The Checkup: Parking Cars in Bike Lanes May Soon (Finally!) Be Illegal in Philly

• It’s a well-documented fact on this blog that I bike to work every day and to pretty much everywhere else any time I need to get somewhere within the city limits. As any cyclist in any city ever knows, there is nothing more annoying or aggravating than cars parking in bike lanes. These are bike lanes! They are for bikes! Hence the name! I only found out recently, thanks to the Bicycle Coalition for Greater Philadelphia, that in Philly it’s technically not illegal for cars to stop, stand or park in bike lanes, as there is no law explicitly prohibiting it—and that’s just absurd. Which is why I’m super happy to hear that the Complete Streets bill is up for discussion this Thursday in City Council. If it passes, the bill will do a lot of good for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers by making the roads safer for everyone, opening the window to some much needed enforcement. Most importantly (to me, ha), the bill expressly prohibits car parking in bike lanes (in most instances, that is—there are a few exceptions but I can live with them). The Bicycle Coalition has a great primer on what street-safety improvements the law would make room for if it passes. Check it out here.

• Whoa. A small study found that some women who undergo Cesarean sections may be able to go home the next day without risk of complications. Now, I’ve not had a C-section, but I can imagine not feeling well enough to take my kid home one day after having my uterus sliced open like a Fed Ex package. No, thank you. Any moms want to weigh in? Reuters Health has more.

• Can someone please explain this LA Times headline? “‘Pre-drinking’ or ‘pre-funking’ common among young alcohol users.” I’m sorry—pre-funking?! Whatever happened to the far more rational and thoroughly descriptive term,”pre-gaming”?