Winter 2015
m a g a z i n e for the cycling citizen of Philadelphia
Premiere Issue
FREE
editors ALEX VUOCOLO alex@spokemag.bike
contributing writers JON GEETING, ANDREW ZALESKI, CASSIE OWENS, ALEX BACA
MATT BEVILACQUA matt@spokemag.bike
cover illustration HAWK KRALL
KATIE BOHRI katie@spokemag.bike
contributing artists JUSTIN DURNER, ALEX REINHARD, MAX MORGAN, TIM PACIFIC
creative director ELLIOTT LAMBORN elliott@spokemag.bike marketing director HILLARY WICKLINE hillary@spokemag.bike
send all inquiries to: spokemagazine@gmail.com our online home: WWW.SPOKEMAG.BIKE printed by RoyerComm Corporation Pennsauken, NJ
PREMIERE ISSUE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 6 8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LETTER FROM THE EDITORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LAW OF THE LANES Andrew Zaleski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE CITIZEN’S GUIDE TO
10 12 18 24 30
PHILADELPHIA BIKE LAWS Katie Bohri
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . LOCK, STOCK AND SERIAL NUMBER Andrew Zaleski
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Alex Vuocolo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . HOW MANY GOVERNMENTS DOES IT
TAKE TO BUILD A BIKE LANE? Jon Geeting
. . . . . . . . . . WELCOME TO THE NEW WORKING WEEK Cassie Owens
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHY IT MATTERS THAT I
KEEP RIPPING MY PANTS Alex Baca
Cycling is a hobby, an exercise, a sport and a
transportation mode. It is nearly 200 years old and embraced across the world, from the bike lanes that trace the edges of Copenhagen’s famous lakes to the narrow hutongs, or alleys, of Beijing, where cyclists mix with vendors and pedestrians. In the United States, cycling is making yet another comeback after a century in and out of fashion. The number of annual bike trips nationwide increased from 1.7 billion in 2001 to 4 billion in
riding to school, or road modifications to slow drivers to a speed that is anything other than lethal. This change in thinking won’t happen easily. We are talking
2009, according to National Household Travel Survey of the U.S.
about challenging the monoculture of the automobile and
Census. All this growth is most apparent in cities with an existing
altering almost 100 years of cultural expectations about how
cycling culture and infrastructure. The number of cyclists on
humans get around. One way to start is by opening up the
the flat, gridded streets of Philadelphia more than tripled in
conversation and addressing the topics important to ordinary
less than a decade, according to annual counts from the Bicycle
Philadelphians — from delivery people to neighborhood kids to
Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. Of the 10 largest U.S. cities,
middle managers on their morning commutes — who may want
Philly has the highest percentage of bike commuters.
to hop on a bike. This is the goal of SPOKE magazine: to draw
Yet as in all cities, cycling remains a point of contention in Philadelphia, where personal and political conflicts often erupt between cyclists, drivers and pedestrians — and sometimes
cycling away from the margins and give it the coverage and focus it deserves. In Issue One, we explore cycling in Philadelphia with a wide
among cyclists themselves. Steel, glass and velocity divide the
lens, from its politics to the people behind the handlebars.
contestants, while caricatures abound along the fault lines:
Andrew Zaleski considers how state and city traffic laws affect
tattooed urban guerillas, stained with grease and righteous as
the safety of those who take a bike to the streets. Alex Baca
missionaries; spandex-clad marathoners cresting a hill on the
sounds off on the lack of decent bike clothes for women, and
cover of a health magazine; suburban fathers whose bikes are
what this means for the growing number of women who cycle.
repaired more than they are ridden.
And Cassie Owens talks to three people who bike as part of
These caricatures reinforce the idea of cycling as either a secondary activity or exclusive to subcultures that are unaccepting or too intensive for newcomers. Cycling cannot
their job, learning how the two-wheeled delivery profession is evolving for the 21st century. These stories reflect our concerted effort to cover topics
afford such a narrow definition. With the environment, our
that matter to a group as diverse as Philadelphia cyclists.
health and our wallets sufficiently battered by car culture, one of
There is still so much that needs attention, but that is why we
the best alternatives to the automobile should not be consigned
are here. Cycling in our city has outgrown its thin coverage in
to the fringe.
general media, and deserves its own platform where thoughtful
What we need is a new way to talk about the issue that opens the door to all cyclists, including those who may hesitate to get
reporting takes the place of political bickering and stereotyping. We hope that SPOKE can fulfill this role.
on a bike. Politicians call it the “big tent” strategy, but it runs deeper than that: Unless cycling becomes more inclusive, real
Thank you for reading and riding,
needs will not be met. There will be no educational materials for
The Editors
Spanish-speaking bike commuters, infrastructure for children
spoke magazine
LAW OF THE LANES
The legal obligations of two wheels versus four
A
shley McKean was biking home along Broad Street when she was hit. It was late February 2011, and McKean, then 24, had just started the second semester of her junior year at Temple University. She was majoring in geography and urban studies. For a little more than six years McKean had cycled on Philadelphia streets, but that February day was the first time she had ever been doored. Around 1 p.m., a driver parked near the intersection of Broad and Brandywine streets opened the driver-side door of her Honda Accord. In court Marci Shepard testified that she checked her side mirror and saw McKean coming, but thought she had enough time to get out of her car. McKean was much closer than Shepard anticipated, however, and by swinging her door open, Shepard immediately blocked McKean’s way. (There are no designated bike lanes on this stretch of Broad.) McKean says instinct took over. She moved slightly to the left to avoid hitting the door and took care to avoid swerving into traffic. It wasn’t enough. Her right thigh caught the door, and at that moment a van following behind slammed into her back tire, propelling her off the bike. “It happened so quickly,” McKean tells SPOKE. “The door opened, I hit it, and then after that I felt the impact. And then I was on the ground.” The collision broke her left hip, pelvis and the left side of her tailbone. Then the van drove over her left leg that lay exposed to traffic, fracturing her ankle and snapping the tibial spine in her knee. McKean spent two weeks undergoing surgery and another three in rehabilitation before recuperating for several months at her parents’ house in northeastern Pennsylvania. She eventually brought a lawsuit against Shepard, as well as against the van driver, Robert Crawford, and his employer, MCT Transportation. This past June, a verdict was delivered in McKean’s case. She won $2.4 million, a
BY ANDREW ZALESKI substantial portion of which will go toward future medical expenses. As Philadelphia magazine reported at the time, the driver of the van testified that McKean “should have been riding on the sidewalk,” which is illegal in Philadelphia for cyclists ages 12 and older. Mckean’s case laid bare the general confusion over laws of the road as they apply to cyclists, and how drivers should interact with them. So where are cyclists supposed to ride in the city? And what are cars supposed to do when they encounter bikes on the street? Per Title 12 of Philadelphia’s law code, it’s actually quite simple. With a few exceptions, cyclists must ride in bike lanes when available. They can stray from these lanes, however, if they have to make a turn or avoid debris and other obstructions — car doors, for instance. If no bike lanes are on the street in question, cyclists must ride single-file in the roadway. Helmets are legally required for riders under age 12. As for cars: Typically the rule is to maintain a distance of 3 feet from road cyclists, as roughly half of U.S. states require, although Pennsylvania is the only state with a 4-foot law. Enacted in April 2012, it requires drivers to leave a gap of 4 feet between their vehicles and any cyclists they might pass on the street. But the overarching principle is that cyclists are considered motor vehicles in Pennsylvania, with the same rights to and responsibilities of the road as drivers. Those are the basics, but Pennsylvania lacks a Vulnerable Road User law, something the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has been calling for since as far back as 2009. Delaware is one of seven states with such a law, which essentially classifies pedestrians and cyclists — anything not protected by a few tons of metal, really — as weaker participants in traffic. Stiffer penalties come into play for drivers found guilty of careless or negligent
driving in states with these laws on the books. A Vulnerable Road User Law might prove useful in Philadelphia for when crashes like McKean’s occur, especially as more cyclists take to city streets. U.S. Census data released in September confirms that increasing numbers of people are commuting by bike. Of the 70 largest U.S. cities with the largest share of bike commuters, Philly ranks 10th. More than 14,000 city residents are riding around on bikes. McKean isn’t among them. By July 2011 she had returned to Philadelphia, but still needed crutches. The following month, she resumed classes at Temple. In February 2012, on the oneyear anniversary of her collision, McKean had her bike repaired, but she wouldn’t attempt to ride it again until that summer. And it wasn’t until later that fall that she felt comfortable enough to ride on the streets of Philly every so often. “I thought I was ready to be back on the bike, but I wasn’t,” she says. “It was something I kept delaying because I just wasn’t ready mentally.” An internship with the Bicycle Coalition motivated McKean to get back on a bicycle. “It was kind of like this silent process that I was going through. I needed to overcome that fear because cycling is a very important part of my life.” Now 27, McKean has since relocated to Providence, R.I. While her outward appearance hides the internal damage, pains from her crash still linger. Metal screws and hardware intermingle with the bones in her left hip, pelvis and ankle. Instability in her left knee limits the amount of time she can spend walking or biking. At times, her left ankle swells uncomfortably. The memory of the crash remains, sometimes presenting itself in flashbacks as she bikes. “It’s not an experience that I’ve forgotten at all,” she says.
The Citizen’s Guide to Philadelphia Bike Laws
We parse the legalese and let you know your rights BY KATIE BOHRI
When it comes to the rules of the road, cyclists and drivers in Philadelphia may be surprised to learn that there are, well, actual rules to sharing the road. In fact, the Philadelphia Code has a chapter dedicated to bicycles and bike penalties. To answer your first question: Yes, according to the code, cyclists must stop for traffic lights and stop signs. But there’s more to it than that.
CHAPTER 12-800. BICYCLE REGULATIONS AND PENALTIES § 12-801. Persons Riding Bicycles. (1) Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway shall have all the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to an operator under the provisions of this Title and The Vehicle Code.
You’re a vehicle — like a car! — and have all the benefits of one (de jure, obviously). You also have all the responsibilities of an ordinary vehicle. That means no coasting through red lights or failing to signal for a turn.
§ 12-802. Obedience to Traffic-Control Devices. (1) Whenever signs are erected indicating that no right or left turn is permitted, or that a turn in the opposite direction is permitted only between certain hours, no person operating a bicycle shall disobey the direction of any such signs except where such person dismounts from the bicycle to make such turn, in which event such person shall have the privileges and responsibilities of a pedestrian.
You have to follow road signs as if you’re a car. No ignoring these. Unlike a car, however, you can magically turn yourself into a pedestrian by walking your bike. Then you can laugh and laugh at whatever NO LEFT TURN signs you want.
§ 12-803. Riding on Bicycles. (1) A person operating a bicycle shall not ride other than astride a permanent and regular seat attached thereto.
No friends on the handlebars (sorry, teens) or carrying your mom around on the pegs. (2) No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one time than the number of seats permanently affixed to such bicycle.
One ass per seat, citizens.
§ 12-804. Riding on Roadways and Bicycle Paths. (1) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride other than single file except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
No doubling up, riding two abreast, rolling in mobs, or doing anything other than staying in a line. Unless you’re in a bike path. Where this leaves group rides, I don’t know. (2) Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway.
If there’s a bike lane, use it. That’s what it’s there for. (Unless you need to make a turn.)
§ 12-805. Emerging From a Driveway or Building. (1) The operator of a bicycle emerging from a driveway or building shall upon approaching a sidewalk or the sidewalk area extending across any alleyway or driveway, yield the right-of-way to all pedestrians approaching on said sidewalk or sidewalk area, and upon entering the roadway shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles and street cars approaching on said roadway.
Like a car or any not-jerk, yield to people — pedestrians, car traffic, children playing in the street — who are on the path you plan to enter.
§ 12-806. Carrying Articles. (1) No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package, bundle, or article which prevents the rider from keeping at least one hand upon the handle bars.
Don’t bring home the whole case of beer. Just a six-pack. If you want to carry the whole case, get a basket, pannier or backpack — whatever you need to keep at least one hand on the handlebars.
§ 12-807. Parking. (1) No person shall park a bicycle upon a street other than (a) against the curb, upon the sidewalk, or in an area on the street designated by the department for bicycle parking, in a rack to support the bicycle; or (b) against a building or at the curb, in such a manner as to afford the least obstruction to pedestrian traffic.
When you park your bike, don’t obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Use bike racks, if available. Keep your bike parallel to the curb so your wheels don’t stick out into the middle of the street or sidewalk. It’s not in the code, but don’t lock your ride to a stranger’s bike. (2) Any person violating this Section shall be liable for payment of fines, costs and additional fees prescribed and assessed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 12-2800 of this Title.
Happy birthday: Bikes can get parking tickets, too. Although I don’t know how authorities would track down and fine you without any sort of license or registration on your bike. Anyway, Chapter 12-800 says that the ticket for an illegally parked bicycle is $15.
§ 12-808. Riding on Sidewalks. (1) No person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk, except as follows: a. Children under the age of twelve may ride on the sidewalk, other than in a business district as defined in the Vehicle Code.
Kids can ride on the sidewalk. Kids. As in, probably not you. And even children can’t ride on the sidewalk in Center City.
§ 12-808. Riding on Sidewalks (continued)
§ 12-810. Bicycle Regulations and Penalties.
b. Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is permitted where appropriate signs are posted for shared pedestrian and bicycling use by the Department of Streets at locations determined by the Department by regulation. The Department shall not adopt any such regulation or post such signs without first receiving a recommendation from the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and considering factors such as pedestrian safety and comfort, bicycle rider safety, existing and expected density of use by pedestrians and bicyclists, motorist safety, traffic flow, and the free ingress and egress to and from surrounding buildings. A sidewalk designated pursuant to this subsection shall not be considered a path for purposes of Section 12804(2), relating to Riding on Roadway.
(1) The parent of any child, the guardian of any ward or any person standing in loco parentis with respect to any child shall not authorize or knowingly permit such child or ward to violate any of the provisions of this Chapter.
There aren’t too many places like this — Columbus Boulevard right by Washington Avenue is one example — but if you find them, by all means, hop onto the concrete. (2) Whenever any person is riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk, such person shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian.
If you do find one of these near-mythical “bikes allowed on the sidewalk” zones, signal to pedestrians that you’re going to pass them, and don’t mow them down.
Listen, kids are new around here. They don’t know the rules. If you’re an adult, you can’t tell kids that it’s OK to break a law.
§ 12-811. Penalty. (1) Any person violating any of the provisions of Chapter 12-800 shall, upon summary conviction before a Magistrate, pay a fine of seventy-five dollars ($75) together with costs of prosecution, except as otherwise provided by Section 12-807 or 75 Pa. C.S. § 6301.
Remember, we think riding on the sidewalk can cost you between $20 and $70. Traffic violations are treated the same as cars. Parking your bike illegally is $15. Breaking any of these other rules is, like, $75.
§ 12-812. Use of Audio Headphones. (1) No person shall operate a bicycle on a street or highway while wearing headphones connected to an audio device.
(3) In areas under the jurisdiction of the Fairmount Park Commission, riding bicycles on sidewalks and footpaths may be permitted when authorized by regulations of the commission.
You can’t listen to music while riding a bike. Not legally, anyhow. You can strap a boom box to your handlebars to let everyone know just how much you like Aerosmith, though.
The Fairmount Park Commission makes its own rules, buddy, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 12-811 of this Chapter, the penalty for violation of this Section shall be a minimum fine of fifty dollars ($50) and no more than one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation, together with the costs of prosecution, or, in default thereof, imprisonment of not more than ten (10) days.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 12-811 of this Chapter, the penalty for violation of this Section shall be a fine of fifty dollars ($50), together with the costs of prosecution. The amount required to be remitted in response to a notice of violation, pursuant to Section 1-112, shall be twenty dollars ($20).
Of all the laws I looked into, this was by and far the murkiest. Despite asking attorneys, city officials and cycling activists, I couldn’t pinpoint a straight answer. John Boyle at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia said the penalty for riding a bike on the sidewalk would result in a total of $70 in fines, while Jim Engler, director of legislation for Councilmember Jim Kenney, said that the $50 fine comes into effect if you get a notice of violation and are found guilty before a judge. You’d only pay the $20 remittance fee if you get a notice and decide not to go to court. (It’s a settlement.) Still, other city officials I called didn’t even know what a “remittance fee” was.
§ 12-809. Warning Devices and Brakes on Bicycles. (1) No person shall operate a bicycle unless it is equipped with a bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible for a distance of at least 100 feet, except that a bicycle shall not be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a bicycle any siren or whistle.
Did you know your bike is required to have a bell? Whoa. (2) Every bicycle shall be equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make the braked wheel skid on a dry, level, clean pavement.
Brakes. Have them. Seriously, they need to say this?
OK, let’s review: Riding on the sidewalk? Who knows, probably a $50 fine. Parking illegally is $15, breaking other laws in this section is $75, a traffic violation is a traffic violation because you’re like a car according to the law, and you can’t get charged more than $100 for a single violation. If you want, you can spend 10 days in jail instead. They don’t let you ride your bike in jail.
LOCK, STOCK AND SERIAL NUMBER The search for new ways to deter bike theft STORY BY ANDREW ZALESKI ILLUSTRATIONS BY TIM PACIFIC
R
yan Lohbauer remembers it as “freakish” that he found his stolen bike, a 1986 Lotus Challenger, blocks from the house he shares with his brother on South Chadwick Street in Point Breeze. Lohbauer, a 34-year-old architect who doesn’t own a car — he uses one of four bikes for daily transportation — normally locks
up on the grate outside his house. “I had actually lent the bicycle to my brother because his frame had broken just a week earlier,” recalls Lohbauer, who has lived in Philadelphia for 12 years. “One of my neighbors was talking to him. He just absent-mindedly one night forgot to lock it up. Somebody walked off with it.” Lohbauer isn’t the first Philadelphia cyclist to have his bike stolen, and he certainly won’t be the last. Around 11,000 bikes worth a total of $3.9 million were stolen in the city between 2007 and 2013, according to an analysis by local software company Azavea and
sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. In 2007, around 137 bikes were stolen per month. That rate increased to 162 per month in 2012. As more Philadelphians take to cycling — U.S. Census data from last year indicates that more than 14,000 city residents commute via bicycle — the number of stolen bikes is only likely to rise. Local cyclists have been fighting back. A variety of efforts to curb bike theft have taken root in recent years, including bicycle registries and citizen-reporting on social media. The Philadelphia Stolen Bikes group on Facebook is one of the newer measures. More than 2,900 people have joined since its creation in 2010, and reports of stolen bikes — some complete with photos, detailed descriptions, and addresses where the theft took place — are posted daily. “Membership goes up all the time,” says Dan Langille, an administrator for the group. “There’s a spurt every summer as people start reporting bike thefts and they see their friends have joined.” He adds that while the Facebook group tries to help people take measures to avoid thefts in the first place, many members join only after their bikes have already been stolen. Oftentimes, all you need to deter opportunistic bike thieves is a good U-lock. Temple University gives away vouchers for free U-locks to the first 500 students who register their bicycles with university police. In fact, bicycle registries — crowdsourced databases of what bikes are in which neighborhoods — have become a popular tool themselves. The South of South Neighborhood Association teamed up with the 17th Police District to create such a database in 2012. Cyclists give their name, contact information, the make and color of their bike, and the manufacturer’s serial number, as well as any photos of the bike they can provide. Then they go to their police district headquarters to have a specific registration number etched onto the frame of their ride. A similar program is in place in the 3rd Police District, and Center City’s 6th District has a bike registry program in development. The ultimate effect is the same: Police have a file on record to which they can refer if a registered bike is reported stolen. Data — not just on individual bikes, but also on the overall number of stolen bikes — are important. It’s one reason why Mark Headd, former chief data officer at the Philadelphia Office of Innovation and Technology, pushed the city to hand over three years of bike theft data for a transportation-themed hackathon in fall 2013. Computer programmers and coders used the data to map where Philly bike thefts take place most often. Knowing where thefts are more likely to occur provides cyclists with actionable intelligence, the sort that might prompt bike commuters to lock up on a different part of the street. There is a clear public hunger for these numbers. In a 2011
contest called OpenDataRace, wherein Philadelphians were asked which datasets they wanted to see made public on the city’s open data website, “reported bike thefts by address or police district” came in second, with 552 votes. Tim Wisniewski, who replaced Headd as chief data officer in July, writes in an email that no agreement had been worked out with Philadelphia police to update the bike theft data released in 2013 for the hackathon. He adds that his department will “revisit with them in the next six months when we conduct an inventory” of datasets on OpenDataPhilly.org. But cyclists can be proactive and help recover their bikes even before theft happens, according to Captain Frank Milillo of the 3rd Police District. “You know what the biggest problem is?” Milillo says. “People don’t write down their serial numbers, and when they make a report, they don’t have it. By not having a serial number [on file], we really can’t prove it’s their bike.” Take Ryan Lohbauer’s word for it. He took a photo of the serial number on each of his bikes, and after his Lotus Challenger was stolen, he was able to give that information to police when filing a report. On a midnight ride with his brother just days after the Challenger was swiped, Lohbauer spotted it on another house’s front porch. When he confronted the alleged thief, the man assured Lohbauer that the bike in question was one he purchased for $20. Lohbauer wasted no time. He called the police, and while there was no way to definitively prove that the man was a thief, Lohbauer was able to prove that the bike was his. Why? Its serial number matched up with the number he had given to police days before. “As soon as you say to police, ‘I’ve got the serial number,’ it’s over,” Lohbauer says. “There’s no question.”
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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK How parents are training the next generation of Philadelphia cyclists STORY AND PHOTOS BY ALEX VUOCOLO
Since 2012, Robert Petrone has spent two weeks per year biking to work with his three young children.
R
obert Petrone and his three children roll up to the first intersection of their morning commute. All four are riding bikes and wearing safety vests and helmets. Petrone is alongside his youngest, Elizabeth, 6, who sets the pace. The others, ages 8 and 9, trail behind in single file. “One… two… three... stop,” Petrone commands. They continue down the Spruce Street bike lane, slowing traffic
sitter, Petrone brings his children to work during the two weeks
and drawing amused stares from pedestrians. Then they proceed
between summer camp and the school year. They began taking
up the sidewalk on Juniper Street to the District Attorney’s office
this trip by bike in 2012, after Petrone spent hours teaching his
on South Penn Square, where Petrone works.
two oldest how to ride in the streets.
The family has taken this route before. Rather than hire a
“I was extremely worried with respect to how motorists, how
spoke magazine
“Of course there is a bit of fear of the unexpected. But this is true for everything a kid has to learn to do.” pedestrians were going to treat us,” Petrone says. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to monitor three small cyclists on my own.” Family bike commutes are hardly a common sight in Center City. Petrone, however, is not alone in trying to familiarize his children with Philadelphia’s bike network as early as possible. Parents throughout the city, from lawyers to stay-at-homes, are attempting to graduate their children from parks and backyards to actual city streets. In a city still trying to convince adults to bike on streets dominated by cars, this may seem like an overwhelming task. But through a mix of improvisation, a nascent support system, and their own experience and grit, Philly parents are taking the first steps toward teaching the next generation of urban cyclists.
IMPROVISING A CURRICULUM Parents face many of the same problems all cyclists face: Philadelphia’s bike lane network is incomplete and disconnected. Drivers have not fully adapted to sharing the road, and the laws protecting and accommodating cyclists are inadequate, if not unjust. Parents also face unique problems, such as the inherent physical and cognitive limitations of children. “Riding a bicycle involves the simultaneous execution of motor skills and cognitive skills,” reads a 2014 report on bicycle safety and education from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “While children are able to perform two tasks at once, they often
sacrifice cognitive performance for motor skill performance.” This means that using a cognitive ability, such as remembering who has the right of way, and a complicated motor skill, such as pedaling or steering, can be difficult for preadolescent children to do simultaneously. Charles Carmalt, bicycle/pedestrian coordinator for the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities, explains that there is no official policy on child cycling or ordinances restricting where kids can ride — although children under 12 must wear helmets. But he is personally unsure about whether young children are prepared to handle the complexities of the road. “Are kids really able to make assessed risks?” he asks. “Are they really able to understand what type of hazards are in front of them?” Every child is different, of course, and without any hard-andfast rules, parents are coming up with their own approaches to cycling education that reflect unique parenting styles as well the needs and abilities of their kids. Emanuela Villa Kaufer of Center City has been teaching her son to bike since he was three years old. Now 5, he is allowed to ride in bike lanes with Kaufer or her husband nearby. Kaufer says she understands the risk, but believes that exposing children to dangerous situations is an important part of their development. “Of course there is a bit of fear of the unexpected — of what depends on others and not on us or our kid,” she says. “But this is true for everything a kid has to learn to do.” During a cool summer evening, Kaufer and her son lived out this tension when he made a mistake, crossing Spruce Street rather than turning into the bike lane and momentarily stranding himself on the other side of the road as cars sped by. Marni Duffy of South Kensington has taken a different approach with her three children, each of whom is no older
privileges.” Although, she admits, much of her curriculum has
than 10. She uses the sidewalks to teach them how to ride
been “ad-libbed” as her children have developed their abilities.
and refuses to let them onto the street, even if bike lanes
Petrone, too, had to improvise a kind of methodology before
are available, until the emergence of what she calls a more
the family bike commute became possible. His commands are
“complete system.”
very specific and repeated three times. He rides ahead to block
“A complete system,” Duffy says, “would be protected bike
driveways and side streets, and uses countdowns to prepare his
lanes and clear infrastructure with better laws governing the road.”
kids for their next action. He also only lets them ride on streets
Duffy has not let what she considers the shortcomings of
with bike lanes.
the city’s bike network stop her from teaching her children how
“They don’t have the life experience to intuit what they
to cycle on its streets. “I slowly came up with a ‘curriculum’ that
have to do,” Petrone says. “So you have to give them all the
I used to teach all of them,” she says. “A set of clear verbal cues
instructions.”
and rules of the road that all are to follow if they want bike
Kaufer, Duffy and Petrone each stressed that much of the
spoke magazine education is done verbally, and often not even while the child is cycling. “The road education started before our son could bike,” Kaufer says. “We’ve always stressed lights while crossing the street, pointed out road signs, mentioned traffic rules, etcetera. This was done as we were walking, driving and especially biking, with him in a bike seat.” Julian and Susan DeAngelus of Northern Liberties have their own mix of techniques for teaching their 9-year-old daughter Francesca, including clear verbal communication of the rules of the road. But they also stress the importance of common sense and experience. “There are certain things you teach them because you’ve been through that experience,” Julian says. Examples include looking out for car doors and trolley tracks. But after a year of riding on the streets with his daughter, Julian adds, he has come to trust her instincts. Now the advice is more straightforward. Susan lays it out: “No headphones, look ahead for potential potholes or situations, try new routes, and enjoy the ride.” A GROWING SUPPORT NETWORK The City of Philadelphia does not currently have any cycling programs targeted at parents and their children. “A lot of our work so far is focused on adult cyclists,” says Carmalt, who has worked for six years on cycling and pedestrian issues for the City. He adds that children specifically have not been a major focus in terms of infrastructure. Recent additions to Philly’s bike network — such as sharrows, where the cyclist is encouraged to take the center of the lane — reflect this bias toward adults. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and volunteer-run groups such as Kidical Mass, a network of parents who hold periodic group rides for themselves and
“I have a feeling that their skills are going to be up to par. But the question is, will the environment be up to par?”
their children, are trying to fill the gap in support services by building a community around cycling education and training. Kidical Mass — a play on Critical Mass, the politically tinged mass bike ride held in cities around the world — offers parents a chance to bike with their children with the added safety of a group. Parents who attend these rides gather online through an active Facebook group that shares tips, concerns and information about upcoming events and programs. The Safe Routes Philly program, launched by the Bicycle Coalition in 2010, has worked to introduce a cycling education curriculum in fifth grade classes around the city. It also organizes ride-to-school events and has worked directly with parents and teachers to encourage safe riding. Over the last four years, the Coalition brought the program to 132 schools. Carmalt notes that the city has helped secure state and federal grants for the program. Megan Rosenbach, education director for the Coalition, says she has found through her work that “very little structure came with a whole lot of compliance” in terms of students cycling safely. Philadelphia’s streets have a long way to go before most parents would even consider letting their children ride anywhere but sidewalks, parks or designated trails. Many are awaiting improvements in the infrastructure, but also in the culture at large and in support networks for cyclists. For Petrone, a longtime cyclist himself, the key issue is whether all these factors will improve together. “I have a feeling that their skills are going to be up to par,” he says about his children. “But the question is, will the environment be up to par?” Neither the City nor the various organizations working on this issue have explicitly addressed whether the private education provided by parents should be more structured. For now, at least, the scattered Philadelphia parents cycling with their children are shaping their own education programs — one ride, one lesson at a time.
ASK A... BIKE MECHANIC Name: Alex Hansrote Age: 22 Works at: Bustleton Bikes Bike mechanic for: 6 years Favorite ride: Fuji Team Pro What is the most common request you hear from customers? “ ‘Can I get some air in my tires?’ ” What is the number-one complaint that most people could fix on their own? “When a customer gets a flat on a ride and ends up having to walk the bike to us.” What are you expecting from bike share, once it launches in Philly? “I hope more people will begin to commute on bicycles, thus creating a more bike-friendly city.”
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GOVERNMENTS BIKE LANE ?
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Where the money for cycling infrastructure comes from STORY BY JON GEETING | PHOTOS BY MALIX MEDIA
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he American Dream looks a lot different today than it did in the 1970s. For Millennials, Baby Boomers and everyone in between, the half-acre subdivision with the two-car driveway has increasingly fallen out of favor, supplanted by a small urban abode, a bus pass and a bicycle. Vehicle miles traveled peaked per household in 2004 and haven’t bounced back, suggesting a high-water mark for car culture. New urban arrivals self-report that they didn’t choose the city life only to save money on transportation, though that is a key factor. Rather, they like cities for the proximity: shorter distances between home, work and entertainment, more active commutes, and less dead time behind the windshield. But for those hoping that the political system will quickly digest these early signs of change, it’s time for a reality check. Though the shift
in Americans’ housing and transportation preferences is real, it is very small in absolute numbers. Nationwide, just 3.4 percent of commuters got to work by walking or biking in 2011 and 2012, according to the Alliance for Biking and Walking’s 2014 benchmarking report based on American Community Survey and Census data. (Commuting to work is only one kind of trip people take, of course, but it’s what the ACS tracks.) Over those two years, walking accounted for just 2.8 percent of commutes, up from 2.5 percent in 2005. Bike mode share stood at only
The new boardwalk on the Schyulkill Banks received federal TIGER grant money.
0.6 percent in 2012, up from 0.4 percent in 2005.1 In the 50 largest cities, biking and walking make up a larger share of the commuting picture. Walking commutes in these cities rose to 5 percent in 2012, up half a percentage point from 2005, and bike commuting rose to 1 percent in 2012 from 0.7 percent in 2005. Here in Philadelphia, 8.8 percent of commutes are walking commutes and 1.9 percent are biking commutes — the highest of the 10 largest cities, thank you very much. Still, these are very small absolute numbers, and it’s not surprising that the shift has barely registered in Congress or state legislatures. Even in urban areas, cyclists remain a small minority of the population. Though increasingly politically organized, their small numbers make it difficult to move votes at the state and federal level. The basic math reveals that it’s easier for cycling advocates to exercise power in city governments more so than in state governments, and in state governments more so than in Washington. Let me break it down for you:
WHAT WASHINGTON GUARANTEES In Washington, funding for biking and walking improvements has been a perennial target of Republican lawmakers, most notably Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, who took aim at the main federal multimodal fund — the Transportation Alternatives Program — in the latest budget standoff this past August. So far, opponents have failed to seriously cut the bike-ped share of the budget. In fact, for the first time, more than 2 percent of federal transportation funding is going to bicycle and pedestrian projects. The Transportation Alternatives Program, which funnels money for these projects to states and regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations — more on this later — saw its budget increase from $809 million in 2013 to $820 million in 2014. Yet the picture is a bit more complicated. The Transportation Alternatives Program is relatively new, combining the Transportation Enhancements program with two others, Safe Routes to School and the Recreational
There’s some evidence that the Census undercounts biking and walking. The National Household Travel Survey, last conducted in 2009, found that bicycling accounts for 1 percent of total trips in the U.S. The same survey found that 13 percent of Americans takes one biking trip a week. 1
spoke magazine “The nice thing about bike-ped projects is that they score very high because they’re low-cost, high-yield.” Trails Program. So while Congress technically increased Transportation Alternatives’ funding, levels were actually 26 percent less in fiscal year 2014 than the three separate programs’ combined funding in 2012.2 By comparison, consider how much money Washington lavishes on cars. MAP-21, the two-year federal transportation funding bill passed in 2012, included $206 billion for the Interstate Highway System and road safety, and just $72 billion for transit. The most recent spending bill, passed in December and dubbed the “CRomnibus,” keeps these numbers steady. However, it does direct the Federal Highway Administration to establish separate safety standards for cyclists and pedestrians, acknowledging for the first time that road users who aren’t driving cars have distinct safety needs. Congress also sets aside competitive discretionary funding, of which the popular TIGER grant program — slated to dole out $500 million in fiscal year 2015 — is a part. Recent high-profile bicycle and pedestrian projects in Philadelphia have received TIGER grants, including stretches of the growing Delaware River trail network and a new boardwalk on the Schuylkill Banks. WHAT WASHINGTON REALLY GUARANTEES That’s Washington’s official contribution to cycling, walking and transit, but there’s also an underbelly of tax expenditures that distorts transportation choices in ways that disfavor biking and walking. For instance, a recent report from
TransitCenter and Frontier Group flagged the federal tax benefit for commuter parking, which pays an estimated 820,000 additional people to drive at peak times of the day at a cost of $7.3 billion in foregone tax revenue. There is a federal tax benefit for transit users, but as the report points out, even bringing the two into parity would still subsidize vastly more driving than if the parking tax benefit were rescinded. Meanwhile, the federal government’s largest housing subsidy — the $200 billion-per-year mortgage interest tax deduction — is also a de facto subsidy for driving, because it puts a heavy thumb on the scale in favor of single-family housing development in suburban and exurban areas. On the other side of the coin, to a much lesser extent, there are ways in which cities can use federal money to indirectly further bike infrastructure. For a good example of this, Philadelphia can look to its neighbor on the other side of the state. “The way the transportation money comes down from the feds, to the states, and then to the region, you can’t apply for bridge money to do bike lanes,” Patrick Roberts of Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning told SPOKE. “But when we’re redesigning the bridge, we can certainly design it so it’s wide enough to incorporate them.” Since Mayor Bill Peduto took office in January 2014, Pittsburgh has been aggressively tapping into whatever public and private money it can get in order to, as the mayor puts it, “leapfrog” other cities’ bike infrastructure. One of the largest sources of funding cities can compete for is the Congestion Mitigation and
The Transportation Enhancements program was created in 1991 by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, the first federal transportation bill passed after the completion of the initial Interstate Highway System. Multimodalism was a key focus of the legislation, and the inclusion of funding for pedestrian and bike infrastructure reflected Washington’s gradual shift toward taking a more aggressive role in supporting nonmotorized transportation. 2
Air Quality Program under MAP-21. Pittsburgh won a $1.6 million grant for its upcoming bike share program, which will cover the purchase of 500 bikes and the siting of 50 stations. The city also won $350,000 from the Transportation Alternatives Program for lane markings. “The nice thing about bike-ped projects is that they score very high because they’re low-cost, high-yield,” Roberts said. “That’s why we’ve been going through the competitive programs.” WHAT HARRISBURG GUARANTEES The state level, where most transportation policy is made anyway, has seen a bit more action on cycling than the federal level. According to the Alliance for Biking and Walking report: Since 2010, 11 states and 12 of the 52 most populous cities have added new goals to increase bicycling and walking, or to decrease bicycle and pedestrian fatalities. Overall, 88% of states and 90% of the most populous cities currently report having at least one of these goals.
Here in Pennsylvania, cities and counties get a pot of money to manage through the state’s Transportation Improvement Fund. Municipalities draw up a list of their needs for roads, bridges, bike trails and other projects, and the state parcels out money from the fund. In the name of fiscal constraint, the state will allocate a fixed amount for a specific type of project. “The state DOT will say, ‘over the next four years, you have $20 million to apply to bridge projects’, for instance,” Roberts said. Thanks to the 2013 Act 89 transportation funding bill, which uncapped a state tax on gas stations, bike and pedestrian projects will have their own dedicated pot of money, too. The bill created the $36 million Multimodal Transportation Fund administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), of which the state legislature decided only $2 million a year can go to bike and pedestrian projects. Act 89 also created the homonymous $40 million Multimodal Transportation Fund, independently administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA). The CFA requires localities to put up a 30
For the first time, the Federal Highway Administration officially recognizes that cyclists have distinct safety needs.
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percent match for the non-federal portion of a project. The tranche of projects receiving CFA funding here in Philadelphia included a mix of public efforts like bike share ($300,000), the University City District’s 40th Street trolley portal ($800,000), and the Spring Garden Street Connector streetscape project ($1 million). CFA grants have also gone to private developers like PREIT for pedestrian improvements at The Gallery ($1.06 million), and to AIMCO and Park Towne Place Associates for a pedestrian connectivity project off the Benjamin Franklin Parkway ($1 million). WHAT PHILLY CONTRIBUTES Another source of revenue in Pennsylvania comes from red light camera money in Philadelphia. A state law allowing Philadelphia to become the first (and so far only) county in the Commonwealth to deploy automatic red light enforcement cameras passed in 2005 due to a revenue sharing deal with Harrisburg. Under the agreement, 50 percent of funds generated from the 108 cameras — $55 million between 2005 and 2013 — went to the state’s Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) program, to spend on safety-related transportation improvements around Pennsylvania. The rest went to the
“The federal government’s largest housing subsidy is also a de facto subsidy for driving.” Philadelphia Streets Department, which doles out funds for bike infrastructure, among other things. The law was changed in 2013, ending the 50 percent guarantee to Philadelphia but giving its mayor the power to appoint half of the ARLE
board members, with the other half appointed by PennDOT. At the local level, Roberts said Pennsylvania cities budget seed money for bigger projects and spend staff time on engineering, planning and chasing grants. “For planning and implementation, we have a bike-ped line item that’s a few hundred thousand,” Roberts said. “That provides in the neighborhood of a 20 percent match for anything else we could apply for. So if we have $200,000, we’re really parceling that out and could turn that into $5 million using the money as a match.” City governments also employ staff inhouse to have designs ready to go when pots of money become available. Roberts emphasized that staff time is an underrated constraint on building out bike infrastructure. In some ways, it’s more important than money. “Timewise,” Roberts said, “if we had more money we might not be able to spend it because of limited staffing.” But the biggest constraint of all is political capital, and elected officials who care personally about building a world-class bike lane network. WHAT LEADERSHIP WILL GET YOU With budgets tight, especially at the state and local level, investing in bike and pedestrian infrastructure makes fiscal sense. Once the policy focus is on moving people rather than cars, it’s amazing how many more people you can move for the relatively low cost of active transportation projects. How low-cost are we talking about? Consider that Portland, Ore. was able to build an entire bike lane network for about the same cost as a single mile of urban highway, according to a 2011 report by The Oregonian. Local construction costs vary, of course, but the takeaway is clear: Actual infrastructure is cheap, but political capital is expensive.
What makes most bike, pedestrian and transit infrastructure improvements difficult isn’t really the money, but rather electing leaders who have the political will and drive to take space on public roads away from cars. For instance, U.S. politicians and planners often treat curb parking as a sort of naturally occurring condition, like a river or rock formation, when in fact it’s really a political choice to allocate 9 feet
ASK A... BIKE MECHANIC Name: Izzat Rahman Age: 25 Works at: Kayuh Bicycles Mechanic for: 4 years Favorite ride: “I’m currently riding a custom-built Oasis Tonga road bike with SRAM rival 10 speed gruppo.” What is the most common request you hear from customers? “Having their bike ride like new or better than before they brought it in. We do our best to accommodate their requests and recommend merchandise or spare parts that
of the public right-of-way to idle vehicles instead of bike lanes, bus lanes or what have you. If there’s anything to feel optimistic about, it’s that city governments are the easiest governments for bike and pedestrian advocates to influence. While political investments do take a long time to germinate into electoral gains and policy change, patience and determination eventually pay off big — even in unlikely places.
will complement their riding experience. Occasionally, we showcase potential issues or give tips on how to maintain a bike, and common pitfalls to steer clear off.” What is the number-one complaint that most people could fix on their own? “Cyclists that get occasional flats tend to think there’s a warranty or time frame a tube should last after getting a flat fix. Most times, it is due to the way a person rides or how diligent he or she is at checking air pressure before a ride, among other things. Locking up a bike is also a common problem. Usually it boils down to the brand, type, and where and how it is locked up.” What are you expecting from bike share, once it launches in Philly? “I personally expect to see more bicycle infrastructure, such as lanes designated for bikes, more bike corrals or parking, and a bike police task force. The task force is an idea that the city should consider introducing to combat the gradual incline in bike thefts around the city and give confidence to existing, as well as would-be, cyclists to own and continually ride a bike.”
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WELCOME TO THE NEW WORKING WEEK The ‘bike delivery’ world is changing. We interviewed three professionals to tell you — and one another — about it. STORY BY CASSIE OWENS PHOTOS BY JUSTIN DURNER
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hile many folks use bikes for sport or commuting, a smaller group of cyclists rely on them to actually make a living. And it’s not just couriers, anymore. From laundry deliverers to street cleaners, a variety of Philadelphians have found both fulland part-time jobs atop a bike seat. We sat down with three of them — Kwan, 32, of Center City (he doesn’t use a last name); Mariusz Tyrk, 42, of Mayfair; and Jake Clark, 29, of South Philly — to find out about their experiences, how they interact with others on the street, and how cycling jobs are evolving. SPOKE: What do you do? What does your typical workday look like? Kwan: I do bike deliveries at Kabuki Sushi, at 13th and Arch. I work nights. I’m not really a morning person. Sometimes I go to Goldilocks Gallery on 8th and Arch and help out and plan stuff with the owner of the gallery. I also plan and throw events myself, so my daytime is usually filled with working on that. Mariusz Tyrk: I work for NKCDC [New Kensington Community Development Corporation]. I ride a tricycle with storage and maintenance equipment. I have a couple of routes on Richmond Street in Fishtown. On Mondays, I go to Girard and clean the streets under the train station and work my way to Berks Street. My duties are to remove all the graffiti, to remove illegal signs, to scrape up any tags that are attached to the newspaper stands and poles. I also take care of the bus shelters. I put up new posters, clean the glass, and make sure there’s no graffiti. I also deliver all kinds of invitations for events that take place in Philadelphia. Basically, I work five days a week, seven hours a day. I have a flexible schedule. Jake Clark: What type of tricycle do you use for your routes? Mariusz: There’s a guy in an old factory. His name is Steve [Horcha]. Jake: Haley Trikes. Dutch-style, with the cargo box in the front.
Mariusz: Yeah. When I first started I didn’t have a tricycle. I was working on foot. But one day, he provided me a tricycle and it was so nice. I could put two recycling cans inside the compartment. I also have a little storage compartment for my chemicals and attachments for my brooms and dustpan. It’s a three-speed tricycle. It’s very comfortable. Jake: I’m director of logistics for Wash Cycle Laundry. I have my hand in just about everything delivery related, whether it be making sure my frontline deliveries happen and speaking with my frontline team members on a daily basis, or trying to improve efficiency by researching vehicles we can add to our fleet or different programs we can use to track maintenance, or going over the numbers with members of my team in Philadelphia and the members in Austin and D.C. I can’t think of one day that’s ever been the same as the next. When did you all start working on your bikes? Kwan: I’d say probably four or five years ago. I went to school for marketing, tried the whole marketing thing, and it didn’t really work out. I just never got into the groove of it. That was kind of the push to get into biking, because I like biking and I can make money off of something that I’m into. I don’t have to deal with corporate culture. Mariusz: I started [at NKCDC] on October 11, 2011. Jake: I’ve been on my bike about six years now, doing various things. But I’ve been with Wash Cycle Laundry for just over two years. I started when there were just six employees, and I was just a person riding around delivering laundry. As the company grew, I’ve grown along with it. Kwan, you mentioned that you were really into biking. Were all of you into cycling way before you started your jobs? Jake: I rode BMX since I was 10 years
old and never really got off a bike since then. Kwan: Yeah, definitely. Putting it into perspective, I would say biking is the one time I really feel free. Mariusz: My first experience tricycling was when I started this job, but riding a bike was always a pleasure. I commuted on a bike basically since I was a little kid. But a tricycle was a bit of a different experience, because it was designed for work. Riding a tricycle gives you a good workout. I transport bags filled up with trash. I have to pedal hard, especially when I go up a hill. I have to downshift to the lowest gear. And it depends on the weather conditions — wind blows, or there’s snow or rain. You have to adjust. It seems to be a cool moment for cyclists in Philly. What is it like seeing the growth of the cycling community, as people who use bikes for work and not just to commute? Jake: It’s great seeing the change in the winter. Five, 10 years ago, drivers weren’t used to seeing bikes almost at all in the winter, so people would forget about how to ride with bikes. It would become dangerous. Now that drivers are used to seeing people on bikes throughout the year, they seem to have a much better handle on how to ride with bikes on the road. I’ve noticed that if you give drivers respect, they tend to give you respect, too. Kwan: Uh, yeah. I don’t… you have Philly drivers, and Philly, we’re just kind of… there’s this aggression in the city, and I think it spills over with drivers and the way they react to bikers. Sometimes I feel like I’m at war with drivers. Sometimes with cabbies. Jake: Cabbies are the bane of everybody’s existence. For pedestrians and drivers, too? Kwan: I notice a lot of people jaywalk looking at the ground or looking at their phone. And yeah, it’s a pain. But how do I feel about there being more
spoke magazine bikers than there used to be? I think it’s overall a good thing. Obviously, it’s not a bad thing as far pollution and health. We bike for our jobs, so there’s this pride in that. [To Jake] Like you were speaking on biking in the winter. I have no choice. But I notice a lot of people will put their bikes away in the winter and start driving.
to give it up. It may be a trend, but you see people riding around with their kids, and I think that’s going to continue to grow.
Jake: It’s like, “Look what I do. You couldn’t do this. You wouldn’t do this.”
Jake: I don’t try to avoid bike lanes per se, but I don’t seek them out, either. Especially in Center City, where we focus a lot, they tend to have a little traffic in the lane — whether it be people running, parked cars, or people walking their dogs. In Center City, [bike lanes] are almost more dangerous than they are helpful. Now the trolley tracks, I always try to avoid those. Those are no fun for anybody. But we use routing software and can adjust the routes accordingly.
Kwan: Yeah, exactly. “This is my job, and you’re treating it like a trend.” I’m not into that side of the growth so much. Jake: I think there’s always going to be turnover there. Bike shops wouldn’t have business if people didn’t sell their bikes and then decide a couple years later that they want a new one. A good bike will last you 30 years-plus — even longer than a car if you maintain it properly. With that said, I think there are more people now who aren’t going
How do you guys adjust your routes, especially in Philly, which has so many streets with legacy trolley lines still in them?
What’s the routing software that you use?
Jake: We actually built it ourselves. It has no name. I guess it’s based off the Google Maps algorithm, with some different parameters that we’ve put in specifically for bikes. We route by point and we assign it to a certain cyclist. We assign eight, 10 stops to each cyclist, and then it routes the best way around the city, taking into consideration the time that we have for delivery to make our appointment. Kwan: For me it might be a little different, because I feel like delivery is based on speed. Plus, I deliver downtown and don’t have the luxury of a lot of bike lanes, but I guess it’s knowledge of the city and knowing which ways are faster than others. I also think instinct plays heavily in how I get from point A to point B. Sometimes I feel the need to go against traffic because I can get to point B faster. And yeah, trolley tracks. Nobody likes those. As far as delivery, you can’t really avoid situations like that.
While working atop his bike, Kwan has broken his jaw and had his nose ripped off. He doesn’t think Philadelphia is a bike-friendly city.
Jake Clark has worked for Wash Cycle Laundry for more than two years and says that he has “grown along with” the company.
Jake: You can’t go out of your way just to avoid the trolley track. Kwan: You just have to go over it at an angle, I guess. That’s my advice. Don’t hit it straight on. Jake, you work for a company that has sustainability at its core. Do you think climate-consciousness will open the door for more people who work on their bikes? Jake: I don’t think it’s a niche market; I think it’s a growing trend. There are companies in Europe that do bicycle delivery. There’s a big one in Portland that does it as well. Almost every other major city has pedicabs, and those are huge markets that Philadelphia hasn’t even tapped. I think that the bicycle as employment will continue to grow. What’s that phrase, be the change you want to see? I feel like working on a bike is the easiest way to actually effect that. [To Kwan] Do you or anyone you work with use electric assists on your bicycle?
Kwan: [Laughs] This is the first time, actually, at the Japanese spot. I work seven nights a week. And the other guy has, like, an electrical Robocop bike. Jake: What do you think about that? Do you think it’s cheating? Kwan: No, I wouldn’t say it’s cheating. You should just get there, because it’s not just biking — people live off of deliveries. So skateboard there, if you have to. Jake: What’s the farthest bike ride you’ve ever done? Kwan: I worked at Circles on 2nd Street in Northern Liberties, and [the owner] opened up the delivery zone. I found myself going from 2nd Street to University City, as well as past Lehigh almost to where the Somerset stop is. Jake: For me, it’s probably either going down to the Navy Yard and back, or up to the Mann Center and back. The Mann Center is not really that far, but that hill…
Mariusz: I begin my route at the [NKCDC] Garden Center. I go to Girard, Allegheny and Frankford. It’s not really that far, all within the same area. What does make things demanding is when I pick up a lot of bags, it’s harder to pedal. It puts on more weight that you have to carry. Jake: How much weight do you carry on your tricycle? Mariusz: Well, the tricycle is designed to carry 500 pounds. I have two bins, one for recycling and one for trash, so if I clean a lot of glass and the bags are really heavy, maybe 80 pounds or so. You still get good maneuverability, but you have to pedal harder. Jake: I can imagine. Mariusz: And if the weather conditions are not favorable, that makes it even harder. Kwan: Going back to fear of getting doored: I feel like you guys stick out
spoke magazine more than the average bikers, and maybe people are more conscious about it. Have you ever gotten into an accident? Jake: Personally, yeah. I got doored pretty bad. Broke a few ribs. But at work, we have a great safety track record. We’ve had two car-to-trailer incidents in our four-year history. Oddly enough, those happened at the same intersection about a week apart from one another. Kwan: Where was it? Jake: It was 38th and Spruce, right up by the [University of Pennsylvania] campus. Somebody making a right turn on red without paying attention. Turning into the trailer, knocking somebody off, slight injury but nothing serious, nothing that kept them off of work.
do notice us. I think we get a little more respect because we’re so visible. If we stop at stop signs, people will wait for us to go through instead of jumping ahead. How is it for you? Is it a lot of weaving in and out? Kwan: Yeah, because my job is outside of bike lanes. It’s like a little obstacle course at times. I haven’t broken any ribs, but I’ve broken my jaw, and my nose got ripped off.
would crash once a week just because of the ice. Oh yeah: Last winter I did get second-degree frostbite for the first time. Which was weird, because I’d never had frostbite before and I didn’t understand. For two weeks, my big toe was numb and black. Anything else you guys want to share with our readers? Kwan: Uh… biking is fun?
Jake: Oof.
Jake: Everyone should do it!
Mariusz: Ouch!
Kwan: It’s funny: Last weekend I was somewhere, and a girl visiting her friend from D.C. saw that I was sitting with a bike. They came up to me like, “Thinking about moving to Philly. Do you think that Philly is a bike-friendly city?” My response was, “No, not really.” But to go back to your original question, with more people on bikes — I think that’s a good thing, because it’s slowly going to change Philly into a bike-friendly city, and cars will notice and understand how to coexist with bikes. Yeah, that’s it. Get a bike.
Kwan: Yeah, it’s a skin graft or whatever. I’ve only gotten doored once, luckily. That didn’t happen until recently. Someone jumped out of a cab, not at the light.
Kwan: That’s a main street, too.
Jake: On the wrong side. There are signs in every cab that say to get out on the sidewalk side.
Jake: You get so many kids who don’t know how to drive right there. Other than that, we do stick out, and people
Kwan: That was the only time I’ve gotten doored. Again, last winter was really rough. It got to the point where I
ASK A... BIKE MECHANIC Name: Richie Cortez Age: 36 Works at: Philadelphia Bikesmith Bike mechanic for: “Over a decade, now.” Favorite ride: Mountain bikes. “They’re like jet skis. You never see someone frowning on a jet ski, no matter what model of jet ski it is.”
What is the most common request you hear from customers? “The most common fix is and always will be a flat fix, which I am happy to teach clients off the clock.” What is the number-one complaint that most people could fix on their own? “A dropped chain. Easy to fix and only needs a little explaining to know how to do.” What are you expecting from bike share, once it launches in Philly? “I expect locals and also visitors to use the system to move around the city, visit locations with much more ease, and contribute to an even more bicycle-friendly city.”
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WHY IT MATTERS THAT I KEEP RIPPING MY PANTS Where are all the good bike clothes for women? STORY BY ALEX BACA
ILLUSTRATION BY TIM PACIFIC
y cheekiest professional accomplishment was writing an alt-weekly cover story just before I turned 22. As I did every day, I biked to work the morning it went to print. At a red light, I pulled up next to my newspaper’s street box and grinned, seeing my name on the front page. The light changed, I started pedaling, and… I could feel the uncomfortable rub of my seat on the skin of my inner thigh. My pants had ripped. (It was a goofy coincidence, given that my story was about bikes.) I’ve had a lot of pants blow out in the crotch since then. I’ve also sweat- and greasestained countless shirts beyond repair. I generally don’t wear dresses and only buy one brand of jeans. It’s a little inconvenient, though not especially dangerous. But I do want my bikes clothes to perform in ways that wouldn’t
necessarily matter if I were walking, taking the bus, or driving. I want pockets deep enough to fit my wallet, my cell phone and maybe the clip of a rear light. I want a place to hook my keys. I want shirts long enough to cover my lower back, and jackets that accommodate the position of my shoulders when I lean on the handlebars. I want pants that won’t rip or pull apart after a few months, particularly in the crotch, and I want them to be flexible enough through the waist and hips that I don’t feel the material cutting into my midsection. Of course, I want to look attractive and be comfortable. I want the clothes I wear on my bike to be something I don’t think about, because I don’t feel them. And I want to arrive at my destination looking like a human being. In all the seas of wearable options in this
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genre — for the fashion-conscious, probably urban, mostly utilitarian cyclist — there are a scant few choices bobbing along for women. BEHIND THE CURVE Clothing engineered for specific outdoor pursuits — think skiing, hiking and running — has steadily crept into weekend wear, and happy-hour wear, and casual-Friday wear. Even cycling-for-sport gear has less aggressive offerings that don’t scream, “I stole your QOM on Strava this morning, sucker.” This is especially true for women’s clothing, because ladies are the biggest retail spenders and the most receptive to marketing endeavors. We’re now firmly in an era where I can wear leggings to work with an appropriately styled top and look professional for my field (which is, admittedly, more flexible than most).
Community Survey data via the League of American Bicyclists identifies 30 percent of Pennsylvania women as cyclists. (Granted, this includes any woman who said that she has biked to work once.) In Philadelphia, 33 percent of cyclists are women, way higher than the national average of 24 percent. Advocacy organizations, such as Women Bike PHL and Sturdy Girl Cycling, specifically design programming around women who bike. Yet the Levi’s line was only for men. Meanwhile, Chrome’s offerings for women have all but vanished. Retailers and independent makers alike barely, if at all, register the existence and spending power of transportation cyclists, even as their ranks increasingly include women. A COMMON COMPLAINT
My preferred outfits are inching further and further toward, say, Outdoor Voices than J. Crew Factory, and a five-minute look around Elixr Coffee in Center City — or Green Line Cafe in West Philly, or the new La Colombe in Fishtown — indicates that I’m not alone. Urban commuter cyclists are a burgeoning population that squares nicely with the acceptability and popularity of activewear. So it’s not completely out of whack to expect that major retailers might offer a morsel or two geared toward this demographic. In fact, Levi’s did as much a few years back with its commuter line, and Chrome Industries’ highly functional pieces, with the prices to match, are staples. But even those slim concessions ignore the fact that women ride bikes for transportation, too. Women account for 24 percent of all bike trips nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2009 National Household Travel Survey. That’s less than one-third of the rate for men, but it’s not insubstantial. American
It’s cheaper to find clothing that suits your bike than to buy a bike that suits your clothing. Even Outlier’s pricey 60/30 classcut blazer, at $430, costs less than the best entry-level commuter bike, the Jamis Coda (bought new for $550). It’s more realistic to hunt down pants with pockets that can hold my cell phone — not an easy task for women, even when off a bike — than to cram more bikes into the one-bedroom I share with my boyfriend, also a cyclist. To confirm whether the rare prevalence of what I’ve come to call “women’s-specific technical commuter clothing” is an actual issue, I posed the question to two online discussion groups: Wheelwomen Switchboard and the Washington Area Bicyclist Associations’ Women & Bicycles Facebook group, both of which are women’s-only closed groups. (Disclosure: I previously worked for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.) “Regular jeans are so uncomfortable to ride in with seams in bad places and getting destroyed from my pedaling movement,” one woman replied. Another wrote, “Every time I buy something for my professional wardrobe, I have to make sure it works on a bike.” Numerous commenters stated a preference for dark colors to reduce the appearance of sweat. Responses also seemed to indicate that pink-it-and-shrink-it is alive and well: “I often see really nice shirts,” one woman wrote, “but they’re in pink or yellow or light blue. Or they have flowers on them, or a bicycle. While I love shirts with bikes on them, sometimes I just
want it to be a little more plain.” Most women, evidently, do what I do: buy clothing that is at least passable for biking, and avoid the stuff (stiff jeans, maxi dresses) that doesn’t work. Yet I still find the lack of women’s-specific technical commuter clothing egregious, despite having a wardrobe full of options that work fine for a normal day of cycling. Why am I so bothered? THE PANTS AS A SYMBOL I am aware of the inherent privilege in complaining about this. After all, there are more important issues to cycling than what to wear. Dedicated, protected bikeways, and not four-way-stretching double-weave twill pants, are the kinds of things proven to get more people, especially women, riding. And, anyway, clothing for women who bike does exist! There’s Iva Jean. There’s Outlier. There’s Betabrand’s Bike to Work pants. There’s Riyoko. There’s Iladora. If the prices of small-scale designers are too much, some regular clothes do turn out great for cycling. I’ve found Urban Outfitters’ BDG jeans ($58) to be stretchy enough to accommodate bending and twisting, to last a good eight months before blowing out in the crotch, and to have the deep pockets that make riding without a bag possible. But literally anything to make cycling for transportation just a little bit easier, a little less considered, a little less like a Portlandia sketch, means that someone will free up their space on the bus and ride those few miles to work instead. Perhaps more critically, pricey products manufactured at a mass scale and marketed to utilitarian cyclists are a harbinger of normalization. We’re not there with cycling. If one can wrap their brain around the idea that someone chooses to bike for transportation and not just for recreation, then it’s generally assumed that such an individual is young, in shape, quite possibly white, relatively new to their chosen city, college-educated, and can afford to live within biking distance of their office. That’s why women and minorities are bandied about in policy-talk as indicator species of cycling’s larger cultural acceptance. If biking for transportation ever becomes as normal as I’d like, then fashion’s consideration of its demands will be the most significant indicator of all.
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