Letters: Stu Bykofsky on bikes, pro & con

THE HEADLINE on Stu Bykofsky's column (

"Bike-commuter Numbers a Bit Inflated"

) is as limp as the argument he makes.

He mocks the city's citing a "record number" of bicycle commuters by taking issue with the notion of a census tract rather than the fact, left uncontested, that bicycle commuting is indeed at record numbers in Philadelphia.

Stu has been calling for the need for enforcement. The city announces the biggest traffic-enforcement plan in decades, with planned enforcement for bikes, cars and pedestrians, and Stu's response is simply scorn.

Residents of Spruce and Pine who were hesitant about the idea of eliminating a travel lane for a bike lane have been rewarded with a street that's better for the neighborhood with little to no impact on car travel times.

It's time for Stu to take a page from their book and not have a knee-jerk reaction against that which he does not understand, whether it's statistics, traffic analysis or the joys of a street that has been calmed by bikes.

Alex Doty, executive director

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

Stu, in your latest bicycle column, you nailed it like you've never nailed it before.

Philly has never been a car-friendly city, what with all lights unsynchronized and stop signs at every other intersection. You'd think that a city handicapped with such narrow streets would think in the opposite direction of removing auto lanes.

But here's an interesting experiment: The Broad Street Run, from Central High to the Navy Yard, was won in 55-plus minutes. Take a midday car ride down the same route and see how long it takes. Then do the math, comparing running versus driving, and see what it reveals.

Mind you, Broad is Philly's main street.

Len Trower, Philadelphia