PPA Puts Ticketing for Parking in Bike Lanes on Hold in Center City

Full enforcement of Philadelphia's "Get Out the Bike Lane" bill is on hold for now in Center City.

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 on Thursday, June 19, for vehicles that park in the city's designated bike lanes. CBS News Philadelphia reported on Thursday that a two-week warning period can't begin until "no stopping zone" signs are installed along Pine and Spruce streets. 

Drivers, however, can still receive tickets for parking in the bike lanes. The bill that became law last year increased the fines for bike lane violations to $125 in Center City and $75 in other areas of the city.

New loading zones were added, and "no parking" zones are set to change 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 (Philadelphia Parking Authority) is waiting for some utilities to clear before install. Clearance by next week," a PPA spokesperson stated to CBS News Philadelphia.

The beginning of the warning period will be determined when the sign installation work has been completed. That law can't be enforced until the signs are put into place. When the "no parking" signs are removed, the 20-minute grace period also goes away, meaning drivers can get ticketed immediately for blocking bike lanes.

"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 shared with CBS News Philadelphia. "This addresses the need for resident motorists, ride-hailing services, and delivery vehicles to make short-term pickups and dropoffs, which formerly may have taken place in the designated bike lanes. We feel this balances longstanding concerns over safety while doing our best to accommodate loading activity." 

Maps depicting the new loading zones are posted on the city's website.