The investigation questions the legitimacy of city permits used by Philadelphia churches to park in bike lanes

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Saturday marks one month since Dr. Babara Friedes, a doctor at CHOP, was killed by a drunk driver while riding her bicycle on the designated bike lane on Spruce Street, not far from Rittenhouse Square. In the weeks after her death, a CBS News Philadelphia investigative reporter Liz Crawford researched city laws regarding bike lanes.

For years, Philadelphia cyclists they pleaded for protected bike lanes on Spruce and Pine streets. Currently, most bike lanes consist of painted lines on the sidewalk, but many cyclists want concrete barriers along the bike lane, something that would have saved Dr. Friedes.

Free subscription to park on the bike lanes

The bikers said the first hurdle to achieving that goal had to do with some of the city’s oldest churches, a hurdle that has been partially cleared since CBS News Philadelphia began asking questions. After more than a decade, Tenth Presbyterian Church has agreed to stop using a city-issued permit that allowed churches to park in bike lanes on Spruce between 4 and 7 p.m. on Sundays. That didn’t affect Dr. Friedes, who was hit while riding her bike on a weekday.

Earlier this month, Tenth Presbyterian Executive Minister Tim Geiger said, “We don’t want this to be something that interferes with our ability to serve the city, so we are looking at other parking arrangements from the city.”

Cyclists said it was a long way to get here. Philly Bike Action, a cycling safety group, organized 18 weeks of Sunday morning demonstrations in which their members and other cyclists physically blocked bike lanes with their bodies, bikes and cones they placed along the bike lane in an effort to prevent the church. members from the parking lot on the bike lanes.

“It was just a relief. This has been an issue for over 15 years. A lot of people in the cycling community were really upset about it,” said Caleb Holtmeyer, one of the co-founders of Philly Bike Action.

Geiger said demonstrations have become more tense in the past month and some church members have reported about a dozen instances of vandalism, including broken mirrors and spikes in tires. Philly Bike Action denied that any of its members caused the damage. Police on the scene of the demonstrations said they could not determine who caused the vandalism.

Protesters said their message became more urgent after Friede he was killed right along that stretch of spruce on a weekday in July.

“And we know what would have prevented that, which is concrete protection in the bike lane. As long as the bike lane is treated as a place to park, then we can’t have concrete protection,” Holtmeyer said.

Other churches in the area agreed months ago to stop parking on bike lanes. The Tenth Presbyterian was one of those who had nothing.

The small type of permit

CBS News Philadelphia took a closer look at the city-issued permit granted to Tenth Presbyterian Church and others. It’s actually called an “equipment placement” permit. According to the city’s website, only those with a contractor’s license or business license can obtain one of these permits. The town records show that the Tenth Presbyterian Church has none.

The city’s website says the equipment location permit generally excludes motor vehicles from parking and refers to the Philadelphia Code, which states that no vehicle may park, stop or stand in any lane of the road, in except those unloading materials, equipment, men or supplies.

CBS News Philadelphia asked the city how it allows this legal pass for parked cars. The Streets Department responded by email saying, “Unfortunately, the current permit system the city uses is limited to descriptions. Streets is in the process of updating our permit system to be more inclusive of right-of-way use. We are still in the process of building the new system”.

What is the cost?

There is also a fee for obtaining the permit. According to the city’s website, it costs $3.50 per foot per week to close a bike lane. The churches never paid for this pass.

CBS News Philadelphia did the math for only part of Tenth Presbyterian’s parking permit, which allowed parking on the Spruce bike lane between South 16th and South 19th streets.

By our estimate, that’s about 1,000 feet. Multiplying that by $3.50/foot/week is $182,000 for one year. The church has been using the permit for at least 15 years.

“We were surprised to learn that they are being offered for free,” Holtmeyer said.

I asked why the city is waiving the tax. The Streets Department emailed: “Houses of worship have traditionally had their permit fee waived.”

Next steps

According to the city’s Streets Department, the newly amended permit allows parishioners to park in new locations beyond the Spruce and Pine bike lanes.

In a statement Thursday, Philly Bike Action said Society Hill Synagogue is seeking new permits from the city that no longer include the Spruce Street bike lane. The statement read in part, “By this decision, no religious institution east of Broad Street holds a permit to park on the Spruce and Pine Street bike lanes.”

Philly Bike Action said the following places of worship have withdrawn their bike lane parking permits since the campaign began last spring: Society Hill Synagogue, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Old Pine Street Church, Saint Peter’s, Old Saint Joseph’s and Philadelphia Ethical Society.

Removing church parking on bike lanes is the first step for cyclists. Their main purpose is to get concrete barriers along the bike lanes. Thursday, the cyclists organized a rally at the City Hall calling on the mayor to do more to protect bike lanes.

Mayor Parker’s office released a statement saying she and the council are looking at many safety solutions and noted that physical infrastructure would require more time to design and build.