Bike Lane Seeks Mate

Miss Lonelyhearts on 22nd Street

Sansom from 24th. A very wide street. Needs a bike lane.

So it looks like we're going to get the upgrade to the bicycle lane on 22nd Street, and the lovely new lane will run right by the curb next to the Greenfield School at 22nd, between Chestnut and Sansom. What a great way to get your kids to school if you live to the south.

But then ... how do you get home? The traffic on 23rd can be fierce - occasionally it reminds me of sharks in a feeding frenzy. The craziness peaks on the blocks between Market and Walnut. Why does this happen here? I think the underlying issue is that the City, lacking alternatives, is treating this little street as an arterial highway. (The City has done something similar with 15th Street near City Hall. See Transportation Should Not Trump Destination.)

In the north, we have the Vine Street Expressway, which dumps exiting cars directly onto 23rd. They fly south to Market, where they're joined by jumpy survivors of the scrum out by 30th Street Station, turning south and hoping to get to a better place soon. Then, at Chestnut, refugees from the Schuylkill Expressway turn south, all praying the madness will end quickly. Finally, at Walnut, there's often some amazing jockeying for position as people belatedly remember they want to turn right onto the bridge. I have at various times been all of these drivers.

I may be missing something, but I don't think there's any way to make 23rd Street safe for children on bikes. Not all the news is bad, however. The recent addition of crosswalks and stop signs on 23rd at Sansom has made that intersection much safer for pedestrians crossing 23rd.

24th from Market viaduct. Chestnut viaduct being rebuilt in background.

So here's my idea. How about 24th Street? It's one of Philadelphia's famous intermittent streets - here for a while, gone for a bit, then back again. This segment is much calmer than neighboring 23rd, partially because there's no through traffic from the north - it arises just south of the Market Street viaduct. As it heads south, it has a number of advantages - for instance, it completely avoids both Walnut and Chestnut by passing under them. At 24th, both these streets are up on viaducts that connect to the bridges.

There's no bike lane, but there's also very little traffic, and most of that is relatively calm. And 24th leads a bicyclist to Spruce, which gets you to the Schuylkill Banks. After Spruce, 24th leads to the bike lanes on Pine, Lombard, and South.

And - wait a minute - I do have one block where a bike lane would be very useful and where there's plenty of room for it: the 2300 block of Sansom. There's currently head-in parking on the north side of the street, and it looks like there's still room for three lanes of traffic. In fact there's so much room that motorists often seem a bit lost when navigating this block. Quite a few of them often don't seem to understand that it's a two-way street.

So I think this would be a good place to get the bikes away from the car traffic. Just pull the head-in parkers out from the curb a bit, and drop in a bike lane next to the curb. With the newly improved intersection at 23rd, I think this lane would be a significant gesture of welcome to parents who are thinking about biking their kids to school, but have concerns about the route home. I even think the motorists might have a better sense of place on the narrower right-of-way for motor vehicles, especially if someone were to paint a median stripe.

2300 block of Sansom. Note how skinny the 2200 block is, at right.

As for the families that live in the northern part of the catchment area, the 22nd Street bike lane will be a great way to get home. For getting to school in the morning, I'd personally recommend the Schuylkill Banks, if it's not too far out of the way. Again, I don't like 23rd for children on  bikes.

One last thought. I think this one-block bike lane is such a good idea that maybe we should do it soon. Maybe just fold it in with the 22nd Street reconstruction.

Afternoon on 22nd Street. Waiting patiently for a mate.

See also Getting Kids Back on Their Bikes, Intermittently Terrifying, Focus on the Short Trips, Missing the Point, Transportation Should Not Trump Destination.