Bike Lane Challenge #2- Left-side Bike Lanes?

This is the 2nd Bike Lane Challenge! Each challenge will present a bike lane or other urban riding scenario, and we want to hear how you would approach it. Show off your traffic expertise!

We will post the answer in a few days. Good luck!
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Left-side Bike Lanes?

Thinking of a recent SEPTA policy on left-side bike lanes, we wanted to see what all the traffic experts out on the internet think of this concept.

SEPTA's policy: Where bicycle lanes are planned for one-way streets with surface transit operations, bicycle lanes should be employed on the left side of the street.

So, what do you see as the pro's and con's of putting bike lanes on the left side of the street?

We'll post our thoughts in a few days. Enjoy!











Too easy for you? Check out our Bike Lane Challenge #1- The Right-turn Right-of-way Conundrum.

The Moment: Safe Routes Philly at Smith Elementary School

Students: 80 Students (4th and 5th Grade)
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Philly Neighborhood: Point Breeze (South Philly)

There are certain moments in teaching that are just simply priceless. These moments come in different forms. It can be when “the light turns on” and a student finally understands a difficult concept; or when a student basks in the glow of their success that you’ve helped them achieve; or simply when a child says “thank you”. Teachers effectively get to these moments more as they develop their craft. Through practice, and thanks to Diana’s help, I was able to develop my lesson, and on this day at W. G. Smith Elementary School, I experienced one of these moments.

During the lesson, we discussed the importance of wearing a helmet. I first put out the question, “What kind of people wear helmets?”

Little hands shot into the air, eager to answer. Responses included firemen, policemen, skateboarders, the Eagles, the Phillies, and the Flyers, skiers, snowboarders, construction workers, dirt bike riders, monster truck drivers, tree climbers, and bike racers.

I then said, “Ok now let’s think about why they all wear helmets. What does a helmet protect?”

They replied, “Our heads!”

I then asked, “and what’s in our heads?”

“Our Brains!” they said.

“And what does our brain do?”

Answers filled the room. “It helps us breathe! It makes us move! It makes us smart!”

“Yes! It helps us do the things we want to do, and it even does some things for us without having to think about it.” I responded. “Think about what would happen if you lost it.”

The classroom mood slightly sobers. I then continued, “all the fun would just STOP. All these people LOVE what they do, and they wear their helmets because they want to KEEP DOING IT.”

That’s when the moment happened. The class collectively settled and silenced, as if they all held their breath and stopped to think about what was just discussed. It was at that moment that they got it. It was at that moment that they understood the importance of wearing a helmet. I paused for a few seconds to allow for some time to absorb our discussion, and then continued on with the lesson. That moment was repeated in later class sessions as well. Hopefully that moment will be repeated in future lessons.

A special thanks goes out to Ms. Fox, Ms. Copeland, Mr. Waters, and Ms. Shovlin for allowing Safe Routes Philly some class time, and a VERY special thanks goes out to Ms. McClam for helping us make it happen! Here’s to 80 more students who are now safer in the streets of Philadelphia.

Ride Safe,

~Cy

Are you an elementary school teacher in Philadelphia, or do you know someone that is? The Safe Routes Philly team is seeking a couple of elementary school teachers (2nd grade and 5th grade) to help us pilot our new pedestrian and bicycle curriculum. We need your feedback. Please contact Diana Owens, diana@bicyclecoalition.org .

Don't forget your Trail Etiquette!

If you're reading this, you probably already know that the Greater Philadelphia area has some amazing trails for biking, running and walking.

If you know that, then you also know that our trails are often crowded with others who also want to take advantage of these great resources. We all need to make sure everyone is able to have an enjoyable -and safe!- trail experience by following these tips for Trail Etiquette:

Etiquette for Cyclists

• Be courteous- trails are for all users!
• Keep right (except to pass)
• Ring a bell or politely call out "on your left" when passing
• Give ample room when passing, even if that involves slowing down until that is possible
• Keep your speed down, enjoy the view, and keep an eye out for posted speed limits
• Stay single file during busy times
• Yield right-of-way to other trail users- remember that runners and pedestrians are more vulnerable trail users
  

Etiquette for All Users

• Keep right, walk no more than two abreast
• Stay alert, faster trail users need to pass
• When stopped, step off the trail
• Keep dogs on a leash and clean up after your dog
• Share the trail; be considerate of all users

Want to learn more, or give this information to your friends and family? Pick up a copy of the Bicycle Coalition's Trail Etiquette handout, or download it from our website!

Or, you can Invite the Bicycle Ambassadors to an event or to teach a class!

What are some other tips for etiquette that you think are important?

Consejos de Ciclismo Urbano

Our new Bicycle Ambassadors team is gearing up for another big season starting in May. In the meantime the Bicycle Coalition’s education staff has been holding down the fort and teaching the requested Ambassador classes.

Just this past week, Diana and Max taught our second-ever class in Spanish! OurCocina, a non-profit organization that brings English classes to local restaurants, invited us to teach our “Urban Riding Basics” class at Tequila’s Restaurant on Monday afternoon. Though the group is learning English we were very happy to be able to provide our information in Spanish. We are really excited to be getting back out into the field full time in a mere couple of weeks and look forward to holding even more classes than last year. Help us spread the word!

If you would like the Bicycle Ambassadors to come teach a class, in English or Spanish, or table at an event, please request us here.

Safe Routes Philly teaching bike safety at Immaculate Heart of Mary School

Students: 87 Students (4th and 5th grade)
Date: April 13, 2010
Philly Neighborhood: Andorra

On Tuesday, Safe Routes Philly was invited to teach bike safety to the fourth and fifth graders of Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary School in the Andorra area of Philly. A special thanks goes out to Nurse Beth for helping to make it happen!

What great kids! It was amazing to see that practically all of the students in our classes already have a bike. Our lessons were very interactive, fun, and very informative for our students. We had a whole classroom of students making beats with their hands and chanting the skills to wear a helmet (eyes, ears, mouth!) and the process to check a bike before riding (ABC Quick Check!). It was new material for most of them. Many of them shared personal stories of mechanical errors and accidents while they were on their bikes. They posed some thoughtful questions during our lesson, such as, "when is a good time to use bike lights?" and "how should you ride around a person who is deaf?". They also posed some amusing questions too, such as, "Mr. Cy, are you Mexican?"

Altogether, it was a wonderful experience. Even after years of teaching experience, the first day in teaching with the Bicycle Coalition got me a little nervous. However, once I stepped into the classroom, all the nerves went away. I felt at home and I was ready to make a change. When the day was done, the incredible, positive response from the students left me charged and excited for the future. I love my job. Eighty-seven more students are now safer in the streets of Philadelphia!

~Cy

Are you an elementary school teacher in Philadelphia, or do you know someone that is? The Safe Routes Philly team is seeking a couple of elementary school teachers (2^nd grade and 5^th grade) to help us pilot our new pedestrian and bicycle curriculum. We need your feedback. Please contact Diana Owens, diana@bicyclecoalition.org .

New Equipment Review: A Biker's Dilemma...

A Biker's Dilemma, by Jordan Cohen

As bikers, we must always put safety first and looking cool second, right? WRONG!

I’m here to introduce you to a company that puts the “funk” in functionality: Knog. This super-fly urban bike company from down under (who knew they had bikes in Australia?) has only this to say: “The thought behind Knog is SEXY URBAN BIKE simple”. This philosophy is definitely mirrored in their amazing line up of biking accessories.

You may be familiar with the incredibly popular (but not super functional) Knog Frog lights that you see on many fixies.

While these little guys do pack a punch, the single LED does leave more safety conscious cyclists a bit wary. But don’t go and throw out the baby with the bathwater. Knog is not a one-light manufacturer. In fact, they recently came out with a whole arsenal of bike lights of varying sizes and brightness levels, all designed with the same easy-on/easy-off attachment and stylish color selections. I recently got my hands on a pair of the Knog Beetles, which boast two bright LEDs and do more than their part to warn cars and bicyclists that I am riding alongside.

It may not look like much, but I now use this light for the front of my bike and have been more than satisfied with its incredible brightness. The only downside is that it has 5 flash modes (which could be good if you like to match your bike strobe to your mood), so turning off the light takes more clicks than I desire. But for ease of attachment, funk-factor, and brightness, this light gets nearly perfect marks in my book.
Now on to the monsters of the Knog family, because personally, I need to have the security of a blinding beacon on the back of my bike. I recently received the Knog Gekko, which boasts 3 LEDs and takes AAA batteries. Though this light only provides one extra LED, it really makes a difference. I’ve had friends bike behind me and complain of being near-blinded at a close distance and able to see my light from 50-100 feet back. And though it doesn’t seem like a big deal at first, when it comes time to change your batteries, you will be very pleased to save money on buying AAA batteries instead of the small specialty ones found in many microlights. The Gekko is a great light because it provides incredible brightness, but doesn’t sacrifice the easy-on design or the unique, colorful silicon shell.
2010 is a big year for Knog as they roll out a new line of compact multi-function tools and a super cool looking cycle computer that is just as easy to get on as their lights. Stay tuned for reviews of these new products soon!

We are hiring

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has three new positions within our Safe Routes Philly youth education program.

Safe Routes Philly Community Representative

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, a non-profit advocacy and education organization, manages the federally-funded youth education program Safe Routes Philly (SRP) which introduces cycling and walking as fun, healthy and environmentally friendly activities for all children to enjoy. With the recent award of federal stimulus dollars through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Safe Routes Philly will now be brought to all 176 elementary schools within the School District of Philadelphia. Safe Routes Philly Community Representatives are responsible for bringing the educational program to the schools, tracking the implementation at each school and offering technical support for this train the trainer model of education.

Three SRP Community Representatives will be hired.

To read the full job description and learn more about the program, please click here.

Bike-Lane Challenge #1- Answer

Last week we posted this 'Right-turn Right-of-Way Conundrum', and the number and complexity of answers was really exciting! Thank you to everyone who added their thoughts. Here's the BikePHL answer:

Technically, when a car is turning right (through a bike lane) the bike has the right of way. The bike lane is an active lane of travel and cars should yield to oncoming bikes before turning.

However, as many comments noted, there is a big difference between what is technically right and what actually happens. Bikes need to keep their eyes and ears open to make sure cars don't turn into them because the driver failed to yield to an oncoming bike.

Another good point brought up in the comments is that one way to avoid intersections where you encounter this problem is to merge with the lane of traffic before you get to the intersection. Even though there is a bike lane, as legal vehicles bicycles are allowed to leave the bike lane in order to stay safe or follow traffic laws (such as turning left).


As far as cars merging into the bike lane to turn right, I asked John Boyle, our advocacy director, and he gave me a thorough answer: Cars are in fact required to safely merge into the bike lane to turn right- just as if they were merging into another vehicle lane in order to turn. Good bike lane design dashes the bike lane before the intersection, and the best create 'mixing zones' where the bicyclist and the right-turning vehicle share the lane to avoid conflict.

Here's an example of a 'mixing zone' from NYC's Grand Street bike lane:

Another alternative would be to have special bike/right-turn signals (which, what a surprise, they have in Copenhagen).


Look out for another Bike-Lane Challenge soon!

Safe Routes Philly- Notes from the field

Our Safe Routes Philly program has officially launched! :)

As part of an effort to document our experiences at each school and to share those occasions with the public we have decided to begin writing short little blog posts about them. For more information about the Safe Routes Philly program check out our website.

School: Lingelbach Elementary

Students: 102 (4^th and 5^th grade)

Date: January 29, 2010

Philly Neighborhood: Mt. Airy

At the end of January our education staff rode out to Mt. Airy and worked with the fourth and fifth graders at Lingelbach Elementary. We discovered that more than ¾ of these students have access to a bicycle however the majority if not all said that they don’t ride to school. More than half in each classroom said that they already walk to school – BONUS! Our mission is to open up even more possibilities, including the bicycle, as an option for students to be physically active in their regular commute.

Lingelbach Elementary was such a success for Safe Routes Philly because of the champion that reached out to us. The Physical Education teacher not only brought us in but continues to encourage her students to be physically active and seeks out opportunities for her students to ride to and from school.

Lingelbach currently does not have bike racks installed. During the past year the champion at Lingelbach worked out a special arrangement with the school so that a few students could park their bikes on the stage in the gymnasium. In the meantime, the champion has been advised of the city’s “adopt a rack” program.

School: Levering Elementary

Students: 28 (4^th and 5^th grade)

Date: March 22, 2010

Philly Neighborhood: Roxborough

The school champion at Levering, the school nurse, discovered our new program before the New Year. When we finally finished our curriculum back in January, we reached back out to her and set up a date for our Safe Routes Philly team to go and teach our bike safety lesson to her students. During the two, 45 minute periods the students reached out with various different questions, comments and concerns, one of which had to be brought back to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s office to confirm. “Can scooters ride on the sidewalk after the age of twelve?” Great question! The answer being that the law is somewhat vague on the wording with scooters rights. We were happy to find out that the homeroom teachers used our vocabulary lesson on our website prior to our arrival, which gave us a head start and some more free time to discuss other topics not in our curriculum.

We left Levering Elementary feeling like we really made an impact there. The School nurse who stayed with us during both sessions immediately asked us to come back to teach our program at the two other schools she works in. The school nurse also informed us that she would be using the egg drop post lesson that we have posted on our website to reinforce the importance of a properly fitted helmet.

Bike Lane Challenge- The Right-turn Right-of-Way Conundrum

We'd like to introduce you to a new bikePHL feature- the Bike Lane Challenge! Each challenge will present a bike lane or other urban riding scenario, and we want to hear how you would approach it. Show off your traffic expertise!

We will post the answer in a few days. Good luck!
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The Right-turn Right-of-Way Conundrum:

You're in a bike lane next to a line of cars waiting to turn right and you want to go straight. After slowing to let a car pass you go straight, but then the next motorist who wants to turn honks at you. Who has the right of way, the bicyclist or the turning motorist? What's the best thing to do in this situation? Remember to keep safety in mind!
Post your answer below!

P.S.- If you have any scenarios that you'd like to suggest for a future Bike Lane Challenge, we'd love to hear them! Please email any ideas to max@bicyclecoalition.org. Thank you!

Spring Is In The Air- Can You Help New Bicyclists Ride Safely?

As you can see by looking outside, spring has sprung, and the gorgeous weather has brought out a huge number of bicyclists -many of them new riders- trying to take in the sun during their commute or for recreation.

Can you help us reach out to these new cyclists about how to ride safely and follow the rules of the road?
Our Bicycle Ambassadors won't be starting until May, but you can help spread the message of bicycle safety and encouragement to your friends and acquaintances! Encourage them to ride with traffic, stop at lights and stop signs, signal their turns, and follow the rules of road. Refer them to our Ambassadors website, or for commuter tips just tell them to go to bikePHL.org.

Or better yet, pick up a few copies of our small "Guide to Biking in Philly" and carry it with you, to hand to bicyclists that you see. (However, if approaching strangers, remember to be respectful and friendly- we want to encourage people to keep biking, and do it more safely, not scare them off!).


Want to take your bicycle outreach and education up a notch? Join the Bicycle Coalition for our Outreach Volunteer Training next Wednesday, April 7th, and sign up to be a volunteer Bicycle Ambassador! And then join us for Philadelphia's 1st-ever Courteous Mass on Saturday, April 10th.