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Construction begins on City Hall bike lane, even before Council signs off

Drivers should expect lane closures and traffic delays around City Hall during construction.

Trumpet player Rome Leone busks at City Hall's West Portal. The Philadelphia naive plays many instruments, including violin and piano, which he started playing when he was 3 years old. He tells those who stop to talk that his grandfather played with Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, and Dizzy Gillespie. Scene Through the Lens runs every Monday on page B-2. There is a template in Roxen. This sentence runs at the top of the photo: More of photographer Tom Gralish’s visual exploration of our region can be seen in his blog at Inquirer.com/sceneontheroad.
Trumpet player Rome Leone busks at City Hall's West Portal. The Philadelphia naive plays many instruments, including violin and piano, which he started playing when he was 3 years old. He tells those who stop to talk that his grandfather played with Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, and Dizzy Gillespie. Scene Through the Lens runs every Monday on page B-2. There is a template in Roxen. This sentence runs at the top of the photo: More of photographer Tom Gralish’s visual exploration of our region can be seen in his blog at Inquirer.com/sceneontheroad.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
    by Jason Nark
    Published 

The first step toward long-anticipated bike lanes around City Hall is underway. PennDot began a milling project there earlier this week, even as City Council has not formally approved the project.

The bike lane will circle Dilworth Plaza and City Hall — separating cyclists from traffic with the use of flexible posts — and remove one lane of car traffic from around much of Penn Square, between Market Street and Broad Street.

The project, long pushed by safe cycling advocates like Philly Bike Action!, began Monday morning when PennDot began milling the roadway on Penn Square.

The milling work around City Hall should be finished on Friday, PennDot said in a statement, and is part of a resurfacing project along 200 miles of state highway across a five-county region.

It is the first step in the creation of dedicated bike lanes around City Hall, an often-chaotic wagon wheel of traffic for cyclists. A PennDot spokesman said the line-striping for the bike lanes should be completed in two weeks.

The project can’t come soon enough, said Jessie Amadio, an organizer with Philly Bike Action!

“It’s going to be a major improvement over what’s currently there,” Amadio said Wednesday. “There’s really no good place to ride there and that’s why people often wind up on the sidewalks. Hopefully, this is going to make it clearer for everyone.”

Philly Bike Action! created a petition earlier this year to push City Council toward a protected bike lane, knowing PennDot would be repaving the road in the summer. Amadio said City Council has not approved the bike lane yet, but she said a bill sponsored by Councilmember Jeffery Young would be discussed in a forthcoming committee hearing.

“If PennDOT had waited for the fall session, they would have missed the repaving window,” Amadio said, noting that everyone involved feels confident on next steps. “We’re just waiting on that approval,” she said.

Last year, after a “unity” ride with Philly cyclists, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker vowed to make city streets safer for those on two wheels.

“When we talk about ensuring that we eliminate serious injury crashes, we’re not just talking about Center City,” Parker said at the time. “This is essential for every neighborhood — no matter your race, your class, your socio-economic status, ZIP code, religion, sexual orientation [or] identity.”

Expect traffic delays: Lane closures this week near City Hall, Chestnut and Walnut Streets, and more

PennDot is warning drivers to expect lane restrictions around City Hall and other Center City streets as milling and repair work continues:

  1. Penn Square (City Hall, between Market Street and Broad Street): Lane closures through Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning.

  2. Moyamensing Avenue/Penrose Avenue (Route 291, between Broad Street and the George C. Platt Memorial Bridge): Lane closures through Sept. 26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

  3. Chestnut Street (22nd Street to Broad Street): Nightly lane closures through Sept. 26, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning. Additional daytime closures for inlet and manhole repair from Sept. 24–26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

  4. Walnut Street (Broad Street to 22nd Street): Nightly lane closures through Sept. 26, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning. Additional daytime closures for inlet and manhole repair from Sept. 24–26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

  5. Rhawn Street (U.S. 1/Roosevelt Boulevard to State Road): Overnight lane closures on Sept. 25–26, 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning.