There’s a question of balance around bike lanes, concept for safety and access pushed too far
Cambridge is a bike-friendly city, and that’s a good thing. Cyclists who use public lanes for commuting, exercise and recreation deserve a safe route where they can move about unimpeded and without fear of being hit by a car or truck.
On the other hand, vendors, small businesses and places of worship argue that ubiquitous bike lanes make it harder for individuals to access their place of work, leisure or worship. In other words, the issue isn’t black and white. But here’s the thing: If Cambridge is to remain a haven for local retailers, service providers, restaurants, bars and cultural, ethnic and religious organizations, we need to do more to ensure safe access to communal spaces for all. Making Cambridge a space that is inviting to all means maintaining a delicate balance, and right now the city is actively alienating large swaths of people by taking a concept intended to promote safety and accessibility and pushing it too far. This is not balance.
Construction of bike lanes in Cambridge began in 2004 with a project on Vassar Street, with another on Concord Avenue following soon after. Now, almost two decades later, Cambridge is ranked 123 out of 1,236 cities worldwide by People for Bikes, a nonprofit that ranks cities based on a variety of factors including presence of bike lanes, traffic and safety. You don’t have to be a data analytics expert to see that Cambridge is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world.
This is something to be proud of. With climate change posing more of a threat to our planet now than ever before, focusing on alternatives to car-centric city planning should continue to be a priority for lawmakers.
But there’s a question of balance. A city is made up of countless pieces and components, each making it the unique place that it is. Cambridge is no different, and the diversity of this city in all its forms remains its greatest asset. Almost 30 percent of Cambridge residents were born in a foreign country, more than 40 percent are people of color, more than 20 percent speak a language other than English and 4.5 percent of people under the age of 65 identify as disabled. The city is also home to more than 5,600 private businesses.
And there’s solid evidence that poorly planned bike lanes can be harmful to the community. Take North Cambridge barbershop Fast Phil’s, which was founded in 2004 by longtime friends Cindy Hughes and Philip Soccorso. With 90 percent of customers driving to their appointments, Hughes’ and Soccorso’s livelihood is dependent on accessible parking. But when parking spaces were removed to make room for a bike lane on Massachusetts Avenue, Fast Phil’s saw its business plummet by roughly 40 percent. City Paint, a local paint shop with two Cambridge locations that has been in operation for more than 40 years, has also experienced a drop in business because of the way bike lanes are configured on Massachusetts Avenue. With the City Council having approved a plan in 2020 for 25 miles of new bike lanes by 2026, there aren’t any signs things are going to change.
Places of worship can also be affected. Cambridge is home to multiple churches, synagogues and mosques, including the Islamic Society of Boston, the largest mosque in New England; the First Church in Cambridge, which was founded in the 1630s; and the Holy Trinity Armenian Church, one of only a handful of Armenian churches in the area. With 68.7 percent of Cambridge residents possessing a car, it’s inevitable that a significant number of worshippers, especially those who are older, rely on nearby parking to attend services and large events such as weddings and funerals. In a city as religiously diverse as ours, we should be doing everything in our power to allow worshippers in all denominations to access their places of worship safely and enjoy religious freedom.
Cambridge isn’t the only city in the United States experiencing challenges and growing pains over bike lanes. In 2015, the United House of Prayer in Washington, D.C., was involved in a dispute about accessibility to parking close to the church. In neighboring Belmont, bike lanes on Concord Avenue have completely changed the safety dynamics of the town’s busiest street.
Cambridge is a sanctuary: a sanctuary for cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, a sanctuary for immigrants, a sanctuary for small business, a sanctuary for cyclists. Maintaining a sanctuary such as ours means maintaining a balance – making sure no one group’s interests are given more weight than another’s. Advocating for the interests of any one part of our community doesn’t have to mean advocating against those of another; it’s just a part of keeping that balance. Bike lanes in Cambridge aren’t inherently bad. Damaging the livelihoods of small-business owners is. Placing seniors and disabled persons at risk is. And disrupting safe access to places of worship is.
Vasken Kouzouian is pastor of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Greater Boston on Brattle Street in West Cambridge.
Thank you for this letter Pastor.
Unfortunately they / big bike lobby will boycott your place of worship if you utter any contrarian opinion. Tread lightly.
Of course it’s gone to far, any reasonable person can see this. Most all want / love bike lanes. The design and implementation of these are wrecking balls not only for the small businesses places of worship also seniors and handicap but also the very street pavement is already peeling up from the red war paint.
Akin to how cps was first to close and last to reopen schools and now wonder why enrollment, scores, mental health plummeted.
It’s almost as if now it’s the citizens turn to be tossed aside with no foresight.
Glad the city got a great price and is doing on the cheap though….
Would love to see a separate ballot measure with the bike lane design and cost on an up or down vote before this proceeded. I know it all got vaguely approved yrs ago and we must abide by that or else.
“Advocating for the interests of any one part of our community doesn’t have to mean advocating against those of another”
Sometimes, however, it does. There is limited space and sometimes sacrifices will have to be made. In North Cambridge, parking was reduced(not entirely removed) to make adequate space for safe bike lanes. Both Fast Phil’s and City Paint have parking outside of their businesses as well as side street parking. It’s funny to me that Fast Phil’s has seen 90% of their customers arrive by car since the lanes were installed, if that’s the case, the were obviously able to park.
As for 68% of Cambridge households(not residents) having a car, they also have access to residential parking passes and can park anywhere in the neighborhoods surrounding their destination. I’m one of the households that has a car, but I also don’t drive within Cambridge very often. You’ll find me and my partner biking, walking, or taking the T to get where we’re going.
And for disability access, CSO projects have only increased the number of disability parking spaces in their project areas. Remember too that many people with disabilities are unable to drive and would benefit from improvements such as the dedicated bus lanes more than increased parking.
“Maintaining a sanctuary such as ours means maintaining a balance – making sure no one group’s interests are given more weight than another’s.”
That sounds nice, but the “balance” has long been make everything as fast, safe, and convenient for motorists as is possible at the expense of everyone else. What we are seeing now is only a slight shift away from that and many motorists are already crying that it’s not fair to them.
It’s worth noting that:
1. The city made sure to keep the parking in front of the church on Brattle Street, as you can see here: https://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/Files/Traffic/2022/brattlest/brattlest_phase2_rollplot_medium01.jpg
2. The Holy Trinity Armenian Church was part of the Cambridge Streets For All lawsuit that asked to remove every single bike lane in the city. Specifically the Executive Director, Alison Ekizian presented an affidavit which says it was approved by Vasken Kouzouian.
“Balance” indeed.
Wait, this the same pastor who was aggressively yelling on Zoom at the Brattle Street meetings? Because I remember being floored that a pastor would act like that, he was threatening the city staff and berating them… almost seems like a different person wrote this for him or something
I remember him complaining that the bike lanes would put the church out of business because they make all of their money from weddings and funerals (even though they have their own driveways and lot)
It looks like the city bent over backwards to work with them, and parking seems to be fine on Brattle now. Is this really about the ability to worship, or are you acting in ‘bad faith’, Pastor?
This article makes it sound like cyclists are not part of the fabric of Cambridge. Cyclists visit local retailers, service providers, restaurants, bars and cultural, ethnic and religious organizations. There are disabled cyclists and senior cyclists. Safer roads do not mean that one has advocated for a single group at the expense of others. Characterizing it this way is an attempt at othering people who happen not to be in a car. People in all of the damaged groups listed above can and do cycle.
Many businesses, including Fast Phil’s, have experienced a decrease in business over the last few years. It may be tempting to blame the decline on the bike lanes, but there’s plenty of side street parking which remains available, and plenty of other reasons why business may have declined.
Brattle Street is a good example of bike lanes going in where the city worked hard to preserve parking for the church, handicapped parking, and loading zones as needed for all of the various abutters.
Cars have been the #1 priority for decades and look what it got us: congestion, pollution, noise, 40,000+ people killed every year in car accidents, inflated real estate prices because of parking requirements, and global warming.
Balance is what the bike lanes are achieving.
They are making streets safe and available for non-drivers so that everyone is not forced to drive everywhere.
Let’s be clear: There is no evidence that bike lanes are harming business. Zero. Business is bad all over because of things like inflation. I heard on NPR this AM that more people are drinking at home because of inflation. Should we blame that on the bike lanes too??
These claims that bike lanes are killing businesses are false. All available data shows that bike lanes do NOT hurt businesses. In fact, they typically help businesses by increasing foot traffic. Studies show that cars are more likely to drive through neighborhoods while cyclists are more like to stop and shop.
Fast Phil’s own website directs people to nearby parking. If their business depends on a few parking spots on Mass Ave that they don’t own or have any control over, they made a bad business decision.
On some streets, like Hampshire St, cyclists *outnumber* drivers. Should we not take their safety into account? In fact, bike lanes have been shown to reduce accidents and injuries for ALL road users including drivers because they calm traffic.
The bike lanes include (and actually increased) disability parking spots and made allowances for churches and loading zones.
Sorry, Vasken Kouzouian, “balance” is not “I’ve always had it my way and now I don’t want to share”. A large proportion of people use bicycles for transportation, including people who can’t afford cars. And they are getting around without contributing to climate change.
@Vasken Kouzouian
Talking to the owner of Fast Phil’s is not “solid evidence”. Solid evidence is data, not one person’s opinion. Opinion is not evidence at all. Never has been, never will be.
Bike lanes save lives. I find it funny to hear a pastor prioritizing parking convenience over lives.
This pastor was part of a lawsuit to remove all bike lanes from Cambridge. The majority of Cambridge voters are in favor of bike lanes. “Balance” is not “I want things my way”.
@prc
What is the “big bike lobby”? People who want to use the streets without being hurt or killed? The only lobby I see is people trying to overturn the majority of Cambridge voters.
Bike lanes were not “vaguely approved”. Pro-bike lane councilors were elected and re-elected across three elections.
wow, a balanced letter about bikes! well done Pastor!