PPA ticketing for parking in Center City bike lanes on hold until signs can be installed
Full enforcement of the "Get Out the Bike Lane" bill is on hold until "no stopping zone" signs are in place along Pine and Spruce streets.
The city's Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems previously announced in a press release that signs would be installed beginning June 5 and ticketing would begin Thursday.
But the two-week warning period cannot start until the signs are installed. Drivers can still be ticketed for parking in bike lanes, but the bill signed into law last year upped the fines for bike lane violations to $125 in Center City and $75 in other parts of the city.
In addition, new loading zones were added and "no parking" zones are set to be changed to "no stopping anytime" zones.
"The signage installation has not been completed on Spruce and Pine Streets yet -- so the two week warning period hasn't started yet. The PPA is waiting for some utilities to clear before install. Clearance by next week," a PPA spokesperson said.
The start of the warning period will be determined when the work is complete.
The law can't be fully enforced until the signs are installed. Removing the "no parking" signs removes a 20-minute grace period for drivers, meaning violators can get ticketed right away for blocking the bike lane.
Some Center City residential associations had been critical of the changes, with homeowners and renters who drive saying the changes would make it more difficult to drop off groceries at home or park temporarily.
Advocates for cyclists, meanwhile, said something needed to be done — too many vehicles were blocking bike lanes, especially on the major biking routes of Pine and Spruce, and making things more dangerous.
"The City and PPA worked together to roll out new No Stopping Anytime regulation signs on the Spruce and Pine corridor concurrently with the addition of new loading zones," Mike Carroll, Philadelphia's deputy managing director for transportation and infrastructure, said in a news release. "This addresses the need for resident motorists, ride hailing services, and delivery vehicles to make short-term pick-ups and drop-offs, which formerly may have taken place in the designated bike lanes. We feel this balances long standing concerns over safety while doing our best to accommodate loading activity," Carroll continued.
are available on the city's website here.
The next phase of the project includes curb-separated bike lane infrastructure and other safety measures funded in Mayor Cherelle Parker's 2026 budget.
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson .
This story has been corrected to reflect that "no stopping zone" signs have not been installed on Spruce and Pine streets, and therefore, there is no authority for PPA to issue the increased $125 tickets.
