Bike Group Pushes Safety On MLK Drive

A tragic accident along Martin Luther King Drive has sparked an all-out campaign for safety from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

The coalition will be making a presence all week at the spot where a 4-year-old and his father were injured last week, Fox 29's Julie Kim reported from Fairmount Park.

The drive along the Schuylkill River is a popular biking and jogging route, but in recent years it has become a high-speed road for those trying to avoid the Schuylkill Expressway traffic.

Now, the bicycle coalition says enough is enough, and they're taking action. They're taking their education campaign straight to the public.

In last week's crash, the father and son (riding the bicycle in a tag-along) were using a crosswalk when one driver yielded to them but a second driver struck them, critically injuring the boy and breaking the father's shoulder.

"One of the main problems about this road is that it's two lanes wide," said Alex Doty, of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. "The traffic volumes, we think, don't really justify two lanes on this street here. And it's a park road. We have three different ways to get down this corridor, I-76, MLK and East River Drive. Can we return MLK Drive back to its park roots?"

Doty added, "We're standing in th middle of a park here. Not only should people feel safe in a crosswalk. They should feel safe in a crosswalk in a park, I mean at the very least."

On Tuesday morning, several of the group's "bike ambassadors" were holding signs at the crosswalk aiming to remind motorists that it is state law to yield to pedestrians.

"This is a real troublesome area, and a lot of us use it on a daily basis," bike ambassador Breen Goodwin said. "It really hits home."

Moments after holding out a radar gun to clock the cars going by, Doty said of their message to drivers, "Obviously, that's a difficult point to make when people are going by at 50 mph, but it is one that we are out here every day this week making this point."

In addition to trying to educate drivers, the coalition also pushes to have roads designed as "a complete street for all users," Doty explained.

He'd like to see the outer lanes on MKL Drive replaced with bike lanes that narrow the thoroughfare, naturally reducing speeds, alleviating congestion on the trail for bikes and pedestrians and making the drive more predictable.