The Cambridge city council voted 5-4 in April 2024 to delay the installation of separated bike lanes on Main Street, Cambridge Street and Broadway by 18 months, from early 2026 to late 2027. That summer, three people were killed while cycling. Kim Staley was hit by a truck at Mount Auburn and DeWolfe streets. Minh-Thi Nguyen was hit by a truck at Hampshire and Portland streets. And John Corcoran was hit on the Paul Dudley White bike path by an SUV that jumped the curb.
All three deaths were preventable. All three locations received safety improvements, but after the fact. I watched as, just one block from my office, the Cambridge Department of Transportation installed flex posts at Hampshire and Portland while Minh-Thi’s memorial flowers wilted and blew away in the breeze. But no amount of flex posts can bring the dead back to life – safety improvements need to be made ahead of time.
The thing is, the Department of Transportation already knows where the most dangerous intersections are, and all crash data stretching back to 2015 is available publicly on the Cambridge Open Data Portal. I believe the staff wants to implement these safety interventions, but are being held back by an unfriendly City Council.
That’s why this election season, I’m voting for candidates who will put my safety first.
Ethan Frank, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
And if you share Ethan’s concerns, Cambridge Bicycle Safety has a list of endorsed candidates: https://www.cambridgebikesafety.org/election/
I’m voting for safer streets and more housing this November. There are 6 candidates who have been endorsed by both the pro-housing group (ABC) and the safe streets group (CBS). These are the candidates I will be voting for. In alphabetical order:
Burhan Azeem
Dana Bullister
Marc McGovern
Ned Melanson
Sumbul Siddiqui
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
As a parent of a “bike everywhere” middle schooler, 100% agree. Only ranking the candidates endorsed by the Cambridge Bike Safety action PAC.
I’m shocked there is no safe bike lane coming out of Harvard Square. onto Broadway. What makes it worse is the multitude of tourist buses blocking the bike lane and also taking up one lane of motor traffic