Residents divided over proposed protected bike lanes on South 40th Street as council holds bills 250266 and 250267

Public testimony at Philadelphia City Council’s May 15 session highlighted sharp disagreement over proposed protected bike lanes on South 40th Street as several speakers urged council to advance bills 250266 and 250267 while others asked the council to reconsider the alignment.

Jeremy Blatstein, a longtime transportation advocate, tied recent fatalities to the lack of physically protected bike infrastructure. "This was not just an accident. It was the result of a city that continues to treat painted lines as protection," he said, urging the city to install protected lanes rather than rely on paint.

Several parents and cyclists described everyday safety concerns. Noam Osband, a West Philadelphia resident who bikes his children to school, told council he feels safe on 40th where there is an existing protected lane but not on the proposed southbound route: "I feel safe biking them home because I go up 40 Eighth Street where there's a protected bike lane. I do not feel safe when I bike them to school." Chris Aho, a resident of a cul-de-sac off 40th, testified that replacing a driving lane with a separated bike lane would reduce speeding, shorten pedestrian crossings and create a family-friendly corridor.

Opponents, including Lynn Hogman of the neighborhood, disputed the safety case and the data used to pick 40th Street. "40 Seventh Street is not a street that PennDOT has found dangerous," Hogman said, adding that the underlying High Injury Network designation relied on few incidents in the affected segment and predated speed hump installation; she warned that removal of parking could create new safety and quality-of-life issues.

Other witnesses urged a citywide approach to safety and investments rather than changes that single out one neighborhood street. Roy Eisen, who lives on South 40th Street, said the redesign would ‘‘help foster a thriving and prosperous community’’ and argued that the street benefits from calmer traffic and protected bike infrastructure.

What council did and did not decide

Bills 250266 and 250267 (proposed changes to South 40th Street that would remove a motor-vehicle lane and install separated bike infrastructure) were listed among measures held on the second-reading calendar earlier in the session and remain on the held calendar pending further committee action. Council accepted public comment on the proposals but did not adopt either bill during this meeting.

Why it matters

40th Street is part of the city’s High Injury Network and connects neighborhoods, schools and recreational destinations; decisions on configuration affect daily safety for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers, on-street parking for residents, and access to businesses. Residents and community groups differ on whether the proposed design best balances those priorities.

Next steps

The bills will return to committee and may be revised or scheduled for future votes. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who introduced related street-safety legislation, and staff have been engaged with community outreach; several speakers thanked her for that work but stressed the need for additional community dialogue or data clarifications.

Ending

Public comment on this topic concluded during the second-reading calendar; the council did not take final action on the 40th Street bills at the May 15 session. (See public comment transcript entries beginning at 5590.97 and continuing through community testimony to 8023.35.)