Drivers will be ticketed for blocking bike lanes starting June 19 as Center City group fights new law

Loading zones on Spruce and Pine streets are being installed to try to accommodate the need for making brief stops.

FOPS Files Legal Challenge Against City’s “No Stopping Anytime”

Regulation on Pine and Spruce Streets

Philadelphia, PA — Friends of Pine & Spruce (FOPS), a long-standing neighborhood advocacy group, has filed a legal complaint in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas challenging the City of Philadelphia’s recent “No Stopping Anytime” bike lane enforcement regulation. The policy, which prohibits vehicles from briefly stopping along Spruce and Pine Streets, is set to be enforced starting June 19 with fines of up to $125 in Center City.

While the legislation was passed under the premise of improving cyclist safety following a tragic incident in 2024, FOPS contends that the regulation is unnecessary, unlawful, and harmful to the daily needs of residents—particularly the elderly and disabled—who rely on occasional curb access for medical transport, deliveries, and mobility support.

FOPS’s legal complaint names the City of Philadelphia, the Streets Department, and the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS), arguing that the city implemented physical infrastructure changes—such as signage, loading zones, and concrete barriers—without properly modifying the city code or securing meaningful public input. Despite a public meeting held in October 2024, FOPS maintains that “these meetings exclude public participation” and did not offer a legitimate opportunity for neighborhood concerns to be incorporated.

The organization also notes that the policy contradicts commitments made by former city officials during the original bike lane installation in 2009. In a letter from Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger at the time, the city acknowledged that residents would still be able to briefly stop to unload groceries or discharge passengers—a promise FOPS asserts has now been broken.

“Our community was promised balance—safe bike infrastructure and reasonable accommodation for residential access,” said a FOPS representative. “This new regulation disregards that commitment and puts our most vulnerable neighbors at risk.”

FOPS seeks to pause implementation of the ticketing enforcement until the city complies with legal requirements and conducts meaningful engagement with the residents of Pine and Spruce Streets.