Bad Bikers Lead to Possible Crackdown
The spokes are turning on possible biking regulations in Center City
By DAN STAMM
Updated 5:44 PM EST, Wed, Nov 18, 2009
Bikers gone wild have forced Philadelphia police to crackdown and for city council to consider further regulations.
City Council could look into a bike licensing system so that bikes in Philly could be tracked after an incident and possibly raising the fine for biking on the sidewalk, according to KYW1060.
The balance on Center City streets between bikers, drivers and pedestrians is a constant back and forth. Last Month, Andre Steed, a Center City paralegal, died after a cyclist at 16th and Locust struck him.
Despite the recent addition of bike only lanes (with the subtraction of a driving lane) along Spruce and Pine streets bikers continue to break the rules while zipping down city streets. Just walk around Center City for a few minutes and you will likely see bikers running red lights, riding up onto sidewalks and even possibly going against traffic.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia simply states "all users of the road should obey traffic laws."
The issue in Philly is that bikers often don't follow the rules of the road and sometimes recklessly ride out of control possibly causing accidents and increasing tensions.
Council hopes to address the biking danger issue when they return to session Thursday. Councilmen Frank DiCicco and Jim Kenney both have different plans to address the biking madness, said KYW1060.
DiCicco would introduce a bill calling for registration of all bikes for any cyclist 12 or older. The hope was that requiring registration would allow pedestrians, police, etc. be able to identify any problem riders and for police to enforce any violations, said DiCicco spokesman Brian Abernathy.
"The hope is two-fold -- not only to create an enforcement mechanism, but to give cyclists a point of contact for educational materials," he added.
Kenney would make a proposal that will hike the penalty for biking on the sidewalk from $10 to $300, KYW1060 said.
Council wouldn’t be acting alone. Police were planning to release a plan Thursday that would focus on cracking down on unlawful bicyclists over the next few weeks, said authorities.
First Published: Nov 18, 2009 1:29 PM EST
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