Support enhancing bike safety and bus priority along a stretch of North Massachusetts Avenue
City council members Jan Devereux and Marc McGovern ride along a new bike lane on Cambridge Street in 2017. (Photo: Jan Devereux)
Looking back on my two terms on the City Council, I am most proud of the work I did to advance bike safety and sustainable “mode shift” in Cambridge. Some will recall that I campaigned on a cargo bike decorated with my logo, and that I rode an orange bike while wearing an orange helmet.
Sure, I sometimes used transit or drove my EV to City Hall when there was snow and ice. But much more often, and even in a light rain, I biked home in the dark, and the thrill of riding quiet, nearly car-free streets and feeling the rush of cool air on my face was immense. I’m still riding, though less often now that I work from home, and I feel a small thrill when I bike past cars gridlocked on Fresh Pond Parkway on my way to shop for groceries.
One of my best memories is the opening celebration for the protected bike lanes on Cambridge Street in 2017, when I carried then vice mayor Marc McGovern in the front of my cargo bike for a lap up and down the newly protected section near Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. Following that, Marc and I worked closely to draft and pass the original Bike Safety Ordinance that set a schedule for requiring protected lanes to be installed on major streets throughout the city.
By making biking my default mode of transportation, I showed that it is possible to change one’s habits, even after decades of driving most everywhere, and that you do not need to be a young person to make such changes. You do need the will to do it – and you need a city whose leaders care enough about your safety and about sustainable mode shift to stand up to people who feel entitled to drive and park easily and inexpensively everywhere they go. We are fortunate to live in such a city, though there is still much room for improvement to reach the level of bike shift being achieved in other cities, most notably Paris.
Since leaving the council at the end of 2019, I have been pleased to see the Bike Safety Ordinance strengthened and protected lanes installed on several critically important routes, including on Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard and Central squares. When I commuted to City Hall, I generally avoided riding on Massachusetts Avenue out of the fear of being doored or right-hooked by a turning vehicle; the new protected lanes have greatly reduced that risk, and people in cars should be grateful that their chance of unintentionally injuring or killing a person on a bike is now less. I am grateful that the ordinance was updated in 2020 to require protected bike lanes to be installed on most of the rest of Massachusetts Avenue by April.
That is one reason I am so troubled by the fierce opposition raised by some stakeholders to installing quick-build bike lanes along the section of North Massachusetts Avenue between Dudley Street and the Arlington line. This is not only a bike lane project: It adds a dedicated bus lane that will provide faster, more consistent service to the thousands of passengers on the MBTA’s busy 77 bus route. Buses are used by many seniors and people who cannot afford to own a car; transit priority promotes equity and environmental sustainability – and it reduces congestion for others who have no alternative but to drive. As a result of these two improvements, more people will be able to switch away from relying on private vehicles for transportation in this heavily used corridor, and many residents have voiced strong support for the project. Fewer people relying on cars means less carbon emissions and less air pollution that increases the risk of asthma, dementia and other health conditions among residents.
Contrary to what some residents insist, there already has been and will continue to be significant community outreach to refine aspects of the implementation, with a final meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 28. The project adds 20 metered parking spaces on five side streets (active only between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to benefit local businesses) and allowing the southbound bus lane to be used for 15-minute parking and loading after 9 a.m. after the peak morning rush for bus commuters. The North Massachusetts Avenue area already has several privately owned parking lots that serve businesses and could potentially be rented by residents at other hours. In addition, the city will follow its established process to create on-street parking for residents with disabilities. Residents must shake the notion that their real estate taxes (or their landlord’s) entitle them to park on the street directly in front of their home.
The ordinance’s timeline does not require a full street reconstruction; instead, all work can be done quickly and cheaply using paint, occasional sign changes and installation of flex-posts or bollards. Actual installation can be done over a few nights, and with winter coming, now is the time to do the street work that cannot be done in cold weather. For example, applying the bright green thermoplastic markings for bike lanes isn’t possible below about 40 degrees.
I urge all city councillors and candidates to support implementation of the quick-build lanes this fall without further delay. Running the clock on implementation leaves people on bikes at continued risk of injury or death especially as the daylight hours shorten. And, yes, people biking after dark should always light up and wear a helmet, but even well-lit, helmeted cyclists need the protection of protected lanes – and, in fact, are entitled to such protection under city law.
Jan Devereux is a former city councillor and vice mayor.
This post was updated Oct. 21, 2021, to eliminate a reference in the photo caption to Jan Devereux and Marc McGovern being vice mayor and mayor at the time and Oct. 29, 2021, to correct McGovern’s role at the time.
Sorry, but Bono thinks this is just disingenuous drivel. The meeting now scheduled for October 28 about these issues was not going to happen – though it had been promised at the meeting on September 14 – until a strong coalition of residents and beleaguered business owners fought for it. Bono wonders: After Ms. Devereux rode Councillor McGovern in her bike basket down Cambridge Street did she then go into Skenderian Apothecary to speak with the owners about the impact of that scheme on their elderly customers and their business? (Hmmm. I doubt it.) Does she even know that – good or bad – an additional bus lane has now been introduced northbound, as well, presumably requiring the removal of additional parking? Do Lesley University have an interest in this project and, as such, does Ms. Devereux have an obligation to disclose that interest? Will Ms. Devereux ever take one of the buses she talks about?? How is it that moving metered spaces onto residential side streets can be construed as “adding parking”?? (Good lord, that is ridiculous!) Which businesses along this stretch of Mass Ave does Ms. Devereux frequent? (Will there be a satellite of Formaggio opening sometime soon?) Does Ms. Devereux park her “electric vehicle” in her driveway? (Or along scenic and spacious Lakeview Ave.) It seems that paying taxes disqualifies you from having legitimate transportation needs in Cambridge, but not paying taxes means you’re entitled to get whatever you want? Whenever you want it, no matter what the impact or costs to others (who are the ones who will also literally be paying for it?) The “quietly” amended bike ordinance does not require that this project be implemented overnight. What it requires is that it be completed by the end of April, 2020. Doesn’t Ms. Devereux know this?? Getting the best possible plan here that skillfully accommodates as many competing interests as possible – no easy feat – may well take a little longer than one more week, and possibly even more than just one more community meeting. People need time to adjust to these radical changes – no need to gloat about them if you’re a bicyclist. Let’s take the necessary and ordinance-permitted time if need be to get this right. And if I see Ms. Devereux riding the 77 Bus I may have to gobble the glycerin medication I get at Skenderian. All of Cambridge may have a heart attack!
Dear Mr “Bono” (aka James Williamson): Your hostility toward people who ride bikes is very well known, so I wouldn’t expect to persuade you that designating a few feet of space on a busy street to separate bikes from vehicles could ever be a good idea. I’d have thought you could at least support speeding up bus trips at rush hour since I know you ride the bus (and I believe we’ve even been passengers on the same bus now and then back in the day), but apparently only the status quo will do. What would your other alter ego Tom Paine say? Separate lanes seems like common sense to me. Peace.
Who?? Nice try, I guess, but Bono wouldn’t know how you get that other fellow – whoever he may be – confused with him. Bono tries not to speak for others. For the record, Bono is far from being opposed to ever “designating a few feet of space” for bike lanes. Did he ever say that?? (It’s actually more than just a few feet – but whether you like it or not, it’s enough to require removal of parking on both sides of the street.) As for dedicated bus lanes, Bono would prefer a process that starts with people who actually live and work along this section of Massachusetts Avenue, and does a better job of accommodating competing interests than city staff ever seem to care to. For himself, Bono has no particular “hostility” to bicyclists. (“Some of my best friends are bicyclists.”) Bono doesn’t like getting run over by bicyclists racing through crosswalks and running red lights and rolling along sidewalks as they please. The real hostility is coming from those bicyclists who routinely behave this way, with no consideration for others, it seems to me. And a government that ignores the needs of a majority of our residents and is focused exclusively on promoting benefits for just one constituency is not doing it’s job. If there were sensible rules for bicyclists that were enforced, Bono – and many, many others – would be a good deal happier. Why is it so difficult for Ms. Devereux to grasp this elementary concept?? Perhaps she had a privileged position in Cambridge “government” for just a little bit too long. To quote Patti Smith: The People Rule. (But evidently not in Cambridge. Sad.)
Have we been told how the current bike lanes are failing and a danger to cyclists? That might help convince doubters. Why not get that information out there? BTW not all bike riders are saints and all car drivers villains.
Jan , would you really be OK with having an ugly parking meter in front of your house in your residential neighbourhood? ? Are people people that are home sick or just taking a day off and going somewhere by T, going to have to figure out a way to dash downstairs or rush home to feed meters?? And what about the already horrendous traffic on Mass that already exists? Anyone thought about any of this?
The only way to reduce (car) traffic is to give more people a safe and reliable way to bike or use transit more of the time. A parking meter is no uglier than a fire hydrant. One could view metering (or 2-hour parking) as a more democratic way to share the public way than to allow cars to be stored on-street for long stretches of time when they are not in use. Overnight resident parking would still be allowed (it isn’t in some towns). As to bike lanes “failing” and being a danger to cyclists, of course I’d prefer to be protected by a material stronger than a plastic post, but for now a plastic and paint are better than riding in the door zone. I am also a driver sometimes, so I agree not all drivers are villains. And ipso facto, no living human is a saint. Peace.
Sorry Jan, I’m with Bono here. There are still lots of us who can’t use public transit or bikes. I also refuse make any more accommodations for most bikers who flout the traffic laws at every opportunity. However, I think this will become our new normal until these unsafe temporary lanes cause injury or worse.