Two-Wheeled Commuters Fill Market Square For "Bike To Work Day"

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Bicycles packed Market Square Friday morning as dozens of people took part in Bike to Work Day.

"It's really inspiring," said Jamie Phillips of Highland Park. "We all see each other on the road and sometimes you'll have a head nod, but I think it's great to have people looking out for you, other cyclists."

The national event, put on locally by Bike Pittsburgh and PennDOT, is all about encouraging people to leave their cars in park.

"This was one of our better turnouts today," said Scott Bricker of Bike Pittsburgh. "There were bike trains from all over the city coming in where people met up. It was like a bike meet up."

Another big focus of the celebration: safety.

"I think the more that we bike and we're cyclists, so we know the rules of the road and we're really passionate about it, we can model good behavior because it's not easy to bike to work in Pittsburgh," Phillips said.

Over the years, Bike Pittsburgh has done a lot to make the city more bike friendly. But there is still a ways to go and there are already some new plans in the works.

"Now we're going, getting into more world class bike infrastructure, we're talking about green lanes and protected bike lanes and we're putting bike parking corrals out in business districts and really bolder initiatives," Bricker said.

Regular cyclists say they're looking forward to those improvements and seeing more people out on the road.

They say the perks of biking go beyond exercise and saving money on gas and parking.

"It's a beautiful way to be outside and it's a less frustrating way to commute," said Kathryn Hens-Greco of Squirrel Hill. "And you sort of have one decision to make, get up in the morning, bet on the bike and then you're exercising."

"I think you get to experience the city in a much different way and it's one that is really fun and invigoration," Bricker said.

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