Advocates and Legislators call on the Legislature to legalize life saving bicycle infrastructure- 2024 - Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

Parking Protected Bike Lanes are proven to increase bicycle ridership and reduce serious and fatal crashes

HARRISBURG – Families of traffic crash victims, road safety advocates, Elected Officials and community members gathered on Tuesday, June 4th to call for action to legalize parking protected bike lanes.

Since 2017, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Bike Pittsburgh have advocated for this legislation named after Emily Fredricks (Philadelphia) and Susan Hicks (Pittsburgh) who were killed by drivers in preventable crashes.

“We miss our Emily every second of every day, and still cannot believe she was taken from us,” said Laura Fredricks, mother of Emily. “The parking protected bike and pedestrian plaza bill, Emily and Susan’s law, has languished long enough in the State House. The Senate Transportation Committee and the State of Pennsylvania need to prioritize the lives of all those who use the streets every day. All lives. Not just those riding in cars, but those who travel by other means as well. Paint is not protection. Everyone deserves to get home alive. We thank Rep. Daley for introducing HB 1283. Now let’s get this done in the Senate!”

Currently, PennDOT does not allow for the installation of parking-separated bike lanes on state-owned roads. Amending state legislation is an issue that the Bicycle Coalition, the City of Philadelphia, and our partners have been working on since the 2017-2018 legislative session. As an interim solution, PennDOT has permitted a pilot program to demonstrate protected bike lanes on selected state roads in Philadelphia.

Legislation is needed to modify the Commonwealth’s vehicle code in order to build parking protected bike lanes on state roads. Representative Mary Jo Daley, introduced HB1283 in May 2023 and it passed in June 20, 2023 (198-5). The identical legislative language has already passed the House three times, in 2017 (HB1657 passed 187-0 ), 2019 (HB792 passed 200-1), and 2021 (HB 140 passed 201-0). In 2022, HB 140 passed the Senate with a poison pill amendment leading the Governor to veto the bill.

“This bill is about giving municipalities another tool in the toolbox when designing roads to make sure that they are safe for everyone.” State Rep. Ed Neilson.

In a recent report published by the City of Philadelphia, the pilot parking protected bike lane project led to over 100% increase in bike ridership, a 34% decrease in crashes overall, and zero traffic fatalities.

It is crucial that the legislature approve this legislation so that Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other municipalities across the commonwealth can build this life saving bicycle infrastructure.

Meeting with Representative Rabb in the Main Capitol