alex Vuocolo

Can bikes and brews ever mix?

IBikePHL Photospread

The bike-friendliest City Council candidate

Biking While Drunk Tony Abraham

Bike Face

Lora Reehling

Exit Interview: Andrew Stober Matt Bevilacqua

Letter from the Editor The struggle for better, safer streets — streets that accommodate everyone,

cyclists and drivers and walkers, the young, the old, the poor and the rich — is real. It moves gradually and is often frustrating. It has a body count: people like Vijay Mohan, the 26-yearold filmmaker and activist who was killed this spring after a car struck his bike on Girard Avenue, and Rachel Hall, the 22-year-old Temple University lacrosse player who went on life support following an April hit-and-run and who remains in rehab. It’s a political struggle that plays out at community meetings and in City Hall. What it isn’t, however, is a struggle for absolute power. It isn’t a “turf war,” a term one local TV news station elected to use while reporting on a driver who, in a fit of road rage, assaulted a cyclist on Pine Street in May. And there certainly is no “war on cars,” inasmuch as the acknowledgment that city streets carry far more than cars alone constitutes a “war.” Framing the discussion around bikes, cars, and the ever-changing needs of both is a task that demands nuance and mutual respect. Phrases like “turf war” and “war on cars” serve only to fan the flames or resentment, isolation and entitlement that many travelers feel when struck in Center City gridlock, or imperiled by a car parked illegally in the bike lane, or upset at the idea that so many other commuters out there are acting recklessly. It falls to those of us in the media to step up and lead a change in the way we talk about sharing the road. That conversation can start with the bicycle itself. What is a bicycle? What is its function? Some people, aided by obsolete yet persistent stereotypes of greasestained radicals, see it as a weapon. But, like a saw or an axe, its purpose varies depending on how you put it to use. In this issue, we explore the bike as a tool for

building connections between people, rather than as a carbon steel wedge for driving them apart. Bradley Maule reports on the Manayunk Bridge project, the first bike- and pedestrian-only connection between Philadelphia and its suburbs that could reunite a historically codependent area. Andrew Zaleski visits what could be a prototype for bicycle-focused coworking spaces. And Sandy Smith considers a new way for cyclists to surmount those pesky hills that make neighborhoods in the Northwest feel separate from the rest of the city. Action begins with thought, and the words of others inspire how we think. If Philadelphians start to think about the bicycle as something that can, when applied practically, repair divisions in this city, the ultimate result could be the kinds of projects and policies that ease tempers and save lives. Thank you for reading and riding, Matt Bevilacqua Founding Editor

THE REFLECTOR Recent Developments in the United States of Bicycles

L.A. Metro approves a contract with Bicycle Transit Systems, the company that operates Indego here in Philadelphia, to install and oversee a pilot bike share program in the City of Angels. The service is slated to open next year with more than 60 stations, 1,000-plus bikes, and approximately 2,478,652 finger-wagging naysayers.

Customers at Rocket Cat Café are treated to a free and totally unsolicited show when a man with a William Shakespeare haircut shows up to the Fishtown coffee shop butt naked. It turns out that the man, Tom Dimitriou, is advertising the annual Philly Naked Bike Ride. Rocket Cat’s owner, who agreed to the promotion, issues a mea culpa, while Dimitriou remains unapologetic and kinda gross.

Councilmember David Oh introduces an ordinance to raise the penalty for parking in a bike lane from $50 to $200. Hooray! But wait: The bill would also require cyclists to “not impede the normal and reasonable movement of vehicle traffic” and always stay to the right of the lane. This has some scratching their heads, as it seems to contradict a state law allowing cyclists to take the center of the road when necessary. The Schuylkill Canal Towpath’s opening marks the completion of one of the final and most difficult trail segments connecting Montgomery County with Philadelphia. The ribbon cutting comes just weeks after USA Today dubs the Schuylkill River Trail the “best urban trail” in the country. All this makes us feel a little better about the Meek Mill-Drake beef.

Employees of New York’s Citi Bike program become the first such workers in the country to reach a union contract. Brokered by Transport Workers Union Local 100, the deal will offer Citi Bike mechanics, call center agents and other employees a raise. What we want to know is, what happens in the event of a bike share strike?

The city’s first protected bike lanes are announced for an unexpected location: Northeast Philly. Sixth District Councilmember Bobby Henon worked with the Streets Department to develop a plan for protected lanes on Ryan Avenue, which runs past two schools, and Frankford Avenue, a horrendous place to bike at present. A district plan for the Chattanooga, Tenn. River Wards also calls for equips its police officers protected lanes on Lehigh with a tool that measures the distance between bikes and Avenue.

Thin white posts show up between the bike and traffic lanes on the Walnut Street Bridge. Some call the plastic cylinders a sorry excuse for bollards, but others welcome any extra protection on a bridge where last year, a 27-year-old pedestrian was struck by a car, thrown over the side to a parking lot 40 feet below, and killed.

In a blow to both the cycling and housing advocacy movements, Patrick Wanninkhof, 25, is struck and killed on a highway in western Oklahoma. Wanninkhof had been in the middle of a cross-country bike ride to raise money for affordable housing.

passing cars. The C3FT Device, known locally as BSMART, has been touted as a way to better enforce safe passing laws mandating that cars keep a certain distance from bikes when passing. (Pennsylvania law requires four feet of space, not that you would know it around here.)

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission releases its first round of data collected from 11 electronic counters placed on major trails around the region. In the top spot: the Schuylkill River Trail at Kelly Drive, which saw 430,000 cyclists over the last year. Take that, USA Toda — oh, right. We won. Philly won a thing.

OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOOD The first car-less connection between city and suburb will reunite Manayunk with its sister community to the west STORY AND PHOTOS BY BRADLEY MAULE

hen the Schuylkill Expressway opened to City Avenue in 1954, it planted a physical symbol of the growing postwar divide between city and suburb. On one side of the

Schuylkill River sat working-class Manayunk; on the other, affluent Lower Merion Township, which had no need for its once-industrial riverfront. With nine large concrete arches, the Manayunk Bridge sulked across the river and expressway, an imposing reminder of time past.

The deck of the Manayunk Bridge in summer 2014, just before work on its conversion began.

Some six decades later, that bridge is the centerpiece of a

“This project is all about connections,” says Chris Leswing,

plan to bring the two communities back together. When the

Lower Merion Township’s assistant director of building and

Manayunk Bridge reopens in September, it will carry a new

planning. “In Lower Merion, you have a bedroom community;

paved bicycle and pedestrian trail across the Schuylkill,

in Manayunk, you have a vibrant main street. This [trail across

connecting two existing trails on either side. While injecting

the bridge] creates an immediate open-space connection to

new life into an iconic bridge, the $4.2 million project will also

the riverfront and makes Lower Merion a better place. At the

allow people to travel between Lower Merion and Manayunk

same time, it adds a lot of discretionary income to Manayunk.”

— without a car, that is — for the first time in nearly 30 years. “The symbolic aspect of the bridge connection is strong,” says Kay Sykora, executive director of Destination Schuylkill

he abundance of that discretionary income is well documented, perhaps never more infamously than

River and former director of the Manayunk Development

by novelist James A. Michener, who helped forge the chasm

Corporation, whose logo prominently features the bridge.

between Lower Merion and Manayunk with the stroke of a

“The process of working together, Lower Merion and

rather acerbic pen. Fresh off of winning the Pulitzer Prize

Manayunk, was the most important part.”

for his first book, Tales of the South Pacific, and its smashing

Like the bridge itself, which spans a river, an expressway,

musical adaptation by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Michener

two active freight rail lines, an active passenger rail line, two

in 1950 accepted a commission from Holiday, a travel

city streets, an island, a canal and a towpath, the project’s

magazine put out by Philadelphia-based Curtis Publishing

collaborative effort is complex. Stakeholders and funding

Company. His task: profile the Main Line, where Curtis

came from the local, county, regional and state levels, while

president Walter Fuller lived.

several non-profits and the public offered input. Tricky

In his story, subtitled “Suburbia at its finest,” Michener

interagency coordination was required between SEPTA,

describes the Main Line through sweeping and zealous prose

Norfolk Southern and the Pennsylvania Department of

as “having no wrong side of the tracks.” In his own book on

Transportation. That the bridge will open less than a decade

The Hidden History of the Main Line, Mark E. Dixon accurately

after the project was born borders on miraculous, a product of

describes Michener’s story as “pure puffery.” Michener’s

will in both Lower Merion and Philadelphia.

dismissals of Philadelphia — “city toughs look longingly,”

spoke magazine he writes, at the genteel mansions across the border — are

the name change, construction of the Schuylkill Expressway

predictable and amusing. But his story takes a dark and

obliterated the neighborhood’s lowest, working-class reaches.

unnecessary turn in describing Lower Merion’s “ghost in the

There once were houses under the two westernmost arches of

closet,” the community formerly known as West Manayunk:

the Manayunk Bridge. Today, there’s only a crowded highway.

[The] cliffside town of West Manayunk perches Pittsburgh-like in the gloom. “It’s a disgrace to call

“Michener had a bug up his ass,” laments Jerry Francis, president of the Lower Merion Historical Society. “He was

that a part of Lower Merion,” the Main Liner is likely

young and still trying to make a name for himself, so he said

to protest. “It really belongs to Philadelphia.”

something scandalous to get recognized.” In Lower Merion,

Fret not, though. After inventing the insult, he invents another quote to soften it, lauding the superior suburban school district for curing West Manayunk children of their deprivation: “‘By the time we get them in Lower Merion High,’ the officials say, ‘you can’t tell them from the others. Good kids, those Manayunkers.’” While only a throwaway paragraph in an otherwise gushing essay, the snub did major damage. Three years later, the West Manayunk civic association took a vote of residents to rename the community, with Belmont Hills winning out. Concurrent to

Michener is remembered far less for his Pulitzer (or the Doylestown art museum that shares his name) than for his Holiday story. Francis’ organization has gone to great lengths to repair the damage. As an early champion and ongoing steward of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail, the Historical Society produced a series of interpretive panels along the bicycle-pedestrian path depicting much of the riverfront industry and, indeed, West Manayunk — plus its relationship to the parent town across the river. “Manayunk and West Manayunk were one community, just separated by a river,” Francis says, noting that Pencoyd Iron Works, in Lower Merion, employed more than 6,000 people living on both sides of the Schuylkill. “We’re now looking at a more encompassing regional identity, trying to blur the lines of township and city.”

rancis has a daughter who is also doing her part. With a background in environmental science, including a

stint at the Philadelphia Water Department, Sadie Francis operates the Cynwyd Station Café and Tea Room. Housed in a restored, circa-1890 train station, the café marks the handoff from SEPTA’s Cynwyd Line to the Cynwyd Heritage Trail. In the restroom hangs a framed photo of the Manayunk Bridge under construction. The younger Francis opened the café in 2014 not because of the commuter terminal, but for its location on the Cynwyd Heritage Trail and, by extension, its connections across the Manayunk Bridge. “We definitely wouldn’t have opened here if not for the trail,” she says. Despite the Cynwyd Line’s light use, transit factored heavily into the development of the trail and the reopening of the bridge. “There was a huge planning effort to complement transit, land use and economic development,” says Leswing,

Beginning in September, the Schuylkill Canal Towpath and the Manayunk Bridge will connect the city and Lower Merion by bike.

the Lower Merion planner. “It was especially important to SEPTA to provide options because there’s no room to expand

know your rights

Did you know… •

If you’re involved in a bike accident and the driver leaves the scene, you may still be able to pursue a legal matter

•

If you have a bike accident because of a negligent or aggressive driver, you can still make a claim even if the car never makes physical contact with you or your bike

See our website for more info: yourcyclingrights.com 215.636.9988

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The Manayunk Bridge crosses not only the Schuylkill River (pictured), but also three active rail lines, two city streets, I-76, an island and a canal.

Looking south on the Cynwyd Heritage Trail. When the Manayunk Bridge bike path opens in September, it will touch down between the interpretive plaques in the distance.

parking at Cynwyd or Ivy Ridge [on the eastern end of the

infrastructure while improving drainage and safety on the

bridge].”

bridge,” says Liz Smith, SEPTA’s manager of long range

When completed, the bridge will act as a crucial cog in connecting The Circuit, a 750-mile pedestrian and bike trail winding between nine counties across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Aside from connecting directly with the Cynwyd Heritage Trail in Lower Merion and indirectly with the

planning.

ven before the Manayunk Bridge opens, plans have begun on the Cynwyd Heritage Trail’s next phase, called

the “Connelly Spur.” It will begin on the Lower Merion foot of

Schuylkill River Trail across the way, the bridge will also set the

the bridge, descend 100 feet to the riverfront under the freight

table for the Ivy Ridge Trail. Though still in the planning stages,

line and expressway, pass through the “Connelly Tract” (where

that trail will run parallel to the river through Manayunk and

O’Neill Properties is building a large apartment building on

all the way to the Ivy Ridge Regional Rail stop.

the former site of Pencoyd Iron Works, which later housed

Leswing credits SEPTA for taking the lead in making the

Connelly Containers), and finally across a renovated Pencoyd

project happen. SEPTA owns the bridge, but more importantly,

Bridge. There, the trail will place the user within a couple

he says, “they speak railroad.” That allowed the agency to

hundred yards of both SEPTA’s Wissahickon Station and the

engage Norfolk Southern in negotiating work over a very

Wissahickon Transportation Center.

active freight line, as well as a less active line on Venice Island.

A third, farther-off phase will continue the trail across City

For its effort, SEPTA retains the right to revert the bridge back

Avenue through Fairmount Park and all the way to the Please

to rail use, although no such plans exist at present.

Touch Museum.

Opened in 1918, the Manayunk Bridge was built by

Each extension will draw from differing, diverse users

the Pennsylvania Railroad for its Schuylkill Branch. With

while building on the ones that already take advantage of the

handsome concrete arches, it was designed to withstand

existing two-mile Cynwyd Heritage Trail, not to mention those

heavy loads of coal. And the half-mile, S-shaped bridge

trails within the adjacent 187-acre West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

is actually three bridges in one, with the central, arched,

V. Scott Zelov, a Lower Merion commissioner and chair of the

concrete portion bookended by steel and through-plate girder

Parks and Recreation Committee, sees plenty of cyclists and

sections. After the demise of the Pennsylvania Railroad and its

walkers now, when he’s out using the trail himself.

successor Penn Central, SEPTA purchased the bridge in 1976

“People who want to get out for exercise, families out for

and continued to operate passenger service to Ivy Ridge until

a stroll, students... people have really embraced the Cynwyd

1986, when the agency closed it, citing safety concerns from

Heritage Trail,” Zelov says. And after the bridge opens? “You’re

weathering concrete.

going to want to bring visitors to town out onto the bridge to

After nearly 30 years, SEPTA is happy to see it put back to use. “While SEPTA will continue to maintain the structure itself, the project will provide for a good reuse of our inactive

see that spectacular view.” “Plus we’ll have bike share up there in no time,” Leswing adds.

The Shop A bike-building coworking space emerges in Fishtown STORY BY ANDREW ZALESKI | PHOTOS BY DAN LIDON

n early June, the garage door out front of Firth &

at around $1,000. With a “family package” of accessories

Wilson’s new shop is thrown open. Several rows

— fenders, seat cushions, foot rails, and handrails for people

of cargo and upright city bikes are lined up just

who’d like to ride on the rear dock — a customer is looking

inside. The roar of a makeshift machine shop in the back

at about $2,500. Wilson readily admits that the price is higher

overwhelms the voices of customers walking around the

than what most people are used to paying for a bike. The

showroom. Bicycle parts and accessories fill a separate room

hope is that locating the whole operation in Fishtown will

off to the right.

shift business a touch more toward bike repairs.

Dave Wilson, a tall, bespectacled man with earrings in

“My experience is, and I’ve been in the bike industry for

both ears, estimates the number of items available for sale

25 years, is that most people are going to have their bikes

storewide to be just under 3,000. (The exact number on that

worked on pretty close to home,” Wilson says. “You’re

June afternoon, according to a quick search on the store

not going to take it somewhere far and have to arrange

computer: 2,946.)

some transportation. Just by virtue of locating in this

When Firth & Wilson Transport Cycles opened its doors in 2012, Wilson and co-founder Simon Firth faced a

neighborhood will bring that portion of business up.” On April 1, Firth & Wilson completed its move into the

conundrum from the get-go. The store’s first retail shop was

new Fishtown storefront, located on Frankford Avenue a

located on Spring Garden Street, but the frame shop, where

few blocks south of Girard Avenue. The new store, formerly

bicycle repairs and custom work happened, was way up on

the site of a lighting and antique lamp shop, is actually

Front Street in Fishtown.

a cavernous garage. And that poses a different sort of

“Having two locations made the frame shop almost useless,” says Wilson, a Fishtown resident. “You couldn’t go over there and do something quick.” Opportunity presented itself last winter, when the frame shop’s building was sold. Here was a chance to combine two storefronts into one, with the added bonus of potentially bringing in more revenue from

challenge. The new, bigger space was meant to consolidate operations under one roof. But now, there’s just a tad too much space. With 10,000 square feet across three floors,

“My experience is that most people are going to have their bikes worked on pretty close to home.”

repairs — the side of any bike

Firth & Wilson on Frankford is about eight times the size of the old shop. While the co-founders have plans to use much of the square footage on the ground floor for custom fabrication,

business that, along with parts and accessories, is more

they have also started inviting other bike businesses to share

profitable than the sales of bikes themselves.

floor space (not to mention the cost of rent). Velo-Ride, a

“Spring Garden wasn’t a bad spot, but it was still kind

Northern Liberties-based taxi service, rents space in the back

of in between neighborhoods,” Wilson says. “People would

of the shop for storing electric pedicabs. On the second-floor

find us for big family bikes and cargo bikes, but the repair

mezzanine is where Stephen Horcha, of Haley Tricycles,

business, the major portion of every bike shop’s business,

assembles and paints his well-known cargo bikes.

was not really happening there.” A rear-loading cargo bike from Firth & Wilson starts

“When you’ve got 10,000 square feet, it’s expeditious to share that,” Firth says. “To have the other bike businesses in

here is great because it not only helps the other businesses out in that they have a good space to be in and access to our skills, but we also have access to theirs.” Although Firth & Wilson has the makings of a bike-building coworking space, Wilson says the future plan isn’t really to expand the space by adding tenants. Instead, the pair aims to eventually transition full-time into the frame shop. A 20-year resident of Philadelphia, Firth spent about 15 years as a custom frame builder with Stephen Bilenky, of the Olney-based Bilenky Cycle Works. He’s also an official Brooks saddle repairman, having trained at the eponymous factory in England. The change in focus, Firth says, mirrors cycling trends he’s seen evolve during his two decades in town. “When I first was in Philly, we would sell used bikes for people who just wanted to commute around town,” he says. “It didn’t really matter. There were no real custom bikes per se… but there’s certainly way more people riding [today] than there was 20 years ago.” Firth & Wilson (the shop) now has a location readymade for the type of custom frame and repair work that Firth and Wilson (the men) have envisioned making up more of their business. The building is wired for three-phase electricity, which makes running heavy equipment like the shop’s milling machine, lathe, and welding machine more efficient. “We want to push the frame shop more and get more people on cargo bikes and better city bikes in Philadelphia,” Firth says. “That’s Firth & Wilson’s new location spans 10,000 square feet across three floors in a former lighting and antique lamp shop.

ASK A... BIKE ATTORNEY Name: Isaac F. Slepner Practices at: Solo office in Fishtown Attorney for: 8 years

what we want to do.”

cover you. In other words, there’s nothing specific you can carry that would just insure you as a bicyclist. If you crash the bike solo and there’s no other policy to go up against, proceed with your own health insurance. You may be able to recover under your own auto insurance or homeowner’s/renter’s insurance if you’re involved in a bike-on-bike or a bike-on-pedestrian crash.” What should I know about liability on the roads? “Bicycles are bound by the same traffic laws as any other vehicle. They’re bound by traffic signals and proper lane usage. It’s possible to get a DUI on a bicycle, although it’s highly unlikely in the city. Make sure you signal your lane changes. Make sure you stop at traffic signals and stop signs. I know, practically, that not every bicyclist does that at every moment. That said, obviously use common sense.” What’s a simple thing that cyclists can do to make your job easier?

I’ve been involved in a collision with a car. What’s the first thing I should do? “First of all, make sure you’re not at risk of death or serious injury. At that point, try to get the police involved. If you need to, dial 911 to transport you to the hospital. If you’re able to move, try to get the driver’s info. Exchange info the same as you would in a car crash — the difference being, it’s a lot more likely that the driver of the car is liable in a car-versus-bike. Don’t admit liability. Don’t say, ‘I’m sorry.’”

“If they’re coming to me for counsel, it would be helpful if they had all the information of both themselves and the other party involved. Any police reports. Copies of their insurance documents. Photographs of the incident and of their injuries. Copies of the medical record if doctors or the ER treated them. Basically, have all their records in order. I’m not going to turn anybody away, but it helps me and it helps the client to have all of the documentation.”

As a cyclist, what type of insurance should I look into?

Is there anything a cyclist can do that would screw him or her over in the eyes of the law?

“If you do own a car, you may want to call your insurance agent and ask them if riding a bike is covered under your car insurance. Same with your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Some companies may

“Basically, don’t be a jackass. Which is a good rule of thumb for everyone at all times, but specifically with regard to bikes. Don’t bike recklessly. If you’re in a crash, don’t admit liability. That’s the biggest rule I can think of.”

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Have an idea for a story about cycling in the Philadelphia region? Email us at

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SPOKE is a volunteer-run magazine Find us online at facebook.com/SPOKEMagPHL, tweet and gram us @SPOKE_mag, and visit our website at www.spokemag.bike for a list of upcoming events.

IN YONDER VALLEYS Northwest Philly has the best bike path in town. Reaching it, however, requires some work. STORY BY SANDY SMITH | ILLUSTRATIONS BY ELLIOTT LAMBORN

y and large, Philadelphia is a city of brick. Whether deep red, dark brown or Drexel orange, most of the city’s homes, and many of its stores and offices, are sculpted from this ancient material made from baked clay. But head up the Schuylkill River, and then make a right

That’s an example of the easy part about bike

where the Wissahickon Creek flows into it, and the picture

commuting from Northwest Philadelphia. But there’s a

changes. The streets of neighborhoods like East Falls, West

hard part as well: getting in and out of those valleys.

Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill abound with stone. Even less

Because Northwest lies in the Piedmont rather than the

architecturally rich areas like Manayunk and Roxborough

Atlantic coastal plain, it’s of a significantly higher elevation

have more stone homes than the rest of the city.

than the rest of the city. But its streams run closer to the

These homes are crafted from Wissahickon schist, the

elevation of Center City than that of the neighborhoods

underlying rock foundation of Philadelphia’s highlands.

they surround. As a result, raising the share of bicycle

The stone takes its name from the creek, whose name

commuters in Northwest Philadelphia from its current 1.8

is a Lenape word meaning “catfish creek” or “stream of

percent to the city’s 6.5 percent citywide target is literally

yellowish color,” and from whose banks the stone was

an uphill struggle.

mined for more than a century. That stream in turn forms a valley through the city’s Northwest section. In the early 19th century, the city fathers, seeking to protect Philadelphia’s water supply,

hestnut Hill resident Jefferson Moak echoes Murphy’s sentiments about the value of the river drive bike

paths. He became a bike commuter by accident during the

turned this valley into a park. They did the same for the

108-day Regional Rail strike of 1983. After trying surface

valley around the Schuylkill. Together, the valleys of the

transit and subways to get into Center City, a co-worker

Wissahickon and Schuylkill today feature the best bike

suggested he try biking in. “I looked at her as though she

infrastructure in the city, a “bike freeway” consisting of

was crazy,” Moak recalls. “After all, it was a minimum 12- to

paved paths closed to all but pedestrian traffic (and, in the

13-mile commute.”

case of Forbidden Drive, horses). “I find it extremely pleasant that you can hop on a

Moak found that commuting via Forbidden Drive and the river drives took about the same time as it did for him

bike path and do 75 percent of your commute,” says Dan

to bike to the nearest Regional Rail station and take the

Murphy, a southwest Germantown resident who rides to his

train. He converted to bike commuting and continued the

jobs at Firth & Wilson Transport Cycles in Fishtown and a

routine for 30 years, until his office moved to Northeast

sign shop in Brewerytown. If he is headed to Brewerytown

Philly in 2013 — “more of a trek than I wanted to take

or Center City, and time permits — “it’s a little out of the

daily,” he says.

way,” he says — he uses the Kelly Drive bike-pedestrian path to reach his destination.

With a “bike freeway” heading directly to it, Northwest Philadelphia should have a healthy number of bike

spoke magazine

commuters. Both the Wissahickon and the Schuylkill

SEPTA may not be able to assist with

run in deep valleys, however, and getting out of those

the changing facilities, but it does plan to tackle the bike

valleys requires a climb up steep hills. The reason why the

storage issue. “People have told us they need secure bike

annual Philadelphia International Cycling Classic runs

parking,” says Rebecca Collins, a strategy and sustainability

through Manayunk and Roxborough is the same reason

planner at SEPTA. One of the places SEPTA plans to provide

why residents of the latter find bike commuting less than

such parking in the near future is the South Broad Street

appealing. Imagine having to climb the Manayunk Wall

concourse, where there’s room to install a secure bike locker.

every damn day.

(Read about SEPTA’s new Cycle-Transit Plan on page 25.)

“I’ve gone every way under the sun to avoid climbing a

Combined with the Indego bike share network, updated

hill,” Murphy says. As a result, his commute often takes him

SEPTA facilities would make it possible for many more

through several North Philadelphia neighborhoods well

Northwest residents to have a blended commute, with

out of his way. “Broad Street is the most gradual way to

bicycles handling the first and last mile while Regional Rail

go,” he says. From there, his path usually takes him through

does the trunk-line hauling.

Nicetown in order to reach Wissahickon Avenue, whose

Even those who prefer an all-bike commute may

grade is less steep than that of Wayne or Germantown

be able to take advantage of another SEPTA project:

avenues.

converting part of the former Ivy Ridge Regional Rail

Even going downhill, the distance involved discourages

branch to a bike and hiking trail. Using the newly reopened

riders who have nowhere to store their bikes, or shower

Manayunk Bridge to reach the Cynwyd Line would

and change clothes, once they arrive at work. Moak’s

eliminate a steep grade in one direction for Roxborough

commute had him logging between 30 and 35 miles round

cyclists, and those continuing to Center City could use

trip each day. “Both my riding partner and I were fortunate

routes through Wynnefield and West Philadelphia to get

in being allowed to bring our bikes into the workplace

there and back without having to negotiate steep hills. (See

instead of leaving them on the street where they were

our story on the Manayunk Bridge reopening on page 8.)

subject to weather and potential theft,” he says. “My office building at 9th and Chestnut streets also had showers if I really came in hot and sweaty.”

Brewerytown

s for the rest of the Northwest, there are a number of fixes big and small that, taken together, just might

East Falls

193

3.8 ft

make commuting 8.51 mi

easier for the average cyclist. One of the more intriguing fixes is a device installed last year in Trondheim, Norway: a cable tramway buried in the pavement that gives cyclists a lift uphill. Matt Wysong, Northwest district planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, says the commission included a picture of the device at work in the final Northwest District Plan as a way to encourage “out-of-the-box” thinking. “The city is not actively considering installing these right now,” he says, “but there are a lot of great streets where it could work, such as Ridge

would make life easier for cyclists. Some other simple improvements

Avenue or the Wall. “It’s something that would need further study and a champion,”

include marked bike lanes on Wissahickon

Wysong adds. “I don’t think we have that champion yet, but maybe

and Midvale avenues. “It’s precarious crossing Route 1

that person will come along someday.”

and Roberts Avenue on Wissahickon,” Murphy says. “The whole

In the meantime, a number of less technological fixes could also

of the street, even up into Mount Airy, is bike-unfriendly.” Although it

make bicycling more attractive in the area. Some of them are no-

gets narrow where it descends into the valley at Lincoln Drive, much

brainers, like making sure Forbidden Drive is properly paved for its

of the rest of the street has room for bike lanes. “And Midvale Avenue

entire length.

is a major artery for people coming up from East Falls,” Murphy says,

“The city forgets to accommodate cyclists and has repaved the drive with the wrong-sized stones on a number of occasions,” Moak

where the river drive bike paths begin. Historically, hills and cyclists are sworn enemies. The hills of

says. “The smaller stones are a more appropriate paving.” Adds

Northwest will not be moved. But bit by bit, they can become easier to

Murphy: “The first 300 yards, from Lincoln Drive to the first bridge over

surmount. And when that happens, they will no longer be an obstacle

Wissahickon Creek, that’s the worst part.” Wysong says this criticism

but just another part of the commute.

is “to the point” and that simply maintaining the gravel trail properly Chestnut Hill Mount Airy 548.0 ft Germantown 430.0 ft 368.7 ft

Park & Ride

When bikes and green space intersect By Katie Bohri | Illustrations by Kate Otte

Philadelphia is home to more than 10,000 acres of parkland and about 220 ever-expanding miles of bike lanes. Local illustrator Kate Otte and I visited five of the city’s major parks to get a taste of their different topographies, their accessibility by bike, and how the former influences the latter. If there’s a will — or, in this case, an efficient bike route — there’s a way. Rittenhouse Square One of Philadelphia’s most famous and centrally located parks, Rittenhouse Square is packed on a recent Saturday afternoon. People-watching is plentiful, and everyone seems accepting of, and willing to shake off, the feeling that people are watching people watch other people. The level paths crisscrossing the park are wide and heavily trafficked. It’s a no-brainerto dismount your bike and lock it up to the long, low iron fence on the square’s east side, next to

dozens of other rides of all kinds. Sometimes the fence is so packed that bikes are crammed wheel to wheel, with nearby racks and street signs filling up as well. While few cyclists ride through the actual park, many take to the wide sidewalks surrounding it, opting to avoid the perilous roadways of Walnut and 18th streets. With a piloted bike lane now in place to the west, a Jane Jacobs favorite may finally become safer to circumvent by bike.

Spruce Street Harbor Park This temporary beach along the Delaware River sprung up again this summer, to even more popularity and activity than its inaugural year in 2014. One perk this time around: a formal bike corral at the park’s southwestern entrance, a relief since the space gets far too crowded to walk a bike through. Still, on the park’s north side across from the Hilton hotel, bikes stack up along railings and against a raised fence. More than a few bikes (including Indego) ride past on the sidewalk out front — understandably so, since the Delaware Avenue bike lane is narrow and half gravel, and cars zipping by tend to exceed 35 miles per hour. To access the park from the cobblestoned Spruce Street, cyclists ride on the sidewalk and through the crosswalks.

“Get a bike, you’ll be so much happier.” Dickinson Square Tucked deep in South Philly, Dickinson Square is, perhaps even more so than Rittenhouse, a quintessential city park. It has children on swings, old-timers on benches, and neighbors chatting each other up over the handlebars of their bikes. Indeed, the Moyamensing Avenue bike lanes make it accessible to cyclists from all over the area. The park itself is used occasionally as a cycling throughway, too, with wide sidewalks tempting riders to cut across and enjoy the greenery. Renovated in 2012 with help from the Community Design Collaborative, the square now includes bike racks inside the park.

Clark Park Clark Park often seems like West Philly’s collective backyard. Barbecues, dance classes, hand drummers and volleyball games are all Saturday staples. Bikes lie casually on their sides, never far from their reclining owners. The gentle slope of the sidewalks makes it ideal for parents teaching young riders how to balance safely. There’s foot traffic, but not nearly as much as in other parks and squares. And the Baltimore Avenue bike lane, though it has many problem points, takes you right there. Sitting at the moveable tables and chairs on the north end of the park, we couldn’t help but overhear a woman talking to her friend who had just moved to Philly: “Get a bike, you’ll be so much happier.” Sage advice.

Clark Park often seems like West Philly’s collective backyard. Liberty Lands The only year-round, privately owned park on this list, Liberty Lands is distinct. Its paths, where it has them, are narrow and worn. Dogs run off leash, the Awesome Fest summer movie series screens R-rated flicks, and visitors make no effort to hide their open containers. (After all, the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, and not the city, calls the shots around here.) Liberty Lands stands out, too, as the only park on this list without an adjacent bike path. Instead, it sits along the de facto cycling route to points northeast: 3rd Street. Going north is treacherous — potholes and misshapen asphalt turn the road into a pump track, and cars eek around cyclists in the single lane between on-street parking. Still, cyclists bound for the River Wards remain undeterred. In just 10 minutes of observation, seven cyclists coasted by on a recent Saturday at sunset. Today, North 3rd Street has been milled for repaving, leaving the roadway scarred and bumpy. Yet the bikes ride on.

THE TWO-PART COMMUTE SEPTA aims to integrate bikes, and the people who ride them, into its transit system

STORY BY MATT BEVILACQUA

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN DURNER

few seconds more, and my bike would have gone

wheels to the pull-down rack below the bus windshield

beneath the wheels.

was a daunting prospect to begin with. That I at first did so

The Market-Frankford Nite Owl was

hot, cramped and filled with dazed, quick-tempered passengers. Midway through Old City, our driver stopped,

improperly, and nearly destroyed my bike in the process, only increased my unwillingness to ever try it again. Compared to other U.S. cities, Philadelphia has a

half-turned from his perch, and told me, wearily, “Your

pretty great transit system. It is also, for all of the criticism

bike’s about to fall off.” I mumbled a few words of thanks

we do here, a fine city for cycling. Yet those who rely on

and hurried outside. It took me a moment before I realized

both bikes and transit to complete a given trip — the

how to secure the damn thing to the rack.

commuter who takes Regional Rail downtown but still has

That was my first time bringing a bike onto a SEPTA

10 blocks to cover, or the bus rider who still finds herself

bus. I only did so because it was 1 a.m., I had gotten a

a mile from home when she disembarks — often see their

flat tire near Market Street, and I needed to get back to

needs go overlooked.

my apartment in Kensington. Mounting my only set of

Intimidating as they can be, the bus racks are a small

spoke magazine issue. They work, after all, and once you get the hang of

higher: 2 percent, accounting for some 11,800 workers.

them they become easy to use. But consider these other

When it comes to public transit, 5 percent of commuters

factors: SEPTA’s robust Regional Rail system only permits

nationwide used trains, buses or trolleys to get to work,

non-folding bikes during off-peak hours. Ditto for the

while more than 26 percent of Philly commuters did the

Broad Street Line, Market-Frankford Line and Norristown

same.

High-Speed Line. When you can bring a bike onto subway

The ACS doesn’t have any data on commuters who

or elevated trains, the turnstiles at certain stops make it

rely on more than one transportation mode, however, and

difficult to get on or off the station platform. Meanwhile,

local numbers on the topic are also scarce. SEPTA doesn’t

you can’t take bikes onto trolleys at all, except for folding

count cyclists on its trains, buses or trolleys.

bikes. And perhaps the most inhibiting detail: bike parking is hardly prevalent at transit stops.

Nationally, the only data we really have comes from the last two counts of the National Household Travel

“We don’t have lots of parking at train stations and

Survey, in 2001 and 2009. Analyzing NHTS numbers for

almost no parking at subway stations,” says Charles

a 2013 Journal of Public Transportation report, UCLA

Carmalt, Philadelphia’s first official bicycle-pedestrian

researchers found that the share of all American transit

coordinator, who stepped down in April. “There are a lot

users who ride bikes to and from transit stops more than

of people who need to make trips, and bikes are a great

doubled over those nine years, rising from 0.2-0.3 percent

way to bridge that gap. I would certainly hope to see more

to about 0.6 percent. The majority involved buses, which

people doing it.”

makes sense. Nationwide, buses account for up to three-

Philadelphia, then, has a problem integrating bikes (and the people who ride them) into its greater

quarters of all trips made via public transit. “There is quite a ways to go,” says Christy Kwan,

transit network. The geeky term for this concept is

programs and outreach director for the Alliance for

multimodalism, and the end game, as U.S. Transportation

Biking & Walking, an international advocacy group. “I

Secretary Anthony Foxx wrote in an April blog post, is “a

think we’re seeing a recognition of it in major cities, but

future where all forms of transportation — roads, rails,

other locations, especially suburban locations, struggle

ports, airports — work together seamlessly.” He left out

to change their land use patterns and better incorporate

bikes and buses, an indication of their secondary status

multimodalism.”

even among transit wonks, but you get the picture. Yet that could soon change. This past spring, SEPTA unveiled a “Cycle-Transit Plan” that takes on this very topic, outlining future projects that would improve bike connections to transit stops,

In December 2012, Temple University researchers made some headway into uncovering hard numbers on

“There are a lot of people who need to make trips, and bikes are a great way to bridge that gap.”

install bike infrastructure at

how multimodalism affects Philadelphians. Posting up at transit stops throughout the city, they distributed questionnaires to those whom they call “cycle-

the stops themselves, and reform accommodations on

transit users.” They did similar fieldwork in San Francisco.

board the trains, buses and trolleys that had previously

Although the survey size was small — the researchers

made little room for cyclists. Can those of us who ride on

handed out 470 total forms but only used the data from

two wheels, yet also keep our TransPasses close at hand,

74 in each city — their subsequent report, published in the

expect a new day ahead?

Transportation Research Record in 2014, shed some light

on who uses bikes and transit to complete single trips, and ccording to American Community Survey numbers, about 880,000 Americans — 0.6 percent of the

what would happen if they didn’t have this option.

About one-fifth of respondents in Philly said that

working population — commuted to work via bicycle

they ride a bike to a transit stop, park it, and then proceed

in 2013, the last year for which data is available. Here

with their commutes. Almost a third said that they take

in Philadelphia, the share of commuter cyclists was

their bike onto public transit and continue to ride it to their

spoke magazine workplace when they exit at a stop. A smattering said that

by car. The launch of Indego certainly ameliorates this

they “ride to transit, travel with bike, but do not ride from

problem to some extent. Now, commuters willing to try

transit.”

their hand at bike share can exit at a stop downtown,

But get this: When asked how they would make the

take out a set of wheels, and ride it to a docking station

trip if they couldn’t lock their bike safely at a transit stop,

close (or closer) to their workplace. But so far, Indego only

two-thirds of Philadelphia respondents said that they

serves areas in Center City and adjacent neighborhoods.

would combine transit with another transportation mode.

Even if subsequent phases see bike share spread across

Sixteen percent said they would use another mode for the

the city, what about major employment centers in the

full trip — a car, in almost all cases.

suburbs? And why pay for bike share when you have your

Planning types call it the “first and last mile” problem: You’ve woken up, made your way to a train or bus, and taken it to the stop nearest to your job. Yet you’re still a mile away, give or take, from the office. Research

own ride and are willing to schlep it onto a train or bus?

hen Rebecca Collins started her job at SEPTA in January 2014, the agency was already in the early

has found that people are generally willing to walk

stages of a significant culture change. To carry out the

about half a mile to and from transit before they would

agency’s sustainability plan, different departments had

consider driving instead. (This is in a pedestrian-friendly

recently started gathering in one room for the first time.

environment, of course.) Put them on a bike, however,

In that setting, she says, “I found that people are more

and that distance increases to three miles or more.

willing to try things out.”

Bikes, in other words, can mean the difference between a trip on public transit and a trip made entirely

Brought on as a strategy and sustainability planner, Collins went to work writing SEPTA’s new Cycle-Transit

Plan. Released in April, the 28-page document outlines

on trains. The agency found that the extra room was

where the agency can improve in terms of cycling

needed — not only for bikes, but also for strollers, people

infrastructure and what commuters can realistically

with disabilities, and riders who stand.

expect. The aim is to update the plan every year as needs, and possibilities, expand. The bulk of the plan centers on bike parking, and for good reason: It’s the most important problem that’s also the easiest to fix. (From the Alliance for Biking & Walking’s 2014 benchmarking report: “Bicycle parking is the most common cycling-transit integration strategy globally, and costs less than a tenth as much as park-and-ride facilities

“What started out as a purely bicycle issue morphed into a capacity issue,” Collins says. After all, one bike takes up the space for about three or four passengers on a train. Finding the capacity for cyclists might mean

The aim is to update the plan every year as needs, and possibilities, expand.

for automobiles on a per-passenger basis.”) In its capital

a future where SEPTA eases restrictions on bikes during

plan, SEPTA allocated $3 million over the next three fiscal

peak hours (although that policy change remains in the

years for bike infrastructure improvements alone.

theoretical stage). Can we expect something similar to

What will that net Philly commuters, in concrete terms? For one thing, the SEPTA concourse — that 3.5-

happen on Regional Rail lines? “On Regional Rail, it’s a harder sell to remove seats,”

mile pedestrian tunnel beneath Center City linking up key

Collins says. “And right now, that’s really the only way to

stops on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines —

accommodate bicycles in the footprint of the vehicle.”

will see the addition of secure bike parking in its ongoing

She adds that “it’s something there’s demand for.” As the

redesign. Think of a floor-to-ceiling cage, filled with bike

agency procures a new fleet of Silverliner V railcars, she

racks, that you can enter using your SEPTA Key. Secure

says, it will consider ways of making space for bikes.*

parking structures will also go in at two stops on each of the subway-elevated lines. At 14 of the busier Regional Rail stops, the plan calls

Beyond the flashy Silverliners, new SEPTA trolleys — ones that might include bike racks similar to those on buses — could be rolling throughout West Philly within a

for sheltered bike parking like the structure now in place

decade. The timeline for procuring new transit vehicles,

at the Temple University stop, which shields bikes from

however, always runs long.

the elements (and often fills up to capacity). Jefferson and Suburban stations will get sheltered parking as well.

“ Planning for a new railcar, even if we started today, could be something that happens years down the line.”

“We’ve got a legacy system, and we’ve got to renew it,” says Manny Smith, a public information manager at SEPTA. “Planning for a new railcar, even if we started today, could be something that happens years down the line.” He adds that during the interim, “we’re looking at making it as easy as possible to access the station, to have a secure place to park [your bike], and then you use it as part of a multimodal trip.” In other words, you’re “not

Overall, Collins says, SEPTA expects to add bike parking at

necessarily getting on with it. That might be something

up to 15 transit stops per year. Also at Suburban Station:

we look at in the future.”

pilot ramps (called “runners”) that will help cyclists get their rides up and down staircases. Earlier this year, SEPTA embarked on a pilot program

Finally, those pesky bike racks. SEPTA has a video on its website that explains how to use them, but Collins wants to take it a step further. “I’m now working on ways

to remove two seats toward the rear of six cars on the

to install practice racks at some of our bigger bus routes,”

Market-Frankford Line. The idea was to make space for

she says. “People could practice doing it before actually

cyclists during the off-peak hours when bikes are allowed

doing it for real.”

*SEPTA wants the new locomotives to be multi-level railcars, which should come as good news for cyclists. “They tend to work much better for people with bicycles by creating a small vestibule area by the split-level entrances,” Carmalt says, “while all the seating is either upstairs or downstairs.”

spoke magazine

ther cities have tackled the issue of

Urban Engines introduced what it calls “mixed-mode

multimodalism in creative ways. In Boston, the

routing” into its wayfinding app for urban commuters.

MBTA embraced parking cages that put an extra barrier

(“While other navigation apps require you to choose

between bikes and thieves. Through a partnership with

one mode of transportation, we know those options

local bike organizations, the BART system in California’s

don’t always fit your needs,” two of the company’s

Bay Area eventually developed a policy that allows bikes

co-founders wrote in a blog post announcing the tool.)

on transit at all times of day.

Later that month, here in Philadelphia, the Clean Air

Alameda County, in fact, passed an $8 billion ballot measure last November whereby residents chose to tax themselves to pay for transportation improvements

Council came out with GoPhillyGo, a trip planning tool that explicitly takes multimodalism into account. “There are a lot of trips that, without a tool like this,

over the next 30 years. Some of this will go to roads, but

make you feel like you really need to drive,” says Nick

most will go to transit, and about $1 billion is earmarked

Rogers, transportation coordinator at the Clean Air

specifically for biking and walking improvements.

Council. “We wanted to develop a tool for people to see

“We’re seeing this happen around the country

how convenient trips are when you combine modes.”

where, because federal funding has stalled a little bit,

Ridership on SEPTA and transit systems across

communities have taken it into their own hands to find

the country is the highest it’s been in decades. Same

ways to pay for improvements that are not so central

goes for cycling rates. At the national and local levels,

to just roads,” says Kwan, of the Alliance for Biking &

awareness of how the two modes can interact is slowly

Walking.

creeping into mainstream thinking. Our transit systems

Not only governments have taken notice. In June, a nationwide mapping and analytics platform called

will have to adapt, or else maroon potential riders in rush-hour traffic.

LITTLE BOXES ON

THE

ROADSIDE

Why Delaware County’s patchy bike network won’t cut it STORY BY ALEX VUOCOLO PHOTO BY SARAH VUOCOLO ILLUSTRATION BY ELLIOTT LAMBORN

elaware County, as it extends from the western border of Philadelphia, holds to a pattern typical of large metro areas: A dense band of inner-ring suburbs, lined with rowhomes and multi-unit apartments, gives way to winding backroads and culs-de-sac. Traveling southwest on Baltimore Pike, you can read the gradient clearly from the car window as sidewalks taper off and backyard pools and trampolines replace public parks. Then, nine miles outside the city, the pattern breaks. Just past I-476 and Springfield’s knot of arterials and strip malls, the borough of Media defies categorization. Surrounded by sprawling subdivisions and high-speed roads, it nonetheless has within its 0.8-square-mile area a dense, walkable community centered on a vital commercial corridor. After declining through the 1970s due to the commercial pull of two nearby indoor shopping malls, the borough has come back with a vengeance in the last decade as more young people and Baby Boomers gravitate toward urban living and the charms of local shopping and dining. State Street, Media’s main drag, regularly hosts flea markets, craft shows and outdoor dining events. At night, it can feel like half the drinking-age adults in Delaware County are piled into the borough’s bars. With the exception of a Republican-controlled county building that looms just off State Street, Media has a clear progressive bent. Concepts such as fair trade, renewable energy and local food systems have gained currency. The Borough Council works regularly with

the Environmental Advisory Council, a group of volunteer residents and officials committed to sustainability. An advocacy group for sustainable town planning, called Transition Town Media, has also grown in political stature. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that cycling is also on the agenda. Last year the Borough began working on a comprehensive 10-year plan that includes an outline for a local bike network, to eventually feature some combination of lane markings and signage. Though still in its early phases, the plan is the most ambitious now underway in otherwise car-dominated Delaware County. Yet no infrastructure network can exist in a vacuum, and it remains to be seen if the Media plan will bring about real change for the less than 0.2 percent of people, per the American Community Survey, who commute by bike in the county.

elaware County’s collective effort to build a bike network has so far been limited to piecemeal trail development

and a few isolated segments of streets with designated space for bikes. A handful of comprehensive, localized bike plans do exist, usually in small, wealthy enclaves such as nearby Swarthmore. And the county has an existing designated bike route, known as the Bicyclists Baltimore Pike, that runs from the border of Philadelphia to Swarthmore, although it has no lane markings and uses side streets that are already pretty safe for riding. “I think it’s fair to say that for most of the suburban counties, trail development and trail connectivity have been a priority,” says Greg Krykewycz, a recent Media transplant and professional transportation planner for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. “Something we’ve always emphasized at DVRPC is that trails provide regional mobility,” says Krykewycz, who is volunteering his

spoke magazine time to lead the development of the Media network. “But you want a network of bike-friendly streets to provide local mobility.” Improving local mobility is important on its own merits, he adds, but also in terms of providing connections to the regional network. Media officials had considered including a bike network in the borough’s 10-year plan, but it was an outpouring of support at community meetings that sealed the deal. “The public meetings all had various themes, but at every meeting someone brought up biking, because it was such a hot issue,” says Walter Cressler, a member of the Environmental Advisory Council, which is actively involved in developing the plan. “I think it was mostly people who were bike commuters or just liked the idea of cutting down greenhouse gas emissions.”

eith C. Johns is exactly the type of person this plan is meant to serve. Decked out in safety glasses, fingerless gloves, and

a helmet attached with a rear-view mirror, the Media resident and bike commuter is a regular, if peculiar, sight in the borough. He hangs around the Plumstead Mall, a public courtyard on State Street, where other Media stalwarts smoke and gossip. He is known for rarely removing his white hard hat, which he wears instead of a regular bike helmet, and for straddling his bike while holding conversations. Johns says that he supports the plan but is more concerned about what happens outside the boundaries of Media. “Media has always been a very bike-friendly town,” he says, adding that traffic is light and drivers take it slow in most parts of the

Keith C. Johns, with his safety glasses and hard hat, is a regular sight around Media.

borough.“Where we get the problems is if you want to go any distance

silo of Media. A lack of political will and the sprawling layout of the

beyond that”

county, particularly its western half, make building bike lanes, trails, or

Johns’ daily travels take him all over the county, and the paths between municipalities can be harrowing. He is regularly forced to ride on narrow breakdown lanes or on backroads riddled with blind turns. “If I want to go from here to the post office, it’s easy enough to find

even simple markings politically and logistically difficult. Chuck Cruit, head of Bike Delaware County, a local chapter of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, maintains that there are a slew of reasons why bike infrastructure is hard to come by in Delaware

a route over there,” he says. “But if I want to go to Granite Run Mall, I’m

County. Still, he puts some of the blame on the County government

taking my life in my hands. If I want to go to Springfield, I’m taking my

itself.

life in my hands. If I want to just leave Media, going in any direction, I’m taking my life in my hands because I’m forced to take those busy roads.” Indeed, roads with speed limits upward of 40 miles per hour

“Part of the problem in the County is that the County government is not as — what’s the word? — I don’t want to use a pejorative word here, but the County hasn’t been as forward-thinking as some of

partition the borough’s tidy, tree-lined grid on almost every side, a fact

the other counties in terms of advancements for cycling,” Cruit says.

that the network’s planners haven’t ignored.

He adds that the message he has gotten from the County is that

“The stumbling block that I see is how to extend the bike infrastructure beyond the borough’s borders, because we’re in a very confined space,” Cressler says. “It’s one thing to have bikes go around

“township-level leadership is a prerequisite for getting things done.” Essentially, the County won’t take any kind of leadership role. “The view in the County is that the townships need to take the

town, which is nice because you can go from one end of the borough

initiative and lead, and then the County can help,” Cruit says. “But

to the other, but it would be great to cut down greenhouse gasses by

the County is not going to get out in front and be the catalyst for trail

having people decide that they can commute to Media by bike.

development.”

“But a lot of the streets beyond our borders are a little sketchy,” he adds. Streets aren’t the only thing a little sketchy outside the progressive

Bike Delaware County is a part of a larger initiative by the Bicycle Coalition to build an advocacy movement around cycling in Philadelphia’s suburbs. It has additional chapters in Bucks and Chester counties.

Opposite page: a Google Map showing the safest Delaware County bike routes, selected by cyclists and curated by a local advocate.

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spoke magazine

dvocates from these groups cite a pesky legal barrier, called the

1978, hot off a national craze — there was a focus on creating preferred

Bicycle Occupancy Permit (BOP), as the main hurdle to building

routes, like Bicyclists Baltimore Pike, rather than real infrastructure.

on-street bike infrastructure in the suburbs. Local governments must receive approval from the Pennsylvania

A more recent countywide plan, released in 2009, makes the case for a more ambitious system. “The 1978 plan designated secondary

Department of Transportation (PennDOT), in form of the BOP, to

street corridors as bicycle routes, an approach that has gone out of

build anything bike-related on state roads. The BOP then makes local

favor,” it reads. “Most back streets are already bikeable, but the places

authorities responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all

where bicycle transportation needs the most improvement is on the

bicycle pavement markings.

arterials.”

It’s an odd mix of controlling municipalities while also expecting autonomy. The rule essentially forces local governments to assume liability for roads, or at least a portion of them, that are otherwise the

For bike advocates, tackling these tougher roads still means finding a middle path, especially when it comes to carving out space on the road. In Haverford Township, which includes the wealthy Main Line

responsibility of PennDOT. So for local officials, building bike lanes

towns of Ardmore and Bryn Mawr, advocates found a way to improve

means expanding their municipal obligations — not something that

safety for cyclists without a single painted bike symbol. Instead of

Delaware County’s largely conservative base has an interest in. As Cruit

calling for bike lanes, they lobbied PennDOT to paint new shoulders on

points out, the County seems to have an abiding interest in “keeping

11 miles of roads that were overly wide for two-lane car traffic. Eight

taxes low and government small.”

miles have been completed so far.

Suburban counties, or at least their planning departments, are

While not designated specifically for cyclists, the shoulders will

fighting back against the rule. A letter sent to PennDOT Secretary

lower car speeds and provide extra space on the road, according to

Leslie Richards last March, signed by the heads of the Chester, Bucks,

Rich Kerr, a retired New Jersey Transit engineer who coordinated

Delaware and Montgomery county planning departments, urged the

advocacy efforts in Haverford Township.

agency to revise the rule. “Most municipalities simply cannot afford to assume maintenance and liability responsibilities as required by the BOP,” the letter states. The letter was also signed by Andrew Stober, then chief of staff for the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities and now an at-large City Council candidate, even though BOP rules don’t apply to Philadelphia.* Even in the suburbs, the BOP has a disparate impact. Some municipalities contain almost entirely state roads, while others, such as Media, have more local roads that they must maintain anyway. For the older boroughs, Krykewycz says, building bike facilities is an easier sell because they tend to have more local streets. The initial

Kerr says he decided early on to take an “incremental and opportunistic” approach in his work as an advocate. That meant working with the available resources and political capital. Shoulder safety striping, as Kerr dubs it, is a way of “doing something now” despite barriers like the BOP. In addition, Kerr has mapped out preferred routes on Google Maps in much of the eastern part of the county, working with local partners as he went. The map now shows a dense web of green lines marking bike routes. Based on a cursory scan, it appears that the area is the most comprehensively mapped for cyclists in the region. Bike Delaware County recently held a “map-a-thon” where it

conceptual outline for the Media bike network proposes improvements

solicited from local riders their thoughts on the best routes for cycling

exclusively on local roads.

in the western part the county. The routes will eventually be plugged

The letter did not fall on deaf ears. Richards responded that

into Google Maps as well, according to Kerr.

PennDOT has initiated a study to look at opportunities for developing a

This kind of strategic navigating can only go so far, and people who

statewide bicycle/pedestrian policy, which will include an examination

want to bike to get around, such as Johns, will continue to endure less-

of the BOP. She also noted in her response that the department is looking into hiring statewide a bicycle/pedestrian coordinator. So there is a chance the BOP could be in for some changes. In the meantime, progressive townships like Media are moving forward despite it. But to what end?

elaware County has never really pursued building an on-street bicycle network. Even in the County’s first bike plan — created in

than-ideal conditions on the road. For now, Johns’ best hope for the Media plan is that it extends to the borough’s borders. This way, the network will make travel between municipalities easier to the best extent that it can. According to Cruit, not until every municipality in Delaware County thinks on similar lines will a real countywide network be possible. “In this county, until something changes, progress is going to made countywide only by townships working together,” he says.

*Pennsylvania has a complicated system for classifying municipalities based on population. First- and second-class cities are the largest and often subject to different rules. Philadelphia is the state’s only first-class city and Pittsburgh is its only second-class city, making the BOP a fundamentally suburban issue.

STORY BY TONY ABRAHAM ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY PELTZ

ike McGettigan knows the dangers of boozing and biking. Back when he was, by his own admission, a “young and dumb” 20-year-old, the Trophy Bikes owner learned firsthand. One night in the mid-1990s, McGettigan drank “too

much cheap fraternity beer” at a series of parties at the University of Pennsylvania. When he was ready to call it quits, he hopped on his bike and hit the road. At least, that was the intention. “Luckily, I never reached the road,” McGettigan recalls. “I was still on Penn’s campus and crashed into a bench.” Now McGettigan brandishes an L-shaped scar on the left side of his nose, a permanent reminder of the incident. “I consider myself very lucky,” he says. “If I had smashed my face in a few inches in any direction, I might have hit an eye or my teeth.” Alcohol-related or not, incidents like McGettigan’s are not uncommon. As bicycling grows more popular around the country, safety has become a very real

spoke magazine concern. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 726 bicycle fatalities in 2012, up from 682 in 2011 and 623 in 2010. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia reported 12 fatalities in Philly alone between 2009 and 2012, with none reported in 2013. This past spring, Philadelphia magazine reported 551 local bike crashes in 2014, based on data from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. For his part, McGettigan is thankful that, 20 years ago, he was steering a bike instead of a car. “If you drink, you can get hurt on a bike,” he says. “But if I had been in a car, I might have killed another person, or myself, or both of us.” Aye, there’s the rub. Operating a relatively lightweight bike is safer, at least for everyone around you, than driving a fast-moving metal cage through the streets. Yet when it comes to drinking and driving any vehicle, including bikes, the law is clear. “A bike is a vehicle and it is bound by all of the vehicle laws,” says Denise Goren, director of policy and planning at the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities. “Driving under the

be, and usually is, smart enough to

influence, whether you’re on a bike or whether you’re in a vehicle,

know their individual limits and cut

it’s the same. It’s illegal and it’s dangerous.”

themselves off before getting drunk when

Bringing up alcohol might not thrill the bicycling community at a time like this, when raising awareness and advocating for

participating in a Bikes & Beers, or similar, event.”

bike-friendly legislation is priority number one. Politically, group

McGettigan, who says he fully

rides have been critical to raising cyclists’ profile. But what about

expects Trophy Bikes to be a Bikes &

group rides that revolve around alcohol? It doesn’t take a private

Beers sponsor this year, agrees with

investigator to find a bike-based pub crawl on Facebook. These

LoBasso. “People show up, they stack

rides have both recreational and economic benefits: cyclists can

all the bikes outside — you don’t stay

have a good time while injecting coin into the local economy. The

there for hours because there’s never

question is whether they can do so safely.

enough places to lock up more than 10

bikes outside a Philly bar — you go in, have a beer,” he says. “The ikes & Beers, a national organization that hosts group rides

vast majority of people have had three beers, maybe four, over the

wherein cyclists stop by pubs and breweries along the way,

course of the night.”

will hold its second annual Philadelphia event this October. The

Yet within Philadelphia’s large and diverse cycling community,

majority of proceeds will go toward the Bicycle Coalition, which

one finds plenty of differing views on the topic. As Linda McGrane,

sponsors the ride. Participants will start at the Yards Brewery

president of the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, points out, her

on Delaware Avenue, travel west to Rembrandt’s in Fairmount,

organization prefers to refrain from booze-infused rides.

continue on to Dock Street Brewery in West Philly, and hit up

“I don’t think a pub crawl is a good idea for a bike ride,”

McGillin’s Olde Ale House in Center City, all before ending the tour

McGrane says. “Obviously, if you’ve had a few beers or some drinks

back at Yards for a pint of craft brew.

throughout the day or a few hours ago, that’s one thing. But to

That leaves open many chances to throw back a beer, or five. Advocates, though, remain confident that Bikes & Beers participants don’t view the event as an excuse to get hammered. “Bikes & Beers is an awesome event about building community

just keep going from bar to bar, I personally think that should be avoided.” McGrane says her organization makes room for at least one pit stop, usually at a café or a Wawa, on rides stretching more than 25

between bicyclists and local businesses, like cafés, bars and

miles. And while the Club will sometimes hold a tailgate party or

breweries,” says Randy LoBasso, communications manager for the

social after a big ride, McGrane says most riders in the group prefer

Bicycle Coalition. “I’d call that a great way to spend an afternoon,

to drink in moderation.

and they definitely only help representation in the bicycle community.” Bikes & Beers, LoBasso says, places an emphasis on responsibility — nobody can really get drunk during the beer tastings at every pit stop. “The tastings are limited in size and spaced out across enough

he real issue with intoxicated group rides may lie with individuals who, whether by design or by impulse, binge and

bike. Do these folks just need some education? “If people are hypothetically biking drunk, I would hope police

time that it’d be nearly impossible for even a lightweight to get

are on the lookout for that,” LoBasso says. “A drunk bicyclist is a

drunk,” LoBasso says. “We think the bicycling community should

danger to themselves and, potentially, a pedestrian. But, to be honest, I don’t think it’s a huge problem the way, say, drunk driving is.”

Adds McGrane: “If a police officer observes that a cyclist is riding unsafely on the road, weaving back and forth, not operating the bicycle safely, it’s the obligation of the police officer to pull the cyclist over.” According to Goren, part of the city’s safety outreach program includes educating citizens on the realities of drinking or texting while biking or driving. “All of those behaviors are part of the city’s efforts in terms of making sure we are as safe as we possibly can be,” Goren says. “And one of the ways we’re going to help people do that is with the bike share.” Indeed, Indego provides a safe and unique alternative to bringing your bike to a bar. If you don’t mind a one-way ride, you can take bike share out for a night on the town and coordinate another way home for afterward. For the select few who still feel the need to ride while intoxicated, there’s always the Big Red Pedal Tour. Its big, multi-passenger pedicycles cruise the streets of Old City, stopping at various pubs along the way.

Riders — tourists, generally — aren’t steering the pedicycle as much as they are half-powering the vehicle.

“We’re simply a tour guide, taking people on a tour that happens to stop at pubs,” says Eric Keiles, who founded Big Red Pedal Tours back in July 2013 in collaboration with the City. “The combination of the festive cocktails and bicycling we’re all about, but we don’t serve alcohol.” Keiles has difficulty listing more than two instances, in the tour’s two years of steady operations, where a situation got “out of control.” One example includes a “98-pound” woman celebrating a ladies’ night out. Having had too much to drink, she ended up vomiting all over the pedicycle. Puking aside, the number-one concern is safety. For many in the cycling community and in the city at large, however, the main issue isn’t a drunk in the bike saddle. Rather, it’s a drunk behind the wheel. “I think the stakes are still so much higher and the amount of energy being placed into catching drunk drivers is still way too minimal,” McGettigan says.

ASK A... BIKE ATTORNEY Name: Joseph Piscitello Practices at: Piscitello Law in Society Hill Attorney for: 28 years I’ve been involved in a collision with a car. What’s the first thing I should do? “Your priority should be safety. You should understand that after an accident, you are at greater risk of being hit by another vehicle if you remain in the roadway. If your injuries permit, put yourself in a safe location away from the road. The next thing you should do, if possible, is to take photos of the roadway, the car that struck you and their license plate, the license of the driver and their insurance card. If possible, get names and phone numbers of any witnesses.”

As a cyclist, what type of insurance should I look into? “The most important type of insurance for you as a cyclist is auto insurance, because car insurance will cover you if you are involved in a bike accident. In the event that a car causes an accident with you and they leave the scene, you can still be compensated provided you have what is referred to as ‘under’ and ‘uninsured’ on your auto policy. This type of coverage is referred to as ‘UM/UIM’ coverage, and that will protect a cyclist even when the auto driver leaves the accident scene.” What should I know about liability on the roads? “You need to understand that as a cyclist, you have the same responsibility that a motorist has. In other words, you must follow the traffic laws that control motorists.” What’s a simple thing that cyclists can do to make your job easier? “Contact an attorney prior to speaking to any insurance company, including your own. Insurance companies have an agenda. Even your own insurance company has an interest in defending itself against you.” Is there anything a cyclist can do that would screw him or her over in the eyes of the law? “Don’t make any statements to any insurance company representative without consulting an attorney first. The goal of the insurance company is to make contact with you within less than 24 hours of your accident. They will want to capture a recorded statement from you early after your accident, when you may not be experiencing the full extent of your injuries.”

BIKE FACE Photos by Lora Reehling

special intimacy exists between cyclists and the city around them.

Their faces are not obscured by tinted glass or, with the exception of a reckless few, blurred by speed. Their expressions are on full display for passersby to see. Sometimes a rider, while caught in a steep incline or gridlock traffic, can even make conversation with someone strolling down the sidewalk. Yet for a number of reasons, not least of which is their vulnerability on the streets, people who bike deserve, and indeed

The porkpie-hatted Danae, left, and the equally dashing Fitchie, right, take Indego bikes out for a ride together.

need, more visibility and empathy from their fellow travelers. The new portrait blog iBikePHL is designed to raise awareness for cyclists, presenting photos of a cross-section of Philadelphians who get around by bike. With permission from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, which launched the site in April, we pulled out some our favorite pics from recent months.

Syeda, left, flashes a peace sign. Diana Steif, center, of the Bicycle Coalition, tries to ride with her son Emil each day. PoChun Chan, right, always brings his daughter Joyce to and from school via bicycle.

Sean, left, at his regular bike shop — Wolf Cycles in West Philadelphia — hoping to get some air in his tires. He’ll need it, too, as he likes to give friends a lift on his pegs.

Joshua, left, learned how to fix a flat tire at Neighborhood Bike Works, where Taylor KuykiWhite, right, works as the youth bike education and empowerment program coordinator. Dave Brindley, above right, hopes to bring his son Alex to kindergarten at The City School via trailer bike this fall.

EXIT INTERVIEW: Andrew Stober, candidate for City Council INTERVIEW BY MATT BEVILACQUA | PHOTO BY DAN LIDON

ndrew Stober isn’t exactly a household name in city politics. But government types, journalists, and anyone interested in local transportation policy knows him well. As chief of staff for the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities, Stober was the guy who oversaw — and explained, again and again — the latest bike, train or bus-related initiative on Mayor Nutter’s plate. Now 36, Stober has left MOTU behind in order to run as an at-large independent candidate for City Council. Here, he talks about connecting trails, getting more women and children to ride, and why he maybe wouldn’t “go to war” over certain bike lanes. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. To many people, you were essentially the face of MOTU for five years. What was that like?

One of the things I’ve loved about working in transportation is that you have no choice but to get to know the entire city. From the least fortunate person to the most privileged person, the systems that MOTU is responsible for touch the lives of every Philadelphian every day, and you have to know how the systems are working in every part of the city. What’s the hardest part about educating the public about worthwhile transportation investments? To have the public see the benefits before they can experience the benefits. This is true for lots of issues, but particularly for transportation. You’re worried about what you’re going to lose before you can experience what you have to gain. The other hardest part is having people understand just how long it takes to get big things done.

In this city, it’s been mostly the executive who has led the charge to develop bike infrastructure and promote cycling. How do you imagine City Council playing a larger role?

The debate over the 22nd Street bike lane alerted many cyclists to the idea of councilmanic prerogative [the unwritten rule that district councilmembers have the final say over any and all development in their districts]. Do you have a position on that?

I don’t think we should diminish the role that Council has played, both for the positive and the negative. Readers of SPOKE will be familiar with The reason councilmanic prerogative exists some of the various obstacles that have been is to ensure that the interests of an individual put up by councilmembers. But you also have neighborhood are protected by the elected official councilmembers like Mark Squilla, who put in the most accountable to that neighborhood. My view Complete Streets ordinance is that, by and large, that and really helped to push “The next phase is to create ought to be respected. But it’s some of these issues. not to say that there aren’t I want to be a vocal the environment that puts occasions when perhaps advocate on Council for safe a councilmember is not more women and kids on acting in the best interests and convenient transportation options for all Philadelphians, bikes. That’s how we know of their neighborhood for and make sure there’s a voice whatever reason, and that on Council that’s thinking a councilmember at-large we’re being successful.” about those issues and holding shouldn’t try to circumvent the next administration accountable for making that informal system, whether it’s introducing a streets safe for all users, regardless of what mode bill to make something happen or trying to bring is right for any given trip. others to vote against [the district councilmember]. I do think that, for something like bike lanes, that’s Do you have any specific bike-related policy or frankly not the kind of thing that’s worth going to investment ideas? war over. More broadly, I’m trying to bring the Vision Zero concept to Philadelphia and make sure that we are making engineering, enforcement and education investments that make it safer to travel around. On the bicycle side of things, that’s likely to mean looking for opportunities to connect bike lanes, working to expand and fill gaps in the bicycle-pedestrian trail network, and hopefully working to expand the Indego program. With other, admittedly more pressing issues — crime, schools — coming before City Council all the time, how do you keep transportation on the agenda? One of the nice things about transportation is that it impacts everyone in the city. One of the challenges that education faces is that if you don’t have children in the schools, it’s not directly impacting you, and you kind of have to bring the public along to see the importance of education. But transportation is part of everyone’s day, and having transportation options is something that people value.

The expansion of the city’s bike network under Mayor Nutter and the launch of Indego are two major factors that signaled Philadelphia’s ascendance as a bike city. What’s the next major step in making Philly a safe, easy place to bike? The next phase is to put in infrastructure and create the environment that puts more women on bikes and puts more kids on bikes. That’s how we know we’re being successful. We already do better than other cities on those fronts, at least. But [we can improve] through some good infrastructure, and also good enforcement that keeps everyone safe. What are some specific things that get more women and children on bikes? Protected bike lanes. Further expanding and filling gaps in our trail network, so you can do much of a trip in an off-road environment. Improving driver behavior generally. Having stricter enforcement of the most dangerous driving behaviors just makes everybody feel safer. One thing I’ll add is that I would like to see serious, ongoing enforcement of the most dangerous cycling behaviors.

spoke magazine

Contributors Andrew Zaleski writes about the intersection of technology, politics and cities for local and national publications. He is a regular contributor to Fortune magazine, Philadelphia City Paper and Politico Magazine. Bradley Maule is the founder of Philly Skyline and co-editor of Hidden City Philadelphia. He loves riding his 24-speed 29er through Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon â&#x20AC;&#x201D; until the steep climb home to Mount Airy. Dan Lidon is a commercial and editorial photographer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in JUMP, Philly Beer Scene and elsewhere. Justin Durner left his native Maryland to study photography at The Art Institute of Philadelphia. He has since done location and studio photography for Reebok, ESPN The Magazine and the American Cancer Society. Kate Otte is a designer and illustrator living in Fishtown. Her work has been featured in Philadelphia magazine and elsewhere.

Mary Peltz is a Temple University alumni living in Brooklyn and working for SAS Software. She is artsy, and she is fartsy. Miguel Co is a freelance illustrator and University of the Arts graduate whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Las Vegas Weekly and elsewhere. He lives in South Philly. Sandy Smith contributes regularly to Philadelphia magazine and Next City, writes occasionally for other outlets, and serves as editor-in-chief of Philly Living, a real estate blog sponsored by a local brokerage. Sarah Vuocolo is an independent artist and photographer studying costume design at the University of the Arts. Tony Abraham is a freelance journalist living in Northern Liberties. He frequently writes about tech, civics and social entrepreneurship.

Correction: A story in the spring issue of SPOKE magazine misspelled the name of the policy director for Anthony Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mayoral campaign. His name is Omar Woodard, not Omar Woodward.

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