Residents suing Philadelphia to stop bike lane upgrades in Center City neighborhood

New safety measures are set to ride into parts of Center City. Philadelphia's bike lane network will be then expanding tomorrow along Pine and Spruce Streets. And it promises to make the city's streets safer for those on two wheels. But, there is a pushback. And actually, reporter Leland Pender joins us live in Center City tonight with that story. Leland. Yeah Rick, we're here at the scene of that horrific crash last summer that killed a young CHOP doctor on her bike. People in this neighborhood say these safety improvements planned by the city are exactly what's needed to increase public safety. But, there's a smaller group in the neighborhood that's suing the city because they say any changes will actually make things worse. Thursday, the city of Philadelphia will begin installing new loading zone and no stopping anytime signage along the Spruce and Pine Streets corridor in the city's first and second districts. It's phase one of a project that will add more protection for cyclists in the most used bike corridor in the city. It is nice to occasionally be able to pull into the lane. But, at the same time, I think the lives of the bikers, you know, protecting them is more important. Ultimately, vertical concrete barriers would be installed. Right now, delineators are all that separate cyclists from cars passing by. The city needs to protect bikers and pedestrians. We do a pretty bad job of it right now. These flexible posts proved fatally inadequate last summer when a speeding drunk driver killed CHOP doctor Barbara Freitas as she rode her bike in the bike lane near Spruce and 18th. However, not everyone supports the safety upgrades. A neighborhood group called Friends of Pine and Spruce is suing the city to stop the installation of those concrete barriers. They say the project will reduce parking and cause congestion. It's inconvenient, I guess, but we're talking about people's safety. The group also says accidents will increase, driveways will be blocked, and even first responders could be impacted. Plaintiffs referred to their lawyer for comment, who we did not hear back from. And I also reached out to the city for comment on that neighborhood group's lawsuit. I also did not hear back, but phase one of the city's project is moving right along. Again, it starts tomorrow. Work should last about two weeks. Here in Center City, Leland Pender, Channel 6 Action News, Rick. All right, Leland, thank you.