Group files lawsuit over Cycling Safety Ordinance, telling city to ‘rescind, restore and prevent’ lanes (updated)
Dueling signs about bike lane installations are seen Feb. 9 near Porter Square. (Photo: Marc Levy)
A group called Cambridge Streets for All said it filed a lawsuit against the city Friday over parking-space changes brought on by the Cycling Safety Ordinance. It seeks to immediately stop the city from adding more protected bike lanes as the law requires and remove any existing lanes that took away parking spaces.
An email from the group described a situation in which “storefronts can’t serve customers because there is nowhere to park, where quiet side street neighborhoods will become de facto parking areas and loading docks and where medical patients won’t be able to access the offices of their providers.”
The actions seeks “declaratory and injunctive relief” and are intended to make the city “rescind, restore and prevent the additional implementation” of the bike law, which was passed in 2019 and amended in 2020 to set a timeline for the implementation of protected bike lanes citywide.
The lawsuit was filed in Middlesex Superior Court, according to a publicist working for the group.
The city does not generally comment on pending litigation, but spokesperson Lee Gianetti said Friday that the city solicitor was reviewing the complaint “and will diligently represent the city’s interests in this matter.”
The Cambridge Bicycle Safety group was also contacted for comment. Nate Fillmore, a member, said he’d heard a lawsuit was in the works, but as of Friday, had not seen a copy. “It sounds like there’s a small group of people here who are extremely upset about changes being made. But we know that broadly, people in Cambridge are supportive of the bike law,” Fillmore said. “And we know that there’s lots of research showing that protected bike lanes are safer than traditional bike lanes or no bike lanes, and also that making these kinds of changes tends to improve the business environment.”
Cambridge Streets for All is made up of store owners, medical offices, restaurants and neighborhood residents, according to the group’s email. Retailers north and south of Porter Square and a dentist’s office in North Cambridge have been the most vocal at City Council meetings over the past months in citing harm from lost parking spaces on Massachusetts Avenue – to which one solution has been to add business-hour metered spaces on stretches of side streets near the avenue.
The city has taken several steps to slow some aspects of the bike lane rollout and mitigate where parking spaces have been or will be taken away – but it is not enough, the group suggested.
“Despite a series of packed City Council meetings, the message from residents and businesses that they are being harmed has continued to fall on deaf ears. CSA determined that taking legal action against this ordinance was our only recourse to be heard,” said Violette Bakery owner Lee Jenkins, whom the email identifies as a group board member. “They didn’t consult local businesses and residents when they drew up these plans in the middle of a pandemic, and they’re not listening to us now. We believe improved bike lane access to be an excellent goal, but not when the parking for business customers and staff, as well as for neighborhood residents and patients of local medical providers is being completely gutted, which will clog side streets where people live.”
As part of the Middlesex court filing, the group asked in a motion for “impoundment” that the names of people providing affidavits be kept secret. “Certain members of the cycling community in Cambridge have engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against the persons filing affidavits in this matter for their opposition to the Cycling Safety Ordinance. Most of the harassment takes the form of negative comments on social media, as well as threatening letters and harassment of customers,” the filing says.
The impound request was first reported by the website Universal Hub.
One of the people involved in the suit, John Pitkin, sued the city in 2019 over changes to the Inman Square streetscape spurred by the death of bicyclist Amanda Phillips three years earlier. The Inman Square suit was unsuccessful.
The bike lane lawsuit was prepared by Lawson & Weitzen of Boston. Cambridge Streets for All also brought on Square Communications, a Washington, D.C., public relations and political consulting firm, shortly before the lawsuit was filed. The firm has a branch in Boston, as well as in San Francisco, Seattle, London and Brussels.
More comments from the email are below.
“It is surprising how many people across the City are totally unaware of the mandate to install separated bike lanes. That tells me there was not enough outreach from the city nor any meaningful citizen engagement. All people want is a chance to participate in a meaningful way,” said Joan Pickett, a homeowner in Mid-Cambridge since 1998.
“I have lived and raised my family in Porter Square for over 25 years and have seen the area develop into a thriving neighborhood with a diverse middle-class community and business district,” said John Hanratty, Cambridge resident and homeowner. “When the city removed virtually all street parking for businesses and dedicated travel lanes for buses in North Cambridge, the installation appeared almost overnight and caught residents by surprise.”
Hanratty continued, “After seeing the negative impact the implementation of the quick-build bike lanes has had on businesses and traffic patterns on North Mass Ave, I am extremely concerned about how the imminent plans for Porter Square will irreparably harm the vibrant business community that exists here.”
“My business is a minority-owned barber shop that has been in business for 21 years in Cambridge,” said Harold Gilmer, owner of a barber shop on Mass Ave. “My shop, which specializes in razor cuts, has a broad clientele, the majority of whom come from outside Cambridge. More than 50 percent of my customers come by car.”
Gilmer added, “Past employees left because they could no longer afford paying parking tickets on top of their salary and tips. I estimate that my business has experienced about a 50 percent decline since installation of the quick-build bike lanes because people can no longer park near my shop.”
Longtime civic and environmental activist and mid-Cambridge resident John Pitkin said, “For years I’ve witnessed how reductions in street parking have drained diversity and local business activity from Harvard Square, Inman Square and Cambridge Street. Streets make city life possible. They are essential infrastructure for residents and businesses.”
“This is not just about Porter Square or one neighborhood. The City’s plan to install cookie-cutter bike lanes across the city excludes too many people and has already done too much damage. The City needs to take a hard look at how the new lanes are actually working and come up with a fairer plan that more people can support,” Pitkin said.
Jenkins concluded, “If the City of Cambridge continues moving forward with this process, which will effectively close many small, locally-owned businesses, what do we think will happen to the vacant spaces left behind? Cambridge is already over-developed with out-of-town and deep-pocketed interests having their way with the City Council. We need the people we elect to stand up for us, but instead they’re making decisions that will shut us down.”
This post was updated June 10, 2022, with copies of the lawsuit and “impound” request provided by Universal Hub.
“quiet side street neighborhoods will become de facto parking areas”
I always love statements like this because its a tacit admission that cars are terrible and we don’t want them on “our” streets, keep them confined to other peoples streets.
Well good luck going up against the Big bicycle lobby. They make big pharma or the big defense contractors look like kitty cats.
Is there a way we the citizens can donate money to help you?
Of course our family still tries to shop, dine get hair cuts etc as much as possible on mass Ave.
Sadly we don’t travel north on mass ave anymore at rush hour as the traffic has exploded. To note we tried the 77 and the bus sat behind a truck loading in the bus lane then the 77 Bus merged into the car parking lot I mean lane and we just sat there. Umm no thanks.
Someone said lessons were learned and improvements will be implemented on the remainder and that the jk (junior kindergarten) design will be fixed in north Cambridge.
Time will tell…
PS
A is there a bicycle safety course bicyclists have to pass?
B is there a standard lighting, helmet safety equipment required?
C are motorized scooters, skateboards etc allowed in the bike bus auto sidewalk or all areas?
D are bicyclists supposed to use the rules of the road. You know stop at red lights or not?
Seriously have no idea seems like the Wild West.
@prc Cars don’t follow the rules either. You see cars running lights that have already turned red all the time. Like every light, every time.
Don’t drivers know that they have to stop at red lights? Don’t they know that they need to follow the rules?
Big Bike Lobby? Do you know how silly that sounds? Bigger than pharma and defense? Are you serious?
The reason why bike lanes are gaining traction is that they make sense. They save lives. Sorry for your bit of inconvenience.
“Cambridge Streets for All” must mean “Cambridge Streets for Drivers, That’s All”.
Frankd I’m not talking about auto drivers. They can and do get tickets if running a red light. I’ve personally witnessed that. On the other hand I’ve never seen a bicyclist “pulled over”.
It’s an honest question you answer with deflecting. I honestly don’t know. Some bicyclists tell me it’s ok to run a red light after stopping and looking, some tell me glide through, some tell me to obey the rules of the road.
So what is it Frankd?
Personally, I think it’s pretty obvious that car dependence is a scourge on society given its impact on climate and traffic deaths, but I’d be willing to hear these businesses out if they put together a coherent evidence-based argument. So far, it’s purely reactionary.
Regardless of what you think of bike lanes, this is the dumbest lawsuit.
Apparently I missed the part of the law where parking is a right.
I don’t understand how this turned into a tribal war, I sincerely do not. When I learned about the extreme (not pejorative, simply descriptive) changes happening in North Cambridge I was concerned, primarily, with accessibility for the elderly and folks with mobility issues. When I mentioned this, as a reasonably calm and appropriate person, I got shouted down and met with utter disdain from both the city and the bike lobby (ok, I did say “shame on you” to the traffic folks during a meeting where they took zero responsibility for the problem and even less interest in any opinion other than their own). I am not exaggerating. Utter disdain. Anytime I’ve broached the subject I’ve been treated like an ignorant, uninformed, second-class citizen. Hey bike people I’M ON YOUR SIDE!!! Please don’t treat me like the enemy because I have questions and concerns. I WANT BIKE LANES! In fact I want better bike lanes than the still way too scary ones that you guys are fighting for.
Other than the January 6th seditionists I have not encountered a group so dedicated to preaching to, and living in the bubble of, the choir. I’m a bleeding heart liberal, for crying out loud – not your enemy. I want stakeholders to talk to each other, when did that become radical?
My patience with these obstructionists is over. I won’t compromise on my personal safety; any business that supports this I will never patronize again.
I was a regular customer at Violette bakery, thought their mint thin cookie was especially good and I am not even vegan. Too bad
@prc Nonsense. I see drivers running red lights every single day. I never see anyone pulled over.
Bike lanes do NOT hurt business. This has been shown over and over again. And even if they did, lives are more important than business. And lives are certainly more important than the convenience of drivers.
Came here for the comments, was not disappointed. Pennywise is please.
Yesterday I was driving north on Mass Ave (just north of Porter Sq) and a bike crossed Mass Ave diagonally from my right by driving the WRONG WAY across my lane, toward oncoming traffic, with no traffic lights having stopped anyone. No wonder bikers get hurt. And for this, Cambridge is putting people out of business.
The fact that the litigants desire anonymity speaks volumes about their character. If you can’t stand up and let your neighbors know who you are, then stay out of municipal affairs.
It also begs the question of who is putting up the money for this suit. It reeks of culture war.
Car culture is out of control–destroying our planet and our cities and more. If you can’t fathom that alternatives are necessary, then you need to stop and take a good look around. Drivers behave as badly or worse than cyclists these days.
Having had a friend killed in a bike accident, I have no sympathy for those who don’t care. Bike lane construction must be reasonable, but it cannot abandon the mission of saving lives.
+1 Joseph Levendusky You have it exactly right.
I also have a friend who was killed in a bike accident and another one that will never be the same.
Cars are killing people and killing our planet. Something has to change.
And yes, studies show that drivers behave badly too, worse than cyclists. Drivers speed, talk on their phone, run red lights. It is why thousands of pedestrians are killed by cars every year in the US alone. Virtually no pedestrians are killed by bikes.
Ann studies have shown again and again that bike lanes do NOT hurt business. You may want to park nearby because you don’t want to walk a block or two. But not everyone feels that way. 2/3rds of Cambridge shoppers do not use cars.
Are we going to continue to allow cars to destroy our cities and planet just because drivers don’t want to be slightly inconvenienced?
Joseph, I’m part of the lawsuit and I’m not hiding it. However the cyclists have been extremely active in attacking retailers on line who are against Quick Build bike lanes and I don’t blame them for being a little bit wary. On the other hand I don’t care who knows how I stand on the issue because no boycott will hurt me more than what the removal of between 60-100% of my parking will do to my business. As for the issue of safety, yes it is important that everyone has a safe way to travel. However sticking up those stupid Quick Build posts do absolutely nothing for true safety as any car out of control would run right over them. What the people involved in the lawsuit are asking for is to stop Quick Build and first do some complete studies and then build bike lanes that won’t simply take away all of the parking for retailers. I’m sorry you’ve lost a friend on a bike but the reality is that in the Porter Square area, the risk of you getting killed by a car if you are riding in the marked bike lanes is just about zero. In the 40 years I’ve been located here there has been one death of a cyclist but he was not actually in the clearly marked bike lane. The odds are better you will get hit by a bolt of lightning while riding a bike.
I’ve been driving hybrid cars for 16 years. I’m aware of what damage is being done to the environment, but if the environment is your concern, the half billion dollars it is going to cost to fully build out the mandated 25 miles of bike lanes in the city could purchase at least 13,000 Chevy Bolts which could be distributed to every family in the city earning less than $75,000/year. That would make a much bigger difference in the environment than setting up bike/bus lanes that do nothing but create traffic jams that lead to more pollution. Incidentally 80% of MY customers come from out of town. 85% of my income comes from customers outside of Cambridge. More than 60% of my customers are over the age of 60. My customers have no way to get to me except by car. But hey. Who cares about some merchant on Mass Ave. Better to get him out of the way so there’s more room to build two million dollar condos that no one but the wealthy can afford.
Well said Daniel. Well said.
If environmental damage is a real concern, then the bikes fold should lobby to get more mass transit built. It runs year-round, can be used by many, and drives up the socia-economics of society. But the environmental concern is just the disguise the bike lobby has. They just want their lane, and anyone who opposes them is ignorant, backward, an environment hater, etc. This is the liberal class that says we are welcoming and open as long as you are completely aligned with us. The same liberal class that will preach about the environment, but then will go and trade crypto, the mining of which is 1000X worse than driving a car. The same liberal class that will order bottled water from Amazon delivered to their house and claim they are saving the environment by recycling the bottle. (Not that buying from the store is any better, but they can’t because they don’t have a car. The irony, I know).
And ask for questions of getting bikers tickets for not following the rules, the only answer @FrankD has is he sees cars jumping red lights. First, we know that total BS because if that was true, it would be playing bumper cars at interactions. And second, your best answer really is – hey they are doing it, so hence I will do it too. Really??
Seriously, let us know how we can support the lawsuit financially.
@EastCamb No BS. A fact. Stand at a major intersection in Cambridge. The light turns red and several cars will still drive through it. You see that every day—all the time. And drivers turn into crosswalks without looking, they talk on their cell phones, etc. Do a Google search on “increase in reckless driving”. Tell me what you find.
@Daniel Spirer Obviously, a Quick Build bike lane will not protect you from an out-of-control car. Out-of-control cars can also drive through a storefront too. The bike lanes separate bikes from car traffic. That dramatically reduces accidents. This has been proven over and over again. I would think it would be common sense.
As for the chances of being killed on a bike being near zero. Nonsense. First of all, it isn’t just deaths. People have life-altering injuries after being struck by cars (like my friend). The Cambridge Police say that a bike is hit by a car every two days. Actuarial tables show that for every accident, there are several HUNDRED near misses.
Cars kill and injure people and they are killing our planet. But I guess what’s really important is your business.
And, BTW, if your business is being killed by the loss of a few nearby parking spots, I have to question your business model.
I also suggest you Google “Do bike lanes hurt or help business”. Tell me what you find.
One of the guys on the lawsuit tried the same thing in Inman Square. He lost. This lawsuit will fail too. It is nothing more than a temper tantrum that will put $$ in the pockets of lawyers.
I have a business tip for you. If you want to do better business, stop telling people online that it is too difficult to shop at your store without parking. You are discouraging customers. 2/3 of Cambridge shoppers do not use cars.
@EastCamb Do you need evidence that drivers don’t follow the rules? OK.
How about this?
Cyclists violate traffic law no more than drivers, new data shows
https://whyy.org/articles/cyclists-violate-traffic-law-no-more-than-drivers-new-data-shows/
Or this?
Study: On Streets With Bike Lanes, Cyclists Break the Law 13 Times Less Often Than Drivers
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a27456430/cycling-laws-bike-lanes/
And what about this?
Pedestrian Deaths Spike in U.S. as Reckless Driving Surges
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/us/pedestrian-deaths-pandemic.html
And this?
Reckless driving is fueling a surge in traffic deaths across Maine
https://bangordailynews.com/2022/03/14/news/reckless-driving-is-fueling-a-surge-in-traffic-deaths-across-maine/
And this too
Reckless Driving a National Problem
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2022/02/15/back-in-the-news-reckless-driving-a-national-problem/
Is this BS too?
I am a 76 year old woman walking with a cane on the sidewalk, and almost got hit at a stop sign by a bike turning right from the street to the sidewalk without stopping.
All bikes need to be licensed and riders too, after completing a course in safe and legal riding.
I live in North Cambridge where the bus lane starts. If anyone thinks taking out parking and putting in bike & bus lanes is going to stop global warming, they’re living in a fantasy world. Cars being back up does not reduce pollution. All this is doing is harming businesses, professional offices, restaurants, the elderly & the disabled. I consistently see more bikes going through red lights & stop signs than I’ve ever seen from cars.
So as usual Frankd can’t answer an honest question. Business owners like violette spirer Phil’s up and down mass Ave serving local and distant customers for decades are the route of all evil because they are trying to protect their businesses. Good gracious you are the poster child for regressive.
I would prefer to spend a half billion on the skyrocketing opioid deaths. The #s are not even close in terms of how many lives would could be saved.
https://www.cambridgeday.com/2022/06/10/with-a-near-tripling-of-cambridge-opioid-deaths-call-is-heard-to-return-resources-diverted-to-covid/
Let’s not forget that the bus lane as well as the T run along the exact path the quick destruction lanes are being put on top of lol. Wouldn’t the goal be to fully utilize public transportation. 500b is still 500b geez. Wait so now if you ride public transportation and not a bike you are part of the problem lol.
Guess this is so progressive it’s regressive. Sigh
@prc. Bike lanes do NOT hurt businesses. This has been studied over and over again. The answer is clear. Do a Google search on “do bike lanes hurt or help local business”. Tell me what you find.
Business is bad all over. Haven’t you noticed? Supply issues, inflation, covid, etc. These business owners say the bike lanes are to blame. They are wrong. They are scapegoating the bike lanes but the bike lanes are not to blame.
Studies show that business owners vastly overestimate the amount of their business depends on nearby parking. In one study, business owners said 50%. The actual number was 8%.
The root of all evil is lazy, privileged people who don’t want to change the status quo because it might inconvenience them a bit. The root of all evil is the kind of self-centeredness that makes people think the parking and driving convenience are more important than people’s lives.
And there is no reason we can’t make streets safer and address other problems (like the opioid crisis as well. That is a false tradeoff.
Finally, bike lanes make streets safer for everyone. Studies have shown. Look it up.
East Camb. Why in the world are you living in Cambridge if you keep taking about “liberals” in such a nasty tone. Are you unaware that Biden was elected in Cambridge by 93%? This is a liberal city. Why don’t you move?
Madmann1 – I consider myself a liberal. I voted for Biden and have always voted (D). However, in some cases, the pendulum swings too far to the right. If you want any proof, look at all the polls nationwide telling us how bad our a** will be whipped in the mid-term. This is a perfect example of why liberals like me feel the pendulum has swung too far to the right. If you cannot see it, there is nothing I can do or type here or even talk to you over drinks about it. But it will be reflected in November, and we will still be saying.. HTF did that happen.
Correct Eastcamb the extremes of the party have swung too far which is clear in the wipeout predicted coming in November. After pres Carter it was 12yrs Republican rule.
With severely misinformed and or delusional people like Frankd demanding to literally spend 500m dollars 1/2 billion! on plastic pylons, while imploding traffic and hurting small local businesses all at the same time rather than a laundry list of other pressing needs.
Good gracious.
Correct Joyce Judy etc the bicyclists have no rules, fines, training, certification, permits, required safety equipment. We just need to sit and watch a main commercial corridor (our home lifeblood) get torn up. Ugh