Dust Off Those Seats, Fill Those Tires – May is Bike Month!
May 2022 is designated National Bike Month by the League of American Bicyclists. Across Greater Philadelphia, advocates and organizations will celebrate Bike Month, Bike-to-Work Week on May 16-22, and Bike-to-Work Day on May 20. In celebration, DVRPC encourages you to try replacing one of your usual car trips with a bicycle, if you’re able and not taking advantage of this convenient and fun mode already. If you need help finding a good bike route, consult Ruti, our text-message based trip planning tool.
At DVRPC, we’re working to make biking easier and safer. We view the bicycle as a mode of transportation in addition to a great form of recreation. We support local bicycle planning efforts through data collection, planning projects, and identification of best practices, and we work with our county and municipal partners to move projects to implementation.
We are also committed to safety and, as a region, have adopted Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health, and mobility for all. During Bike Month and throughout the year, we want to remind drivers to follow our region’s safe passing laws. In Pennsylvania, drivers must allow at least 4 feet when passing a cyclist whether the cyclist is using a dedicated bicycle lane or using a travel lane. New Jersey’s Safe Passing Law went into effect on March 1, 2022, and also requires drivers to allow at least 4 feet when passing a cyclist. Cyclists always have the right to use the full travel lane except where specifically prohibited.
Follow DVRPC on social media throughout May for events, resources, and other information about bicycling in our region.