UPDATE: Sometime between this posting and 4 p.m. they filled in the hole. People commented here and on Facebook. Even WHYY’s Newsworks.org took notice. We like to think that the Streets Department was reading. Power to the people!

Watch out for this axle breaker in the right-hand lane of Walnut Street between 44th and 45th. We’re not exactly sure what kind of road work left this thing behind. Yesterday it had cones around it, but now they’re gone and vehicles have to do last-minute braking and swerving. Fender benders look inevitable.

Cyclists also need to take caution because many cars are trying to dodge this thing to the right, taking them into the bike lane.

Anyone have any friends in the Streets Department?

OK all you cyclists (bicyclists?) time to pat yourselves on the back a little. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia released a report today that shows that Philadelphia has twice as many cyclists per capita than any of the top 10 largest cities in the country.

Bicycle commuting jumped 151 percent here between 2000 and 2009. Two neighborhoods in particular – Center City and South Philly – rank in the top 25 neighborhoods in the country for percentage of bike commuters. Only Portland, Minneapolis and San Francisco have two neighborhoods in the top 25.

Some other interesting findings:

• The number of bikes crossing the Schuylkill River has increased nearly four-fold in the last 20 years.

• The number of female cyclists in our fair town has increased dramatically as well, an indication, the Coalition says, that the city’s streets are becoming bike-friendlier.

• Sidewalk riding, the scourge of pedestrians across the city, dropped 20 percent on streets with bike lanes.

• The average number of bikes per hour at 38th and Spruce has gone up 68 percent since 2006 (Yep, people stand there and count them).

So, all in all, nice work bicycle folks. Just please stay off the dang sidewalk.