Runners in Philadelphia’s Bike Lanes
<Update: Days after posting, this article got a lot of coverage. It seems I touched a nerve with this one. This was featured on Runner’s World, Be Well Philly and PlanPhilly.>
I noticed something scary while I was running this weekend along Pine Street. In the span of 10 minutes I saw nearly ten runners, running in the bike lanes with traffic. I’ll say that again, WITH traffic. Some of them had earbuds in. With traffic, with earbuds in. Do I need to say that again?
Up until a few weeks ago I had only seen a few runners in those lanes, but in the last few days the number has skyrocketed. I guess our running community reached a tipping point where enough runners saw other runners doing it and thought, “It must be OK! I’ll try it.”
I would wager that most of these folks do not use these lanes as bikers. Most of us who also bike Philly know that while the bike lanes are awesome, cars do not always respect them. In fact, far too many drivers (especially taxis and SEPTA buses) use them as a “free passing lanes” in which they do not need to check their blind spot, use a turn signal or any other type of common driving curtsey. The number of times I have almost been hit by cars in the bike lanes while riding would shock my non-biking friends. (My husband was almost flattened by a trash truck in December.)
So when I see runners, charging along in those lanes with traffic, I cringe. I don’t think they have any idea that essentially, they’re running in a moving traffic lane. One that I would argue is even more dangerous than normal lanes because of how cars treat those bike lanes. As a biker and a runner, I would not even walk against traffic in those lanes. That’s how “safe” I feel they are. I would never, ever run in them.
I put a post on our Monster Milers Facebook page to get a gauge of how folks felt about it and got a variety of responses. Everything from “I run with traffic in the lanes” (yikes) to “Lanes are for bikers” to “Occasionally I’ll use them but I always yield to bikes and hop to the sidewalk if I see a bike” to “Bikers use the sidewalks.” In the same day, Philadelphia Runner (Philly’s finest running specialty shop) tweeted this:
“We got yelled out for running in the bike lane tonight. Anybody know the protocol? Empty bike lane seems safer than busy sidewalk. Thoughts?”
A reply from a follower: “I’ll stay out of bike lanes when bikers stay off the sidewalk…”
Now, this logic worries me. The bikers that the runners are affecting are the very runners who aren’t riding on the sidewalks. They’re in the legal bike traffic lane, not on the sidewalk. So it seems as if some runners feel justified to run in the bike lanes, due to the illegal activity of a small fraction of bike riders. Or at least they use it as a defense of why they feel comfortable doing it. It’s the us vs. them mentality.
To argue that you’re doing something that is unsafe because someone else is doing something unsafe (i.e. “I run in bike lanes because some bikers ride on sidewalks.”) is a dangerous logic. And it’s making the roads unsafer for everyone, bikers and runners. According to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia – runners in the bike lanes is a “legal grey area and very dangerous.” The sidewalk is infinitely safer for runners. And remember, bikers and runners are not enemies – we’re all just trying to get around in the fresh air.
To be fair, there are some a-hole bikers out there. Just like there are a-hole drivers and a-hole runners. To lump all of the bikers together does our city a disservice. As a biker, I risk my life every time I hit the roads. A texting driver, a distracted teenager, a weaving taxi, a drunk driver could kill me at any moment. (And yes, I have been hit by a car while on my bike. My husband has been hit three times. A staff member of mine was just hit this Saturday. It happens ALL of the time to bikers – and no, none of these accidents occurred because we were running red lights. In none of these situations were we at fault. In EVERY case, the driver simply did not see us.) And I do sometimes get angry. I can see why bikers are starting to get defensive about sharing their lanes when runners aren’t even yielding to the bikes. Because to force a biker to swing out into a fast moving traffic lane is not fair and is extremely unsafe. It simply comes down to that.
My final thoughts: I’m a biker and a runner. Philadelphia has become one of the bike-friendliest city’s in our nation, and that is something we should be very proud of. It’s wonderful for our image, it’s crucial for our sustainability, it cuts down on traffic and parking congestion, and it’s improving the health of our city’s population. The bike lanes were created to make biking safer for the thousands of bikers who travel across Philly each day. Runners have access to endless sidewalks and awesome Multi-Use trails. The bike lanes are NOT sanctioned as “Multi-Use” trails. They are bike lanes on urban streets. Plain and simple. I realize that the road surface is softer for runners, but it’s not worth the risk – to runners or to bikers. And, to me, this entire issue comes down to safety.
NOTE: This post might generate some comments. I urge folks from both sides to remain respectful and refrain from getting nasty. After all, it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, right?
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I totally agree with everything you said, Carrie. As someone who runs more often than bikes, I still would never even consider using a bike lane to run in. It’s unsafe for both runners and bikers and doesn’t make any sense considering all the sidewalks runners and walkers have. Though it can be annoying to have to run around people or run slower on narrow sidewalks when other people are in your way, it doesn’t really impact your run THAT much to just slow down for a few seconds to get around people. Running in a bike lane is not the solution. Bike lanes already have enough impediments with idling or parked cars, potholes or random traffic cones/garbage cans/etc.
Thanks for the comment Jen.
The only time that I’m really “held back” by other pedestrians is if I’m running in the shopping/business neighborhoods of Philly, and to be honest, I just avoid them during peak hours. This weekend when I saw the runners in the bike lanes it was 7AM on a Saturday – the city was completely empty. I agree, bike lanes are not the solution for runners.
This is helpful and timely as I’m considering doing some lunch time running in the city during these cold, dark winter months. Thanks for the information!
No worries Sarah! Just keep it safe.
Downtown Philly is an awesome place to run – we have so many options. The bridge, two rivers, and endless sidewalks.
Way to take my response out of context, ugh. This post only makes me feel more “us versus them” because of that. I never said I regularly run in bike lanes; it’s not safe and I don’t do it by choice. In fact, I’m sure some of the bikers are on the sidewalk because they feel safer from the cars there, but when that forces me off the sidewalk and into the bike lane, that makes them jerks.
The full tweet was “I’ll stay out of bike lanes* when bikers stay off the sidewalk on the Spring Garden bridge over 76/Schuylkill. It has a bike lane!” Since it’s a bridge, there’s nowhere else to go: wall, sidewalk, bike lane, traffic. I can’t run on the wall, and the sidwalk is fairly narrow, so if there is a biker using it, I’m forced into the bike lane. I only run in bike lanes briefly, as a last resort (and I stay out of the way of the bikers using the lane correctly), but it does make me extra angry when bikers on the sidewalk are the ones forcing me to do it. What do you propose I do instead, exactly? In a game of chicken, the runner loses.
*I used “bike lanes” rather than “the bike lane” b/c of the character limit on Twitter, but I thought it was clear b/c I specified exactly where this happens. Guess not.
Hey Krista. Thanks for your feedback. I agree 100%. Bikes should not be on sidewalks and I mentioned that in my article. It’s completely illegal in Center City Philadelphia. Personally, I have never been forced into bike lanes (or the road) as a runner by bikers on the sidewalk. I’m sorry you feel like I took your tweet out of context – that damn character limit! Without your further explanation via this comment it sounded like a “I’ll run in bike lanes until I don’t see riders on the sidewalk.” (Which is the mentality of some runners unfortunately.) I guess I misunderstood what you meant. But the fact is that more and more runners are running in the bike lanes on a regular basis, not to dodge sidewalk traffic. In fact, I just did a 20 minute walk down Pine and Spruce and I saw three runners in the bike lanes and NO bikers on the sidewalks during my walk. (I was counting.) My point is, I think the “no sidewalk biking” law has finally sunk in with most bikers. I’m seeing far less bikers on the sidewalks, and at the same time far MORE runners in the bike lanes. I think we’ve traded one unsafe practice for another.
You should never have to play chicken with a biker and risking your life to dart into a road to get around a biker would anger me too. (Truth be told if I was ever forced into the road by an illegal biker I’d probably yell at them. No, not probably, I would yell at them. And it wouldn’t be pretty.) Call me a jerk but if I ever see a biker ahead of me (or hear one coming behind me) on the sidewalk, I don’t break stride. (Maybe I do play chicken a little?) I would never move into the road to let a biker pass on the sidewalk. But that’s just me. (And perhaps you’re facing more bad-ass bikers than I normally deal with.) I want the illegal sidewalk riders to realize that dodging pedestrians is a royal pain in the ass, and hopefully they’ll take the hint and hit the roads/bike paths instead. I still think you’d be safer staying on the sidewalk and playing a little chicken with them.
What prompted me to write this article was a early morning Saturday run down Pine Street. The sidewalks were empty (of peds and bikers), yet the bike lanes were full of runners. Biking on sidewalk: completely illegal. Running in bike lanes: technically not illegal, but crazy dangerous. Bikers forcing runners off the sidewalks: Those are some of those a-hole bikers I was talking about. But remember, the vast majority of us bikers are totally respectful, road riders.
Hi Carrie. Thank you for the response! I think I need to bring you running with me so you can yell at the renegade bikers while I duck for cover.
Most of the bikers do use the bike lane (yay!) but I’d estimate I enounter a sidewalk biker once a month on that bridge on average, most recently this weekend. I don’t consider myself particularly conflict-avoidant but obviously I’m more timid than you are! I live in West Philly and I haven’t noticed runners around here choosing the bike lane over the sidewalk willingly, but I believe you that it happens in other parts of the city and agree that it seems crazy dangerous.
A note worth contributing to the conversation: every year we do research on bicycling behavior and volume levels in parts of Philly. We’ve found that the presence of a bike lane on a street decreases bad bike behavior on that street. (Bad bike behavior being riding on the sidewalk or riding against the flow of traffic). Sadly, there are bicyclists in Philly who ride on the sidewalk, but we’re not surprised you don’t see them as often on Pine and Spruce. Part of our work is getting the message out there that bike riding on the sidewalk is both dangerous and ILLEGAL if you are over the age of 12.
I honestly think it’s working. I’m noticing far less sidewalk riders in the past six months – not only on bike lane streets. I really am. (I’m a dog walker when I’m not running, so I’m a pedestrian on the sidewalks, a lot.) Keep it up guys! Any chance you guys could encourage the city to get the bike lanes repainted (or any traffic lanes repainted for that matter) on Washington Ave? It’s a mess!
I love the bike lanes. Last night I had a night meeting at the Back on My Feet offices on Broad Street, and I rode the entire distance (except for three blocks) in bike lanes. Even though cars don’t always respect them, I still feel safer, especially at night!
Hi Carrie! Love your blog – glad I found it.
Definitely appreciated this post, as both a runner and cyclist here in Philly. I agree with all everyone has said; bike in lanes, run on sidewalks. However, in the interest of full disclosure I have been guilty of not complying on rare occasions (ex/ running in the pine street lane during VERY early morning runs, circa 4:30 AM) But, thanks for helping me to become more aware of this – I’ll stick on the sidewalk.
Speaking of the running/cyclist debate, I was actually HIT by a cyclist while running along the Schuylkill River trail last summer – yup, it happened to me! Super scary – I think at the end of the day, runners and cyclists in urban spaces just need to be respectful of each other’s delegated space and sport!
(PS, you can read about my dreaded Schuylkill River collision here: http://www.naturastrideblog.com/blog-home/2011/8/4/weekend-wrap-up-part-ii-the-incident.html )
Those shared lanes on the river scare the crap out of me! I’m always paranoid when a group fly by me. I feel like many cyclists on the Schuykill path often do travel WAY too fast for shared trails. It’s all about respect. From both sides!
Carrie, found your blog from Jen K’s post. I bike to work every morning down Pine St., and use my bike daily to get around the city. I also am an occasional runner (read: I haven’t run in a while.)
I would never, ever as a runner use the bike lane, or even the street. Bicycles in the city have the same rights as motorists, and should observe those rights, including not riding on the sidewalk.
It happens, in both cases, but it shouldn’t. If you MUST take your bike off the street, take yourself off of your bike and walk it. If you simply don’t want to get off (you’re foolish, but) slow down to walking speed and yield to pedestrians, stopping if there isn’t room to pass. Riding on the sidewalk is obnoxious, especially when it’s perfectly legal to ride in the middle of a lane on any street.
Now to running in the bike lanes. Don’t do it. I have great hostility toward runners in the bike lanes, most of the time yelling “Excuse me, bike lane” when I am about a half block away. As I ride by, I usually say something like “sidewalk please.” If I’m not wearing sunglasses I will stare directly at the person as I’m riding toward them until making eye contact, and then I’ll continue staring without moving.
Runners have no business in the bike lane, period. I don’t care what time of day it is; it’s dangerous, and it’s foolish. And I will not yield to you as a biker, and nor should I. That lane is there to protect me from traffic. When people run in the bike lane, they endanger themselves by being in the street, they endanger cyclists by forcing them into traffic, and they endanger motorists by being a pedestrian in the street AND by forcing erratic biking.
It’s not just runners. If someone is double parked in the bike lane I’ll often stop my ride and ask them to move their vehicle because it is illegally parked.
I do think that word will get out – a few local running bloggers/shops/twitter fanatics picked up on this post so at least we have the chance to educate Philly’s runners. I honestly believe that many of them have NO idea how dangerous it is. I don’t think they’re doing it to be anti-bike, I think many of them just don’t realize what it’s like to ride a bike in the city. They don’t realize how dangerous it is for us to swing out into traffic. They also probably haven’t experienced a car using the bike lane as a free passing lane and almost being run off the road… on a regular basis. (Something Philly bikers can all relate to.)
Great post. Bike lane = bikes, sidewalk = pedestrians (runners are still pedestrians.) If this is a problem, try to find a better route. I think Lou summed it up well. I am a runner, and occasional biker, and not from the city, but I still agree that bike lanes are not a good place for runners. I have been to the city enough, and seen enough bike lanes to back up my opinion.
I run facing traffic. It’s a rule that’s enforced on Marine bases. It helps you see what’s coming just in case the drivers aren’t paying attention. I yield to bikers though I think we use it more than them.
Depending on the laws in your state, there may be further considerations. I can only speak to Florida, but here, riding on a sidewalk is totally legal, but a bicycle on a sidewalk is regarded as a pedestrian. This means that other pedestrians are NOT required to leap out of the way, as their right of way is equal. I think this is an incredibly stupid and dangerous law). Pedestrians however, may NEVER run in the roadway or the shoulder if there is a sidewalk available. We have declared bike lanes for bikes only, MU trails for all, and widened shoulders on some roads with a solid white line meant for bicycles. This last is the most common, as MPOs around here are trying to encourage safe bicycling in the street where it logically belongs. There are frequently not “Bike Lanes” and are legally the shoulder of the road (most roads here have NO shoulder). MPOs expect that this will make bicyclists feel better about riding in the street. Personally I believe the actual evidence shows that this is significantly more dangerous that riding in the traffic lane where you belong. But cyclists feel much more threatened than runners (I am both) and so look for what they think is safer. The actual evidence is incontrovertible – bicycles on sidewalks are far more dangerous than in the street, but it just doesn’t FEEL that way, so people do stupid and dangerous stuff like riding on sidewalks.
So, running in the street is always illegal when a sidewalk is present. The shoulders are not bike lanes precisely. So here is what I see everyday in my neighborhood:
Runners all over the streets (suburban) with few on the sidewalks (which are usable for running with few walkers), (see street view at http://g.co/maps/mxnzf) – many on the shoulder where bicycles are supposed to be. Some run with traffic, some against. When I ride (of course ALWAYS WITH traffic since I am a vehicle), runners on the road should usually will NOT get out of my way. I usually have to swerve into traffic at the last minute, and remember that I cannot see the traffic behind me. Some runners insist on staying to the far outside of the road, some think a bike should pass them on the outside. None of them seem to have ever tried to find out what the laws or even safe running might be. As a runner, I am outraged all the time by arrogant runners and their seeming attitude of they come first.
So if PA is like FL, you might want to research if sidewalk riding is legal (prob. not). Then address the running in the street thing. Many munis have laws about this because it is so dangerous.
anyway….
Sidewalk riding in Philly is definitely illegal unless you are under the age of 12.
This isn’t about bikers on the sidewalk, it’s about runners in the bike lanes. Either way, everyone needs to 1. obey the law and 2. be safe.
***I don’t live in nor have I ever been to Philly***
That disclaimer said ….
running in bike lanes is very dangerous. They are BIKE lanes. Especially when running with traffic. Seems foolish to me.
However ……. In my run, there are a few areas where the sidewalk is so beaten up or so sloped that it causes me injury to run there. No more than a few feet (the width of a driveway) at a time, I jog in the gutter, then jump back on the sidewalk. it’s a last resort that I’ve made due to the conditions of the sidewalk. It’s a sidewalk in a very industrial part of town in front of a Cement and Gravel company. It’s no wonder the driveway is so beaten up … cement trucks are the primary traffic on the driveway.
Otherwise, I’m on the sidewalk the whole time.
As a daughter of a cyclist … I get incredibly irritated when I see bicycles on the sidewalk. It’s dangerous for the walkers. Bike lanes exist for a reason. Use them! (The only exception would be young children riding bikes to school … I don’t expect them to use the street)
I agree 100%. (The laws are the same in Philly – children under the age of 12 are allowed to bike on the sidewalks, everyone else on bikes should be in the roads or bike lanes.)
I totally appreciate this article – I’m a runner and a cyclist, and I’ve noticed this trend lately as well. As you pointed out, the biggest worry is runners who run in bike lanes getting hit by cars, but the danger of getting hit by a fast moving cyclist should be taken very seriously, too.
On more than one occasion I’ve biked up on runners in the bike lane running WITH traffic, at night, with no reflective gear on, wearing headphones. I’m sorry, but that’s just plain dumb, and one of the major sources of my “bike rage”
. At the very least, if you’re going to take that sort of risk, you should be running AGAINST traffic so you can see what’s coming! I absolutely do NOT want to hit a runner, just like I don’t want to get get hit by a car on my bike (or while running), but by being so negligent runners in bike lanes are putting both themselves and myself in serious danger.
I’m not sure what the solution is, but I do think there is a lack of information generally regarding how to use the roads for anyone who is not a driver. Though it’s changing, in this country I think roadways are generally perceived as for cars only, and “acceptable use” for other modes of transit generally isn’t addressed. Perhaps this will require greater education for drivers, bikers, runners, etc. on how to coexist on the road?
I believe more education is important from all sides. I know when I’m on my bike cars will often yell, “Get off the roads!” (And I honestly think they believe that bikers are not allowed on roads.) The “runners-in-the-bike-lanes” issue does seem to be a grey area legally. Though a few folks have pointed out that if there are sidewalks, pedestrians on the roads can be considered jay-walkers if not in a cross-walk.
It’s really scary to see a runner on roads without reflective gear at night. I also think it’s one of those issues that runners need to be educated about. It’s insanely dangerous for everyone around them. (A biker could be seriously injured too if they collided with a runner…) Philly is doing a push called “Give Respect, Get Respect” that is aimed at targeting bikers, driver AND pedestrians to inform everyone of the road rules. Unfortunately, the issue of runners in the bike lanes is a relatively new issue here… I don’t think the City thought they’d need to address pedestrians in roads since we have sidewalks on every street in Philadelphia.
OK, I;m a runner. Where I live, I’m not certain that it is legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk, but it occurs frequently and I’ve never seen or heard of anyone getting in trouble for it. So, here are my choices for where to run.
1) First choice is on sidewalk and facing traffic (left side of road). I would hope that any non-pedestrian would realize that the sidewalk is primarily for pedestrians and give me right of way.
2) Sidewalk – right side of road. Sidewalks frequently start and stop, so if it is on the wrong side of the road, I’ll cross to use it only on a low-traffic road. Otherwise, when it stops again I’ll be stuck trying to cross back or run with traffic and no sidewalk.
3) Bike lane or shoulder – facing traffic (left side of road). This is a reasonable choice, but I yield to bikes because it is their lane and I appreciate them sharing it with me. As the one who can see the traffic, I take it as my duty to step into the traffic lane and let the bike stay in the bike lane. If there’s too much traffic to step into the traffic lane, then it’s my duty to get entirely off the road until the bike(s) pass.
4) Bike lane or shoulder – right side of road. Rarely. But if it’s an especially wide one and/or if there is none at all on the other side, I might.
5) Traffic lane, facing traffic. Only when there’s no sidewalk or shoulder/bike lane there.
6) Traffic lane, right side. Never.
It’s about safety but it’s also about respecting whose lane it primarily is.
I like your rules!
It sounds like you’re a very respectful AND safe runner…
I’m also from Florida, and the the same problems as Richard.
What I have tried to figure out is WHY the runners feel compelled to run in the bike lane in areas where there are wide open sidewalks? It seems to be some mental thing with these runners.
I’ve run on sidewalks for three decades without a single issue. The one time I was hit by a car I was on a two-lane road with no sidewalks (running against traffic). I’ll take a sidewalk over a roadway any time!
Asphalt is not going to be a softer surface with any measureable benefit to a runner compared to a concrete sidewalk. The other comment I have heard is unevenness or cracks in the sidewalk, but I don’t see this and the sidewalks in the area are high quality and must be very expensive and yet not well used!
I run on the bike lanes or even the street because they’re asphalt. Asphalt >>>>> concrete on your legs. That said, I run early when there is little traffic, I run against traffic, and I always yield to oncoming bikers (or cars).