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Life in the bike lane

May 9, 2011

bicycle
Cyclist crosses the bike friendlier South Street Bridge.

 

OK all you cyclists (bicyclists?) time to pat yourselves on the back a little. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia released a report today that shows that Philadelphia has twice as many cyclists per capita than any of the top 10 largest cities in the country.

Bicycle commuting jumped 151 percent here between 2000 and 2009. Two neighborhoods in particular – Center City and South Philly – rank in the top 25 neighborhoods in the country for percentage of bike commuters. Only Portland, Minneapolis and San Francisco have two neighborhoods in the top 25.

Some other interesting findings:

• The number of bikes crossing the Schuylkill River has increased nearly four-fold in the last 20 years.

• The number of female cyclists in our fair town has increased dramatically as well, an indication, the Coalition says, that the city’s streets are becoming bike-friendlier.

• Sidewalk riding, the scourge of pedestrians across the city, dropped 20 percent on streets with bike lanes.

• The average number of bikes per hour at 38th and Spruce has gone up 68 percent since 2006 (Yep, people stand there and count them).

So, all in all, nice work bicycle folks. Just please stay off the dang sidewalk.

 

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