Philly's Bicycle Jams

One of the less remarked upon trends in Phila-delphia has been the upsurge in bicycle commuting. As I wrote in my Changing Skyline column on Friday, traffic is way up in the city's bike lanes. But now, as a consequence, bike parking is increasingly scarce. It's nearly impossible to find an untethered bike rack, parking meter or tree along Walnut Street during peak hours. But it's not only Center City. As Michael Schaffer (an Inquirer alum) reported in his lovely account of Saturday's Obama rally for the New Republic blog, not a single free pole or meter could be found near the West Philly event. The Nutter Administration is planning to add another 1,500 racks, but that won't make much of a difference when you consider they'll be scattered throughout town. The Bicycle Coalition says the city needs 7,500 at least. You can read their report, which details areas with the fewest racks. What are some other spots where bike parking is in short supply?

The increased prevalence of two-wheeled transport is not unique to Philadelphia. A day before my column appeared, the New York Times' Thursday Styles ran a photo essay about bike fashions, wittily headlined, "A Field Guide to the New York City Bicyclist." My bike style guru will always be the woman I spied in Florence many years ago, sailing along on a three-speed while wearing a fur coat and carrying a coffee in her free hand.

As long as we're talking style, be sure to check out Bill Cunningham's fashion essay from Paris, which offers images of some very bike-crowded streets, along with the latest Dior dresses.