Philadelphia Advocates Sue for Protected Bike Lane

Bike advocates in Philadelphia hope that a private lawsuit could pressure the city to improve bike infrastructure, Jim Saksa reports for PlanPhilly.

Supported by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the suit accuses a hotel contractor of operating a valet service in a bike lane. In hopes of reaching a settlement, the company has agreed to protect the bike lane with plastic posts to prevent further violations—provided they can get a permit from the city.

Before taking office in 2015, Mayor Jim Kenney promised to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes; so far, the city has achieved 3.5. "If this works, cycling advocates may have discovered a way around their long-blocked efforts to improve Philly’s bike infrastructure: litigation," Saksa writes.