Protest on wheels hits campus

College sophomore Michelle Nadler and her political science recitation hoped they could conduct class on the grass in front of College Hall under a peaceful afternoon sky. They were wrong. As Nadler looked up from her notebook, more than 70 bicyclists, protesting the as yet implemented Locust Walk bicycle ban, sped past Nadler's class and right into College Hall. "They were screaming about the ban on bikes on Locust Walk," she recalled. "And how they need a safe way to get around campus." Former University student Noel Weyrich participated in the protest and was one of many participants who rode on the hard wood floor inside College Hall for about 20 minutes. "Bicyclists are frustrated," said Weyrich, president of the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley. "This was an opportunity to shed light on the Locust Walk issue." The rally, which began at the John F. Kennedy Plaza, was organized by the Bicycle Action Movement. The organization's literature claims that the group will protest once a month until their demands are met. According to the leaflet, the coalition demands the following: · A city-wide bicycle lane network, including bike lanes on Delaware Avenue · A lifting of the bike ban on Chestnut Street · No bike ban on Locust Walk · Access to mass transit for bikes Weyrich said the College Hall protest was just one of many stops along the cyclists' protest route. "We rode around City Hall slowly two times," he said. "Then we rode to 4th Street and then all the way up Walnut from 4th to 34th." Weyrich added that the group blocked traffic at Broad and Walnut streets and then again at 34th and Walnut streets before they "marched on College Hall." Group members lay on the pavement on both occasions in order to block traffic, Weyrich recalled. Once the 70 riders reached their destination at College Hall, they handed out flyers and hoisted signs in protest. Others climbed the building's steps with their bicycles and rode around the first floor. The flyers included the telephone numbers of Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, Interim President Claire Fagin and the administration of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. The leaflet asks the public to call the phone numbers and demand revisions of the current bicycle restrictions. Other flyers gave motorists tips for "keeping cyclists safe." "Watch for bikes before you open your door, we make big dents on impact," warned one flyer. Another read, "Don't honk your horn to let us know you're behind us, we can hear you and loud noise disturbs lots of people." The protesters handed out their materials for about 20 minutes before racing down the remainder of Locust Walk and ending their protest.

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