October 14, 2016
City cyclists likely have a hard time commuting through large chunks of North Philly and South Philly, a map from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia shows.
The map, published on the BCGP's blog earlier this month, used census block groups to identify sections of the city that don't have any standard, 5-foot bike lanes.
The BCGP found that while Center City cyclists are largely fine, those biking through South and North Philly will find bike lanes hard to come by. In fact, besides downtown, almost every section of the city has large parts with zero bike lanes.
"Living in a bike lane desert does not give the average person much incentive to begin commuting via bicycle," the BCGP's Randy LoBasso wrote.
The good news for cyclists is that Mayor Jim Kenney has pledged to have 30 miles of protected bike lanes installed while in office. A mile-long, two-way lane on Ryan Avenue between Rowland and Lexington avenues in the city's Mayfair section opened in September.
“My administration is committed to introducing more protected bicycle lanes in order to provide safe and comfortable routes for Philadelphians of all ages and abilities," Kenney said at the time.
(h/t, Be Well Philly)
