Inquirer Editorial: Bike lanes increase safety

Now that Philadelphia officials have mapped out safe routes for bicyclists to cross Center City, it makes sense for them to create north-south corridors equally bike-friendly.

So it was good news this week when word came from Mayor Nutter's top transportation aide, Rina Cutler, that the administration will establish a pair of bike lanes this spring linking Spring Garden and South Streets.

With the extension of the Schuylkill River bike trail also under construction - linking Falls Bridge with Ridge Avenue - two critical gaps will be filled in the city's impressive network of bike paths.

The north-south routes, like the crosstown six-foot-wide lanes created in late September 2009 on eastbound Pine Street and westbound Spruce Street, would expand options for bicycle commuting, as well as recreational trips. While the city hasn't disclosed where the lanes will be created, a route that connected with the Frankford El stop on Spring Garden would link hip neighborhoods in the lower Northeast by subway-and-bike trips.

The other advantage to more bike lanes is that they should make the roads and sidewalks safer for all - first and foremost, by offering cyclists a safe alternative to riding illegally on pavements. The enforcement effort that's being planned along with the bike- lane additions should crack down hard on behavior that endangers pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Nutter's predecessor was known for cycling all over the city, but this mayor is making major strides in making Philadelphia more bicycle-friendly - and, in the process, a safer place for people on foot and in vehicles.