As a result of the tragic accidents, the past few months have been emotional for the cycling community in Boston. As representatives for that community within city government, the outpouring of concern, thoughtfulness, and call to action from our fellow riders has especially touched the Boston Bikes staff.
Mayor Menino referenced the importance of the close-knit community among cyclists in his letter to local papers recently. He underlined the importance of having a continued sense of urgency in understanding all accidents and the need to continue improving the streets better for riders. Boston Bikes has a number of initiatives underway, including the Bicycle Network Plan that is looking at connections citywide and will usher in a new level of coordination around infrastructure improvements. The network planning work will continue this winter, so look for a debut sometime this spring. What does it all mean? As our friend at BostonBiker.org put it — “more and better” — more bicycles and better infrastructure. We will still keep picking the low-hanging fruit, but we got out our ladders too.
There has been a range of stories in the media this summer and fall about cycling. Stories ranged from praising Hubway to highlighting safety concerns. On occasion some have even asked if bicycles belong on our streets. Through the Mayor’s leadership and the work of so many departments and agencies in the City (Transportation, Public Works, BRA, Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Police, Neighborhood Services, Parks Department, New Bostonians, and others) cycling is thriving in our City. So while some pundits may question if bikes belong on our streets, we know that question was answered a long time ago. The question is “how many bicycles do we want on our streets?” Answer: A lot more!
Without getting into specific numbers and data this fact is clear: bicycle ridership is soaring. Our staff feels it on our daily commutes. There are bicycle traffic jams on the Southwest Corridor at Ruggles and this is happening on forty-degree days! But there are more riders waiting to get on a bicycle and we want them to feel safe, too. Preliminary data shows that accidents are about level from last year, even with a significant increase ridership. The City is committed to understanding all bicycle accidents better with the forthcoming analysis of police reports. This report on bicycle accidents will help shape our continued actions on safety through engineering, enforcement, and education.
As the Mayor said, “the degree of separation from a bicycle accident is not too far for many of us. Take the time to say hello to your fellow cyclist at a red light this week. Thank them for riding. Thank them for cutting health care costs. For cleaning our air. For making our city vibrant. For being economical. For being part of Boston’s biking community.”
It is in the spirit of this strong community, of which Boston Bikes is proud to be a part, that we continue onward, standing up out of the saddle, leaning into the wind, and helping improve the City we love to view by two-wheels.
8 Comments
I bike to work, about 8 miles throught Somerville and Cambridge, as much as weather and day light permit. I am amazed by the number of bicycles that are not following traffic rules; passing at red lights, going the wrong way on a one way street being the most commun infraction that I observe every day.
I think that motor vehicles made great strides in their attention to bicycles, but I am afraid that enforcement will be one of the most efficient way to prevent more accidents.
Best,
Fran
This is certainly “progress”, but Boston needs to follow the lead of cities like Portland and Chicago, where a high number of dedicated bike lanes are being added that keep cyclists safe from vehicular traffic. It’s time to get rid of the parking spots along Brookline Ave., Huntington Ave. and several other major routes in order to make room for dedicated bike lanes.
It would be nice if the city forced the Boston Police dept. to take cyclists complaints seriously. Without the police being involved in actual traffic safety cyclists will continue to die or be injured more often then they should. Jay-walking is also a constant threat to cyclists safety, yet in the decades I have been a Boston resident I have never seen a police officer do anything about it, EVER. Until the Boston police are active in trying to solve these problems all the speeches in the world the mayor gives won’t save one cyclist from injury or death. Please use OUR tax dollars more wisely then just renting bikes to the inexperienced rider(s) and tourists.
As a biker and a car driver I cannot count the times that bikes have zoomed passed me at a red light and continued across the intersection. Equally upsetting is the number of bikers who think it is cool and fun to zip up between lanes of traffic to play; what? Chicken? It is greatly disturbing how many bikers disdain the rules of road and continue to anger motorists. One minute they are bikes, the next minute they are pedestrians crossing in the crosswalk. Bikers should not be encouraged to ride where ever and however they desire. The roadways in Boston are not meant for all this traffic. I am all for banning bikes in the city unless each biker takes a road safety test and gets a license. Helmets should also be MANDATORY. Bicyclists should be issued warnings and traffic tickets in the same manner as motorists. Motorists should also be trained in driver’s Ed. to look behind their car, beside their car and to note the bike paths that appear and disappear on our streets randomly. Certain roads such as the parkways and Storrow Drive should ban bikes as with highways. Without training, adherence to road rules, and strict enforcement of safety laws; it is just a numbers game and more bikers will be victims of accidents that could have been prevented. I myself refuse to ride my bike in the city as I have been almost hit too many times while paying attention and obeying the rules.
I have been riding for 60 years and unfortunatly automobiles still rule in the minds of American society. An example of this is the new $4 million upgrade in East Boston’s Central Square doesn’t include any bike lanes. Just to show you in the minds of our elected officials, community liasions and the design engineers bicycle riders are certainly not concidered here in East Boston. Oh, well. Maybe in another 60 years.
I am glad to hear that the mayor and the city of Boston support bike riding. I bike to work everyday and there is not one day that I don’t run into a car parked in the bike lane (specifically on Commonwealth Ave. by the BU dorms). When is enforcement going to be stepped up? I have to go around the car or truck that is blocking the bike path and risk my life. Keep up the good work.
This is a little thing. But little things sometimes make a big difference…
For such a short article, you use the word “accident” six times. Please consider using different words that convey a more precise meaning. If for any given incident there has been a full, detailed investigation leading to a written, well-founded conclusion that nobody as at fault, by all means call a collision or wreck an accident. But until/unless investigated, bike/ped, bike/bike, bike/tree and bike/motorist collisions should be called just that — collisions.
What’s at stake in this small linguistic nuance is the word “accident” reinforces the cultural norm that vehicles hitting things on our roadways is inevitable. This in turn has created a culture of letting all drivers — come cautious, some reckless — off the hook for whatever harm they cause behind the wheel. The reality is knowable, but not presently known because we don’t do proper investigations: we don’t look at vehicle black-boxes, we don’t use red-light or speed cameras… so in a motorist versus cyclist/pedestrian collision, we often simply take the word of the driver/survivor who often claims “I didn’t see him”, “she came out of nowhere”.
Cultural change will take a lot of time and effort. But small things matter, especially when someone is speaking or writing from a position of authority. Please take a leadership role, and use the word “accident” only where appropriate, and a more suitable/precise term otherwise.
Hi,
I really, really hope you’ll use the same technology you used to shut the bikes down on Hurricane Sandy (if I recall correctly) to shut them down during harsh winter days as well. Most of Boston’s winter can see safe riding conditions. I miss the luxury of having Hubway bikes to get me places instead of driving a car when the T isn’t convenient and walking simply too far.
Thanks!
John Pepper
CEO, Boloco