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Thursday, March 28, 2024

From Pete Stidman, urban planner and founder of the Boston Cyclists Union, Oct. 27, 2015: A few months ago, in my former role as director of the Bike Union, I was pretty vocal about such things as getting bike lanes on Pearl Street and loving the new cycle track on Western Avenue. Several city councillors spoke out against both the plan for Pearl Street and the Western Avenue cycle track.

I’m now a private citizen, and it’s election time.

LetterFor City Council, there is one new candidate and another we need to keep in office to help turn the tide in favor of strong bike facilities in Cambridge. If we don’t support them in a big way, we don’t get safe bikeways in the future – it’s as simple as that.

As director of the Engagement Lab at Emerson College, Mariko Davidson is a pro at making your voice heard; and having heard your voices, as an urban planner she is pushing Complete Streets, more affordable housing and Vision Zero in her campaign.

Nadeem Mazen is an incumbent on the council. Nadeem is a councillor whose record shows his strong support for safer biking and walking in Cambridge. He’s also a technology leader and a powerful municipal voice for collecting better data and using it in powerful ways.

In many ways what happens in Cambridge affects us all, so for the safety of my friends who ride bikes I encourage you strongly, if you have the time, to vote and/or volunteer to help get voters to the polls. If you don’t have the time, you can probably afford a donation to get them over the finish line. Do it now, or regret that you sat this one out on the sidelines.