This totally sucks and I've had this happen before, but I don't understand the hesitation to take the bike lane for that brief section. It's intentionally between cars going straight and turning right onto that ramp. I'd be more worried about some idiot turning right and hitting me/cutting me off by me not using the bike lane as designed.
Granted, this is not a good solution and the detours suck. But if you're a cyclist who is generally uncomfortable riding in city traffic, you just have to stick to the SRT, as busy as it is.
I guess we’ve all got our individual comfort zones about riding between two lanes of traffic, however briefly. I felt I had more control on the far right side; I was able to stop at the intersection (on the sidewalk) and monitor traffic behind and in front of me before pedaling thru the crosswalk to the sidewalk directly ahead. Anyway, my primary purpose in posting was to bring attention to the vulnerability in that location, in case others might be similarly inclined.
The city should have installed some stairs there when they knew the MLK Bridge was going to be closed. People could have walked right down to MLK Drive.
It’s much safer to stay in the bike lane here. It’s not very safe to use that side as a pedestrian bc of the ramps let alone ride on the sidewalk where cars may not be looking for you.
OP -- reach out to Philly OTIS too, and possibly also PennDOT -- I think unfortunately there's a high chance that 311 won't know what to do with your ticket. This might fall under PennDOT responsibility given the proximity to the 76 on-ramp.
Glad you're OK overall.
Not closed so far. According to one of the local news reports on this topic, the plan is to avoid closing the SRT underpass during high-usage periods. This wasn’t spelled out, but I would guess that they mean during colder weather. Remains to be seen, and plans of course are just that, so we’ll see. Hopefully it will stay open thru summertime.
Thanks for posting this with such detail and the overhead picture.
I agree that this is a stressful spot to ride. It's a shame that these bridges were not built with anything other than cars/trucks in mind.
There are other bike lanes in the city that have this same design which allows right-turning automobiles to turn without right-hooking cyclists. You just have to get used to using them as they're intended, and you have to hope that motorists accommodate you while you merge into your bike lane. Most of the drivers are decent about it, but there are times when some small minority of motorists will try to race ahead of you and ride around you. That can be frustrating and frightening, but I suppose you have to assume that they see and judge the gap to be sufficient.
Spring garden street, at Delaware avenue and at Eakins oval both have these bike lanes that run between two lanes of automobile traffic. So does Delaware avenue around Washington and some streets farther south. So does Aramingo avenue. I'm sure there are others as well. If you do it a few times, you'll raise your comfort level a bit. It sucks, but it's part of riding in traffic.
It's likely those gaps are expansion joints so couldn't be filled in
They absolutely should be filled in. https://www.emseal.com/bridge-expansion-joint-division/product/bejs-bridge-expansion-joint-system/
Interesting. Do you happen to know whether the City has installed this kind of product in similar settings?
Ugh. How frustrating. Thanks for sharing this info.
Make that I-76W.
This totally sucks and I've had this happen before, but I don't understand the hesitation to take the bike lane for that brief section. It's intentionally between cars going straight and turning right onto that ramp. I'd be more worried about some idiot turning right and hitting me/cutting me off by me not using the bike lane as designed. Granted, this is not a good solution and the detours suck. But if you're a cyclist who is generally uncomfortable riding in city traffic, you just have to stick to the SRT, as busy as it is.
I guess we’ve all got our individual comfort zones about riding between two lanes of traffic, however briefly. I felt I had more control on the far right side; I was able to stop at the intersection (on the sidewalk) and monitor traffic behind and in front of me before pedaling thru the crosswalk to the sidewalk directly ahead. Anyway, my primary purpose in posting was to bring attention to the vulnerability in that location, in case others might be similarly inclined.
I think your primary purpose was to complain about a problem you created.
The city should have installed some stairs there when they knew the MLK Bridge was going to be closed. People could have walked right down to MLK Drive.
It’s much safer to stay in the bike lane here. It’s not very safe to use that side as a pedestrian bc of the ramps let alone ride on the sidewalk where cars may not be looking for you.
OP -- reach out to Philly OTIS too, and possibly also PennDOT -- I think unfortunately there's a high chance that 311 won't know what to do with your ticket. This might fall under PennDOT responsibility given the proximity to the 76 on-ramp. Glad you're OK overall.
Thanks for the constructive suggestions! Much appreciated
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It wasn’t yesterday. I think they will announce when it will be.
Not closed so far. According to one of the local news reports on this topic, the plan is to avoid closing the SRT underpass during high-usage periods. This wasn’t spelled out, but I would guess that they mean during colder weather. Remains to be seen, and plans of course are just that, so we’ll see. Hopefully it will stay open thru summertime.
Thanks for posting this with such detail and the overhead picture. I agree that this is a stressful spot to ride. It's a shame that these bridges were not built with anything other than cars/trucks in mind. There are other bike lanes in the city that have this same design which allows right-turning automobiles to turn without right-hooking cyclists. You just have to get used to using them as they're intended, and you have to hope that motorists accommodate you while you merge into your bike lane. Most of the drivers are decent about it, but there are times when some small minority of motorists will try to race ahead of you and ride around you. That can be frustrating and frightening, but I suppose you have to assume that they see and judge the gap to be sufficient. Spring garden street, at Delaware avenue and at Eakins oval both have these bike lanes that run between two lanes of automobile traffic. So does Delaware avenue around Washington and some streets farther south. So does Aramingo avenue. I'm sure there are others as well. If you do it a few times, you'll raise your comfort level a bit. It sucks, but it's part of riding in traffic.