If all goes well, worshippers at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia will have the option to park on the streets near the church in peace.
They just could have to walk somewhat bit farther to accomplish that.
Earlier this week, after months of protest by Philly Bike Action, an area association of cyclists, the church decided to provide up a city permit that allowed congregants to park on the road outside the constructing. Those temporary parking spots, which were valid on Sunday mornings, were situated in what’s otherwise a motorcycle lane.
That drew the ire of Philly Bike Action, which staged 18 weeks of what organizers called “bike lane parties” in front of the church on Sundays, where cyclists often held signs of protest and took photos of church members parked in bike lanes.
While church leaders defended the congregation’s right to park within the bike lane, in addition they realized they were alienating the community. As a result, the church decided to work with town to search out alternative parking.
“The point is that a lot of our neighbors see us as self-centered, pursuing our own interests and unconcerned with their welfare,” Tim Geiger, executive pastor of Tenth, told church members in a video posted to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) congregation’s Facebook page. “That’s something that might easily grow to be a stumbling block for them, as we attempt to invite them to know the Lord and to know us as a church.”
The growing popularity of motorbike lanes has caused unintended challenges in older cities like Philadelphia—where city officials should balance access for bikers with the needs of the broader community, including churches, on narrow streets first designed for horses and buggies.
In Washington, DC, for instance, work on a motorcycle lane on Ninth Street NW was delayed for years after leaders of nearby Black congregations said the bike lane, which included a protective barrier, would limit access to their buildings. Earlier this yr, leaders at Asbury United Methodist Church in DC complained that a motorcycle lane blocked an accessible entrance to the church.
Kurt Paulsen, a professor of urban planning on the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that allowing street parking for churches could make sense, especially since their services normally occur at times of low traffic. Cities often make accommodations for churches or other institutions that lack off-street parking lots.
“The city actually doesn’t intend to make it hard for people to attend an historic church downtown and normally there isn’t quite a lot of business or tourist traffic on Sunday mornings,” he said in an email.
But adding bike lanes could make that complicated—especially as the most effective practice for those bike lanes calls for adding a concrete barrier or other dividers.
Christopher Dascher, a board member of Philly Bike Action, which was organized a few yr ago, said the group has been focused on ending street parking on Spruce and Pine streets, which he said were popular east-west routes for bicyclists in Philly. They identified seven congregations—4 churches, a pair of synagogues and the Philadelphia Ethical Society—that had street parking permits on a mile-and-a-half stretch of road. The group had hopes of getting those congregations to provide up the permits.
Five of the congregations have found alternatives or given up their permits, based on the Philly Bike Action website. Two remain in discussions over the permits, said Dascher. He said Philly Bike Action sees all of the congregations as vital to town.
“We very much consider that having these congregations is an element of what makes our city great,” he said.
But Dascher, who said he often rides along with his two young kids, also said the practice of parking in bike lanes is inherently dangerous. Doing so means bicyclists should enter lanes designed for auto traffic, which might be unsafe.
He said protests over the bike lanes heated up after a motorcycle rider was killed this summer when a automobile veered into the bike lane. Dascher said the accident proved more safety measures are needed. Along with the ending of street parking, he’d prefer to see some form of protective barrier arrange.
“I’m enthusiastic about street safety,” he said. “I think very much that everyone of their community deserves to have the option to get around without fear of being injured or killed by a automobile.”
Dascher said the protests were meant to attract attention without being too confrontational. It’s not clear that was all the time the case. In his video, Geiger, the pastor at Tenth, said there had been acts of vandalism as a part of the protests. Dascher said he was aware of Geiger’s claim but had been given no details of any incidents.
“Philly Bike Action doesn’t condone property destruction or harassment and actively discourages these actions,” he said. “We communicate this to volunteers in public facing ways, similar to on Instagram. Our goal has been to take care of a civil and constructive tone to our efforts.”
Elizabeth Kiker, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, said that cycling groups and churches can work together on issues involving bike lanes. She said that bicycle groups can do more outreach before a motorcycle lane is built, to work through any concerns.
“I feel there’s a option to meet in the center and say we do need bike lanes on the streets where these beautiful churches are,” said Kiker. “And we recognize that churches need parking, particularly on Sunday mornings.”
For some congregations along Pine and Spruce streets, finding latest parking took some ingenuity. Cheryl Desmond, the administrator for the Philadelphia Ethical Society, a humanist congregation, said she’d been on the lookout for alternative parking for several years.
Desmond said the road parking for the Ethical Society was grandfathered in when the bike lanes were arrange. But the society had more parking spaces than it needed, said Desmond, who also was concerned about respecting the intent of the bike lanes—and questioned whether parking there was the fitting thing to do.
“When someone doesn’t like what we do, they are saying, are you being ethical?” she said.
During the pandemic, Desmond began on the lookout for latest parking spots. She noticed an area farmers market blocked off lanes at a close-by park and wondered if the society could do the identical. The city agreed to the request.
“Once I had an answer, it was the fitting thing to do,” she said.
Worshippers at Old Pine Street Church, a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation just over a mile from Tenth, can even begin using latest parking spots. The congregation recently negotiated a permit that permits street parking on Sundays, only one block over.
The Rev. Jason Ferris, pastor of Old Pine Street Church, said that when bike lanes were first proposed, town got here to congregations like Old Pine Street Church and asked for his or her support. The church was in favor of the bike lanes, provided there was still parking for Sunday services, which appeared like a workable compromise .
Ferris said the church had been on the lookout for alternatives to parking within the bike lane for several years, knowing it was not an excellent situation. But past attempts to search out an answer had stalled.
“We were pleased to take a look at alternatives,” said Ferris. “We just didn’t need to lose our parking altogether.”
Protests by Philly Bike Action added a way of urgency and led to an answer.
“I feel like we were lucky that we had an affordable alternative and were in a position to make a switch,” he said. “But I do feel for these other churches and synagogues. I feel it’s just considered one of these tough urban issues.”
