Staff Editorial: Bike lanes sooner, not later

The University should pressure the city to accelerate the timetable for putting bike lanes on major campus streets. And so, in the wake of two deaths in the space of the past 10 days -- both resulting from fatal collisions between bicyclists and motorists -- it is only natural that the Penn community has reacted by seeking ways to make the campus safer for cyclists. The major focus of such efforts has been -- appropriately -- on accelerating the timetable for bringing bike lanes to the major campus arteries, including Walnut, Spruce and Chestnut streets. At present, the Philadelphia Department of Streets plans to begin installing such lanes on those streets by late spring or early summer as part of a broader effort to create a city-wide network of bike lanes stretching over 300 miles of city roads. Penn administrators support the bike lane plans. Indeed, no one doubts that bike lanes only stand to increase the safety of cyclists, motorists and pedestrians on and around campus. But administrators have yet to commit to pushing the city for an accelerated timetable for bike lane construction, at least in part because administrators note that such lanes would have done nothing to save the lives of Benjamin Tencer and Michael Yang. It is entirely possible that neither of the two recent deaths would have been prevented had bike lanes been in place on the major campus arteries. Both Tencer and Yang died while crossing streets; bike lanes would not have kept them safe. Furthermore, neither Tencer nor Yang was wearing a helmet at the time of their respective accidents. But while wearing a helmet and exercising caution in crossing the street are both tremendously important components of safe cycling, bike lanes, too, have a role to play in keeping the campus safe and accessible for bicyclists. In a very real sense, it doesn't matter that bike lanes would not have prevented these two particular incidents. What matters is that Penn -- by pushing for an accelerated timetable for bringing bike lanes to University City -- now has an opportunity to seize the moment and act decisively in the interests of bicyclist safety.