Protect the South Street Bridge!

"Real investment in bike infrastructure would be a meaningful signal to encourage bike commuting and reduce congestion on South and Civic Center Blvd area."

"Stop killing the bikers!!!"

"Signing in support of Abby and for all who use the South Street bridge as bikers. No one else's life should be risked because of sub-par city infrastructure. Philadelphians deserve concrete barriers that protect them from drivers of cars or SEPTA buses. The city should address this immediately!"

"South Street Bridge desperately needs safety improvements for people on bikes. Please install concrete protection and remove the dangerous mixing zone before someone else's life is put at risk."

"Share the road! Make it safer for pedestrians/bicyclists to use especially because it’s a heavy traffic area. Everybody deserves safety when using the road."

"We need more protections for bike lanes, Paint is all but a suggestion. Ive had so many close calls with cars flying by way too close or cars have even brushed against me. Its just not safe, please support the people of Philadelphia just trying to get to their destination in one piece."

"Supporting friends who are bikers in Philadelphia who have fell victim to and have witnessed countless bike accidents."

"It shouldn’t take yet another injury to finally protect the south street bridge bike lane. Now is the time to act."

"I use the bridge to bike to volunteer at Ronald McDonald House. It is super unsafe where the bike lane has to merge and the bike lane should be better protected! Shame on you Philly! Do better!"

"I am a healthcare worker at HUP and an avid cyclist. I have not ridden my bike to work for over 2 years because the south street bridge is a literal death trap for cyclists and nothing has been done to improve safety. It is not IF but WHEN will I be killed if I choose to commute by bike until measures are taken by the city to improve safety. We need a physical barrier that cars can't just run over."

"Please fix this very unsafe situation before someone else gets seriously hurt!"

"We need hardened bike infrastructure yesterday as well as a safer road alignment on this bridge. The current policy on the bridge treats everyone not crossing it in a car as second class citizen who doesn't matter. How many more need to be injured or killed in crashes before the city decides that trying to pretend our streets are highways isn't worth it?"

"Our doctors, nurses, students, and everyone else deserve to be able to get to work/school safely."

"This area needs to be protected to keep our communities safe!"

"Urgent need for more bike infrastructure!"

"The city should do everything in its power to make bike riding safer. Bikes are good for all of us and the cities that support bikes as common transportation have a high quality of life. Let’s make this happen."

"keep bikers safe!!! this is ridiculous"

"Flexible pylons are no protection! Cars, trucks and buses just plow over them- like they (and the cyclists behind them) are not there. *The cost of installing permanent barriers at a proven-dangerous stretch of a commuter zone is insignificant compared to the cost of just one life.*"

"This is part of my bike commute and I have almost been hit twice!"

"My daughter commutes by ebike to CHOP. This could have been her! When I drive across that bridge I can’t believe my daughter has to navigate that mess. Install a permanent safe barrier for bicyclists ASAP!!"

"Please protect bikers on the South Street Bridge and throughout our city!"

"Please make this frequently used commuter corridor safer!"

"South Street is very heavily used and very dangerous."

"Paint is not protection!"

"Philadelphia is too great of a city to have such poor design at a major bridge crossing!"

"I commute via the South St bridge 4+ times per week. It is the most dangerous part of my commute, and I'm sick of risking my life just to get to work. Permanent, substantial bike lane protections are long overdue."

"The south street bridge sees the highest amount of cyclist traffic in the state, it deserves high quality cycling infrastructure!"

"Install concrete process bike lanes on the south street bridge."

"I bike in Philadelphia regularly and want safe bike lanes."

"slow down the cars and protect those lanes!"

"In 5+ years commuting across the bridge to CHOP, I've almost been hit countless times. We need real protection now."

"Making car-alternatives safer should be among the highest priorities."

"Paint is not protection and the cheap, flimsy, plastic poles put in looked like they were glued with no intention of being permanent. There is NO reason not to have protected bike lanes across the entire bridge on BOTH sides with permanent protection. Please properly put protections in ASAP. People's lives need to be taken more seriously. The city did a great job putting in the planters further down on South St, why can't they do quality work here too? The people biking across the bridge in both directions literally save lives, why are they not being better protected?!"

"Just put it there. How hard could it be to do the obvious thing. This is why people think politicians don't work and don't do anything. Just do the obvious thing that needs to be done."

"Both my kids go to CHOP, and we bike there from South Philly, over the South St. Bridge, and back. Make this safe so my kids don't die. Install real barriers, not flex-posts. This should be a no-brainer."

"Let's get some serious protection for bicyclists on a busy/dangerous road!"

"our city streets are a disaster that has made them infamous as the most dangerous in the U.S. Where is the actual leadership when we need it to protect our fellow citizens who are doing their part to reduce car use in the city? Where!!!"

"My brother is Harry Fenton who was killed on a Philly street on Sept. 2, 2025."

"Protect the south Philly bridge ,along with cyclist, pedestrian.We must protect our roads in the communities."

"Make this bridge safer for cyclists and safer for drivers. Put up some real concrete barriers to split the traffic so neither group has to worry about the other."

"why is the USA always behind on EVERY SINGLE issue that matters??? Philadelphia: stop endorsing a failed near totalitarian transport system: try and get rid of your CAR BRAIN!!!!!!"

"Protect the bridge, save the bikers."

"We need protected bike lanes! I wish I could commute via bike but I worry that it’s simply not safe!"

"I cross this bridge to work every day and hope that more secure measures can be taken to keep bikers safe and encourage others to participate in sustainable modes of travel."

"I bike this bridge every day to get to medical school at Penn. I love how accessible philly is by bike but I do feel like I risk my life every morning and evening biking across this bridge and it's crazy to me that the city hasn't done something to make the hundreds of bike commuters across this bridge feel safe."

"I ride this bridge everyday to school. The bike lane needs real barriers!"

"PLEASE!"

"Bike and pedestrian safety, real safety, must be a City priority…now, before another person has to die!"

"Let's make it safe for cyclists on the South Street Bridge. Cycling Traffic will be increasing with the opening of the Swing Bridge. Thanks for your concern. Owen"

"The addition of the flex posts on the south street bridge show that the city recognizes that there is a need for improvement- 10+ flex posts down shows that we really need concrete protection! Please make this a long term fix!"

"For a bicyclist to be killed in a “protected” bike lane is unacceptable. Only solid protection can provide safe travel."

"I bike across this bridge about twice a week and it is always a stressful and scary experience. I am highly exposed to high speed car traffic, and drivers frequently ignore the faded lane markings. Crossing over from the southside of the bridge to the ramp down to the SRT is always stressful, and every time I enter the "mixing zone" I have to double-check that no drivers are near me or that I'm highly visible to them. There is clearly room and a desperate need for much safer, better, and more comfortable bike and pedestrian infrastructure here. We do not need to wait for more tragedies involving REAL PEOPLE with families and communities to suffer or die from this violent design."

"Insist on making bike riding safe on the streets of Philadelphia!"

"I ride this a lot and while the repainting and flex posts help we need a real solution not makeshift."

"I want concrete! I run across this bridge several times a week, and bike a few times a month. The current design of the road is flawed - the eastbound bike lane is exposed to a dangerous right hook turn lane, and the road encourages drivers to go too fast in both directions. Put this road on a diet, and install heavy barriers. Protect the medical professionals looking after us now, and the students who will shape the future of our city."

"As a physician and colleague of the late Barbara Friedes, MD who also commutes to CHOP by bike, I am writing to implore you to support improvements to the South St Bridge now. We need concrete protection before another bicyclist is seriously injured or killed."

"FFS"

"We need concrete barriers on the South Street bridge!"

"Another dangerous place for bikes is going south on Greys Ferry at Washington Ave. Cars make wide turns from westbound Washington Ave onto Grey's Ferry south, knocking down many flex posts and endangering cyclists."

"This is my daily commute and is so scary! It doesn’t have to be like this!"

"In an urban city, there is is no reason why streets shouldn’t be safe for pedestrians and cyclists. More people would bike in the city if there were protected bike lanes."

"The Streets department's refusal to act is responsible for 10 people walking and biking on this bridge getting hit by cars since 2021. The Streets department has an obligation to protect the people of this City. They need to finally prioritize safe infrastructure over vehicle speed and convenience."

"Protect bicycle riders."

"I bike on South Street bridge all the time, sometimes with my child on the bike with me. We want to be able to travel safely."

"I drive on the south street bridge all the time and I want better bike infrastructure!"

"I ride on the South Street bridge to work and the drivers are anxious to get on the freeway and not thinking carefully about the cyclists. We need better protection!"

"Please make Philadelphia safer for pedestrians and bicyclists."

"As one who has a brother who was killed in Philly last year, i support whatever safer provisions can be given to bike riders. I also support more help from the police department whom have proven to be useless."

"Please prioritize protection of cyclists and pedestrians on the south street bridge!"

"Please provide better protections for the bike lines on the South Street bridge. It's being used by a lot of bikers."

"As a Penn grad student who lives in South Philly, I bike over this bridge at least twice a day—and I fear for my safety every time I do, especially in the mixing zone at the end of the eastbound lane. The South Street Bridge is the most transited bicycle corridor in all of Pennsylvania; it’s truly shameful that our leaders haven’t done more to protect the thousands of people who ride across it every day. Please make it safe before somebody else is hit."

"Please help us all stay safe and protect our bike lanes!"

"There is SO much room on that bridge, I drive it all the time. Add the barriers already!"

"Design streets safe enough for a parent to ride with their child. Please add concrete barriers to the south street bridge"

"Philadelphia has made some great strides in improving mobility and allowing for alternative transport options. Improvements like this will further encourage citizens to use bikes for commuting, exercise, and leisure. Thank you"

"Please help to make our bike lanes and streets safer!"

"I ride my bike across the south Street bridge to and from work every day. I always remind myself to be hyper vigilant near this mixing zone because drivers are more distracted than ever and will be looking at their phones and cross lanes and not see the cyclist they’re about to hit. I’ve successfully avoided two accidents where this exact scenario happened at the mixing zone. Please make changes to keep everyone safe."

"I'm close to many health care workers who take this route regularly and worry about their safety on this bridge in it's current state. A safer street for cyclists is a safer street for all."

"I take this route regularly and never feel safe. Please take action"

"Haha & I cross my fingers again that Philly government is more than just empty promises and that someone will start saying "NO!" in this autocentric city and start giving a damn about the lives of cyclist."

"The needless loss or injury of any commuter anywhere is unacceptable. Though I am not affiliated, I know many who work at CHOP and HUP and use the bridge every day commuting to work. I often think of how disruptive it would be to so many patients and the medical community if anything were to happen to those workers. The stakes are uniquely high and the city's inherent calculus here is baffling and incredibly disheartening. As a public health issue, I hope that those institutions will advocate for the safety of their staff."

"Philly, protect cyclist like your protecting home ownership"

"Take action"

"This bike lane needs real, permanent solutions. No more flex posts. We need concrete jersey barriers"

"Please install concrete barriers!"

"Another location where flex-posts don't work is the bike lane going south on Greys Ferry Avenue where it passes Washington Ave."

"The Streets Department is certainly aware of street safety best practices by this point. They've gotten our emails. They've heard our phone calls. It seems they simply lack the willpower and leadership to make safety improvements happen. The Department's decision-makers are just moving through the motions, while the staff advocating for change are quickly disregarded without any mechanism to create upward pressure on their leaders. It would benefit the upper leadership to engage with and listen to their younger, newer staff members. Keep doing the same things, get the same result. Philly deserves concrete protection now."

"We need safer bike lanes in philly now. Install concrete barriers"

"Don’t rely on paint to stop a car. It does not work. People die. People get severely hurt. Permanently hurt. Use concrete to separate cars from everybody else. Cars are death machines. Every opportunity to change the streets should make it so cars can not interact with pedestrians and cyclists."

"Please make this common sense improvement on a key corridor."

"The 10 new flex posts that were removed within a day is a clear example of how real cycling infrastructure needs to be considered if we want to keep cyclists safe in Philadelphia."

"We need concrete protection, not plastic flex posts that drivers can (and clearly do) drive over at the drop of a hat. Deaths and injuries in PA’s most-used bike lane are predictable and preventable until we get REAL infrastructure changes. The lack of bike lane protection is an active choice to prioritize drivers’ speed and convenience over our lives and bodies."

"Flex posts are a ridiculous solution to a real safety issue. This bridge is heavily trafficked and usually one of the scariest parts of my own bike trips between west Philly and center city. Please install a more permanent and safe solution to protect all road users."

"Real physical bike lane protection from Philly drivers"

"This is a dangerous stretch even with the existing bike lane. Please do all you can to make this safer. There's no need to have bikers killed by drivers when it's easily preventable."

"Flex posts are fake protection!"

"My wife will be cycling on this bridge on her daily commute next year, and after the great Schuylkill trail this section is kinda scary at the moment. Everything that makes this safer is welcome!"

"There are thousands of riders going over that Bridge all year long. Many of them are your children, medical students, college students and the physicians that care for you. Please, for the love of humanity, Protect the South Street Bridge and make it a safe place to cross to Penn and back. (and the light there!! delay for bikers and pedestrians to get across!!!)"

"PUT IN REAL BARRIERS!!"

"My husband, Teddy Einstein, was killed by a driver turning left and failing to yield . Concrete islands would have saved his life"

"More protective bike ways should be for every bike ways."

"A safer bike path is a what we need not just on south street. All over the Philadelphia area."

"this is the single busiest biking corridor in the city! protection is an easy win for safety, congestion, and cleaner air!"

"I appreciate any effort to make active travel in the city safer."

"Please make it possible to bike this route without risking one’s life!"

"We need a safer bicycle transit way"

"Please install real concrete barriers!"

"Concrete barriers save lives. Don't have blood on your hands when this is common sense. Bring Philly into line with other great cities around the country and world prioritizing its pedestrian and cyclist citizens over vehicles. Better for the city, children, families, and the climate."

"Please project the bike lane with real barriers!"

"Flex posts are not enough -- anyone who has biked over the South Street bridge knows that. It's time for the city to take safety seriously and install permanent concrete protection on this well-trafficked bike route."

"I am appalled at the slow response to an automobile crisis in the city. Aggressive driving has become the norm, and there has been a weak response to it, and none to the fake paper tags proliferating around the city. A driver can simply do what he or she wants to do with impunity. When will someone step up and protect our citizens with simple measures of speed mitigation, police patrols impounding cars with fake tags, and yes, installing safe bike lanes in the city? Simply painting bike lanes inside of parking lanes provides a natural and cheap barrier of cars to protect cyclists and pedestrians alike."

"I'm too scared to cross the S. Street bridge on a bike. Barriwrs would go a long way in protecting bicyclists here!"

"As a nurse who commutes by bike to work at Jefferson I often feel I am risking my life. If we can make the commute for other people even a tiny bit safer we should take the opportunity as a city to do what’s right"

"Please make bike lanes safer for for all. I had a bike accident recently that required ten stitches in my leg and plan to get back on my bike as soon as I can. I hope to do so on safer streets! Thank you!"

"This is a primary cycling route. Prioritize the safety of cyclists!"

"Paint alone does not protect!"

"As a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, I have seen too many patients suffer injuries due to traffic violence. The South Street bridge needs concrete protection as it is one of the most popular bike routes in Philadelphia. Flex posts do not provide adequate protection."

"Beyond ridiculous that this important route has been unprotected so long."