HARRISBURG, Pa. — There was a call for safer roads at the Capitol on Monday.
Families of people killed while biking or walking asked elected officials to legalize parking-protected bike lanes.
These lanes use parked cars to separate pedestrians and bicyclists from traffic. Currently, PennDOT does not allow them on state-owned roads, but advocates say that has to change.
"It's re-striping and moving things around, and literally using the cars- which we know are going to be there- but use them to provide protection within the bike lanes. This would make everyone's community safer," said Senator Tim Kearney (D-Delaware County). "We really need to get the politics out of it, look at it for what it is, and pass the bill cleanly."
It's been seven years since a bill was first introduced in Pennsylvania to change that. According to advocates, during that time more than 800 people have been killed in traffic crashes in Philadelphia alone. Nearly half of those deaths were people walking and riding bikes.