July 27, 2024
Provided Image/Philly Bike Action
Hundreds of cyclists gathered outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art to protest in response to traffic-related fatalities in the city. They rode to City Hall and demanded concrete barriers to protect bike lanes.
Hundreds of bike riders took to the streets of Center City Friday evening to demand safer, concrete-protected bike lanes after multiple traffic-related deaths that occurred over a week ago.
The cyclists gathered at the Philadelphia Museum of Art around 6 p.m. and rode to City Hall, affecting traffic in the Rittenhouse Square, Graduate Hospital, Washington Square West and Society Hill neighborhoods.
On July 17, Dr. Barbara Ann Friedes, a 30-year-old pediatric resident at CHOP, was killed on her bike after being struck by Michael Vahey, 68, who was speeding under the influence.
Friedes was riding in the bike lane and Vahey ran over several plastic dividers onto the bike lane to attempt to pass other cars. He has been charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol, involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person and speeding.
Also killed on the same day was Christopher Cabrera, 38, who was standing at the corner of Frankford and East Allegheny Avenues when he was struck by a car driven by Christopher Sorensen, 41. Police believe that Sorensen was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash.
Outrage from the deaths of Friedes and Cabrera sparked the protest, which the advocacy group Philly Bike Action organized.
"The huge number of people who rode their bikes to City Hall tonight makes it clear: it’s past time for the city to make streets safe for everyone who bikes," said Jessie Amadio of Philly Bike Action. "It means that paint is not protection: we need the City to treat our lives with dignity and take our safety seriously."
Philly Bike Action relayed the demand to the City of Philadelphia for protected bike lanes, stating that the City should start with Spruce Street, Pine Street, and Allegheny Avenue.
The group also demands the end of the "legacy practice" of allowing parking in bike lanes on the weekends and the replacement of all "No Parking" signs with "No Stopping" signage on all bike lanes.
Bicycle safety advocates have criticized Mayor Cherelle Parker for the supposed decreased funds in the city's budget for Vision Zero projects aiming to improve bike and pedestrian safety. The city has disputed this in a statement to CBS Philadelphia.
"The Parker administration strongly supports Vision Zero, and considers it an important contribution to the many City programs aimed at increasing pedestrian and cyclist safety," read the statement from the mayor's office.
