City Hall bike lane passes 17-0 after 490 days
Bill 250649 was introduced in June 2025, heard in committee that fall, then sat for a year. Here is the full timeline from the public record.
City Council voted unanimously Oct. 15 to make the protected bike lane around City Hall permanent, the Inquirer reported. The bill now needs only Mayor Cherelle L. Parker's signature. The sponsor, 5th District Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr., had held it for about 16 months before moving it, the paper reported. WMGK also covered the unanimous vote.
For anyone who drives, rides or walks around Penn Square, this settles the layout. The bill swaps a travel lane for a buffered bike lane on three segments around City Hall.
What the bill does
According to the text of Bill 250649 on Legistar, the ordinance adds three entries to Section 12-701 of the Philadelphia Code, which lists the city's bike lanes:
- South Penn Square, north side, from 15th Street to East Penn Square;
- East Penn Square, west side, from South Penn Square to JFK Boulevard;
- John F. Kennedy Boulevard, south side, from East Penn Square to the start of the left-turn lane.
Each segment gets one buffered bike lane and loses one travel lane. The ordinance takes effect immediately once it becomes law.
The timeline
From the bill's Legistar history:
- June 12, 2025: Introduced by Young and referred to the Committee on Streets and Services.
- Sept. 29, 2025: On the Streets and Services Committee's agenda.
- Oct. 5, 2026: Back before Streets and Services, a little over a year later, and reported out.
- Oct. 8, 2026: First reading at the stated meeting, placed on the next week's second-reading calendar.
- Oct. 15, 2026: Passed on the consent calendar, 17-0.
That is 490 days from introduction to final passage. Legistar listed the bill as "In Mayor's Office" when we checked.
The Inquirer has not reported why Young held the bill. We are not guessing at a reason.
Another bike lane passed the same day
Council also passed Bill 260609 17-0 on consent on Oct. 15. It authorizes a bike lane, and the removal of parking, on Roberts Avenue from Henry Avenue to King Street. Both bills went through the same Oct. 5 committee meeting and the same Oct. 8 first reading.
How the votes were cast
Both bills passed on the consent calendar. Council uses it to bundle bills that no member asks to debate. Legistar records a single 17-0 tally for each but does not list individual member votes for consent items, so no member recorded a "no."
What's next
The mayor can sign the bill, veto it, or let it become law without a signature under the charter's deadline. A veto would be unusual after a unanimous vote, and none has been reported. The Oct. 22 meeting record shows Council received notices that the mayor signed other bills on Oct. 19. We will update this story when the bike lane is signed.