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In the first week of October, two students at Carnell Elementary in Philadelphia were struck by cars in separate accidents. While neither student was severely injured, the events left community members and school officials shaken.

In response to the accidents, the school’s principal approached Safe Routes Philly — a program of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia — for support creating a school-wide focus on pedestrian safety. Within a few days, all 1,600 Carnell Elementary students had attended one of seven interactive assemblies conducted by Safe Routes Philly on various aspects of pedestrian safety. The assemblies included call-and-response songs and videos demonstrating safe walking and biking behavior.

According to Safe Routes Philly, “Carnell’s response to two accidents in its community will help prevent future accidents, and reflects the importance of a school administration which cares how students get to and from school.”

Biking and walking to school provides daily exercise to students and fosters a sense of school community. However, it’s important that students understand the safety measures necessary to protect against accidents and injuries.

Interested in Safe Routes Philly? Learn more from Diana Owens, the program’s Assistant Director of Education, on the recent Alliance Mutual Aid Call on “Winning Local Policies for Safe Routes to School.” Stay up-to-date by subscribing to the BCGP blog.

After a mandate from members and a decade of dedicated work, Bike Pittsburgh celebrated last week as the local Port Authority announced 100 percent of buses now have bike racks.

The story starts way back in 2002, when BikePGH was just getting its feet wet as an upstart advocacy organization. Already, the Port Authority and City of Pittsburgh had received a $75,000 grant for “Ride, Rack and Roll,” an initiative intended to outfit 75 buses with bike racks. But, a year after the program was established, only eight routes had racks — and often, even on those lines, buses would arrive sans rack. So BikePGH got to work.

“[From 2003 to 2006] stakeholders represented by Sustainable Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning, the Port Authority and BikePGH met on and off to try to figure out the issues regarding the Rack ‘n Roll service,” Erok Boerer, BikePGH Advocacy Director, explained on the group’s blog last week. “It was clear the only answer was to get more racks into the entire system.”

In 2004, the program got an influx of money — $290,150 from the federal Transportation Enhancements program — to grow the program to 12 routes. But still, service was spotty and riders had little confidence that their bus would arrive with a rack. So it wasn’t surprising that BikePGH members considered the bus situation a major frustration. “At a BikePGH strategic planning session, members expressed that outfitting 100 percent of Port Authority buses with bike racks should be a high priority campaign that we should pursue,” Boerer explained.

So, in 2007, when the Port Authority announced it was buying new buses without racks the advocates pressed for a new policy that could solve the problem: No new buses should be purchased without a bike rack. The Port Authority agreed. By 2008, the landscape started to change as old buses were retired and, from the get-go, the new ones hit the streets with racks attached. To make sure the Port Authority had the cash to complete the task, BikePGH worked with local officials to get funding from another federal source — the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program — and from a private foundation. By the end of 2009, they had secured the dollars to outfit the remaining 190 buses and the city promised to get it done by the end of 2011.

Finally, on Friday, the Port Authority and BikePGH had reason to party: All the city buses are now equipped with bike racks.

“This momentous development didn’t happen overnight,” Boerer wrote before the event. “It took a decade, with many different folks working to better the program. When it all came down to it, though, it was all about advocacy and leadership that made it happen.”

Read more on the BikePGH blog.

When members of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia pedal to City Hall tomorrow morning, they’ll have plenty to celebrate.

The City of Brotherly Love is showing its affection for active transportation.

In honor of Bike to Work Day, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will lead the procession of cyclists on Friday morning. But the momentum for increased bike facilities has been building for months.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports this morning that a new bike/ped plan is close to completion. “The city’s proposed new bicycle network, now undergoing final revisions, will roughly double the miles of marked bike lanes to about 400, not counting 40 or so miles of separate trails on parklands,” the story notes. “The bike lanes will come over the next decade as streets are repaved.”

Sarah Clark Stuart, campaign manager for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, says the group has been very involved in the creation of the plan. “A lot of people are afraid to use their bikes because they are not used to riding in street traffic, and it is scary,” Clark Stuart told the Inquirer.  But city officials promise that the new network of marked lanes will make Philly one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.

Click here to read the city’s draft bike plan. Or here to read the full newspaper story.

According to Bike Pittsburgh (Bike PGH), “Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed the Bike Parking Ordinance this week.  The ordinance is an amendment to the zoning code that requires all new and “change-in-use” buildings to install bicycle parking, just like they already must do for cars.  There is also an incentive component to the ordinance, whereby a developer can replace up to 30% of their car parking requirement with bicycle parking. Basically, it makes sure that bikes are considered during the planning process, instead of trying to retrofit for them afterward.

Councilman Patrick Dowd connected the dots and discussed how this ordinance is just a piece of the broader concept of what ‘we really have to do’ to turn Pittsburgh into a bicycle-friendly city.  He cited the four-E’s commitment from the city: enforcement, education, economic incentives, and engineering.”

For over two years, BikePGH has been working on this measure, with the planning department and the mayor’s bike/ped coordinator, researching best practices from other cities, getting input from architects and developers in order to get this piece of code written, and encouraging cyclists and other members of the public to participate in the process. This is a big win for BikePGH and a milestone for bicycling in the city of Pittsburgh. 

To view the full ordinance and find out more about BikePGH click here.

After the city of Pittsburgh launched its new bike rack request program, BikePGH is welcoming hundreds of newly installed bike racks on Pittsburgh streets. 

Upon announcing the program in October of 2009, Bike PGH secured funding for 100 racks, which were all donated to the city, and further matched with another 100 racks through the Mayor’s Taking Care of Business Districts program. With 200 racks available, the city has been taking online requests for the new racks’ designated locations throughout Pittsburgh. Most of the 200 racks are now populating the city’s streets, yet there are still many locations in need of bike parking facilities. The success of the online requests has been so overwhelming that BikePGH is actively looking at options to expand the program and continue their mission of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and ride.

To find out more about the bike rack program visit http://www.bikepgh.org. “> http://www.bikepgh.org.

PITTSBURGH – The bike advocacy group BikePGH just released Bike Commuting 101 to share with commuters the basics of bike commuting. The booklet explores topics like choosing a bike, how it should fit, riding safe, useful accessories, and general information that enhances the bike commuting experience. Culling the combined input of BikePGH’s staff and long time members the guide focuses on the essential elements of bike commuting using the themes of convenience, comfort and safety. Illustrated by local artist Glen Johnson the guide not only provides practical advice, but it also presents the city in a fun graphic style.

“Bike commuting is not and all-or-nothing choice” says Program Manager Louis Fineberg. “You can ease into it. Try it once a month, maybe eventually once a week. More than likely once you start you’ll realize the benefits immediately and you’ll want to bike to work regularly.”

Since it’s start in 2003 BikePGH has hosted bike commuting workshops.  The guide compliments the workshop or stands on its own as an informative reference for all levels of riders.

Bike Commuting 101, Car Free Fridays, and similar initiatives are part of BikePGH’s efforts to engage local employers in supporting workers who want to bike to their jobs. “A work environment that welcomes bike commuters sends a strong message about the values of your workplace and reinforces the idea that Pittsburgh is a city that provides a high quality of life”, adds Fineberg. “Biking to work is different than driving and it requires some planning.” BikePGH is developing a Bike Friendly Employer program to assist employers in meeting this growing need.

This first edition of the guide is free and available through BikePGH, the city’s Bike/Ped Coordinator, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, the Sprout Fund, and bike shops throughout Pittsburgh. Download or view the guide at http://www.bike-pgh.org/101. The guide’s official release will be during BikePGH’s annual member meeting on November 10th at the Union Project.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia was instrumental in the City of Philadelphia’s plan to reserve one lane for bicycles on two major streets. The lane designation is a trial until next spring when the streets are resurfaced. Although cycling in Philadelphia has doubled over the last three years, there are currently only four miles of bike lanes in Center City and cyclists cannot safely ride from the East to West sides of the city.

To read the press release, click here.

For more information on the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, click here…

Check out a combination effort of four Alliance organizations in Pennsylvania, coming together to forge progress for biking and walking across their state. Find more information at http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/pabikewalk/project-home