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Philly Coalition Helps Advance Dramatic Increase in Bike Lanes

imageWhen 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.