First bike lanes get rolling around campus

Two bicyclists died in separate incidents last fall, speeding up the timetable for new bicycle lanes. Thanks to the joint effort of University, city and state officials, West Philadelphia cyclists now have a safer place to pedal. Together, the three groups have been working to make Penn and its surrounding neighborhoods more bike and pedestrian-friendly by repairing roads, adding bike lanes and brainstorming other ways of increasing safety. Over winter recess,, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation kicked off the improvements by resurfacing Market Street between 38th and 46th streets and adding a bike lane between 38th and 44th streets. PennDOT, also marked a second bike lane on 33rd Street from Spruce to Market streets. According to Glenn Bryan, Penn's director of city and community relations, the University's efforts to make the Penn campus safer for pedestrians and cyclists alike are just beginning. In conjunction with recommendations from the University, PennDOT and the city say they intend to continue improving the University City area for cyclists this spring with seven key projects. This spring, PennDOT and the city will resurface parts of 33rd, Spruce, Walnut and Chestnut streets. They will also mark bike lanes on selected areas of these streets. "We're very serious about getting stuff done with the city so we can alleviate some of the problems encountered while walking, riding or driving on this campus," Bryan said. Bryan is a member of the task force appointed by University President Judith Rodin to investigate bicycle safety in and around Penn. Rodin put the committee together last November following the deaths of two cyclists, a Wharton freshman and an elderly man taking classes at Penn, in the University City area over a two-week period last fall. The group, chaired by Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman and Vice President for Public Safety Thomas Seamon, was charged with making the Penn campus safer for cyclists. The task force has been meeting with city and state officials -- who had been working since 1994 to create more bike lanes in Philadelphia -- to formulate long and short-term strategies to make Penn a safer place for those on bike or on foot. According to Tom Branigan, assistant engineering director of the Philadelphia Streets Department, the city plans to put some of the committee's proposals into place with the start of the next construction season this spring. "We have been working with a project known as the Bicycle Network Plan to look at the entire city to make it safer for bikes," Branigan said. "The University City area is obviously part of that." While lanes will be drawn in some areas, Branigan said the city would be working hard to make most streets "bicycle friendly" by widening designated lanes and prohibiting cars from parking on the street during peak hours. But Bryan said these are just some of the proposals of the University's task force. "For the long term, we're exploring various ways to slow down traffic," he said. The committee's other short-term proposals include posting signs to prohibit turning against red lights at designated intersections, placing stop signals on pedestrian walkways and marking left-turn lanes on Spruce Street, Bryan continued. University Police Chief Maureen Rush emphasized that bicyclist and pedestrian education are just as important as street maintenance and repairs. "Once we get bike lanes in place, we have to focus on the broader issue of keeping bikes from where they don't belong," she said. Wharton junior Jon Glick, the student representative on the Penn task force, is currently spearheading an effort to improve bike and pedestrian safety education. According to Glick, who chairs the Undergraduate Assembly's Facilities Committee, a group of approximately 10 Undergraduate Assembly committee members have come together to organize ways of increasing bike safety awareness around campus. "One of the things we would hope to do is to create a bicycle awareness program -- maybe an awareness week -- and do something with CUPID next year to educate incoming students about bikes at Penn," Glick said. Branigan echoed the need for improved bicycle education. "With the changes taking place in University City, combined with educating students about bike safety, the area will become safer for bicycles," he said.

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