[*BCM*] Re: Bostoncriticalmass Digest, Vol 12, Issue 7

[J Magnusson]

Good luck, Rob!  

I got ticketed last summer for the same thing, also in
the heart of Central Square, for similar reasons.  I
fought it in the courthouse, just after another
cyclist arguing her case for the same reason, and we
both managed to get the tickets changed to warnings.

However, I had to argue hard, and I also invoked the
name of Dana Laird, which unfortunately has become
almost a catchphrase, albeit a painful one. for the
dangers of cycling in Central Square. I think the idea
of calling Cambridge Traffic upon seeing dangers is a
great idea; I also think it is HIGH time MassBikes or
some bike coalition, or just a bunch of us cyclists,
had a real heart-to-heart w/ City Council about the
lack of cyclist safety measures in Cambridge and the
unbalanced, unfair targeting of cyclists instead of
cars or pedestrians.  

Any suggestions on how to really (and constructively)
make them see the light?

Julia

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> Today's Topics:
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>    1. Central Square Crackdown (Robert Arnold)
>    2. Re: Central Square Crackdown
> (contraelolvido at riseup.net)
>    3. Re: Central Square Crackdown (Robert Arnold)
>    4. Re: Central Square Crackdown (Dan Barrett)
>    5. Re: Central Square Crackdown (Robert Arnold)
>    6. Re: Central Square Crackdown (Vlet)
>    7. Re: Central Square Crackdown (Lee Peters)
>    8. Re: Central Square Crackdown (turtle)
> 
> 
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:29:16 -0400
> From: Robert Arnold <rsarnold at gmail.com>
> Subject: [*BCM*] Central Square Crackdown
> To: Boston Critical Mass
> <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
> Message-ID:
> <dada885c050623092916d65a59 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252
> 
> On the eve of June's Critical Mass, the Cambridge
> Police have begun a
> major crackdown in Central Square, issuing tickets
> en masse for minor
> infractions. But only for cyclists. If you care,
> please read the
> letter below which I intend to read at my appeal
> hearing and offer any
> suggestions. And maybe we can stop outside the
> courthouse tomorrow and
> take up a chant.
> 
> rob
> 
> ***
> If the City of Cambridge finds it necessary to
> unfairly target
> cyclists such as myself who did, in fact, stop at a
> traffic light—and
> only proceeded through the intersection because it
> was more dangerous
> to remain where I was stopped than continue
> through—I imagine it's
> their right. However, I wish to appeal the unfair
> circumstances of my
> citation, and moreover, to protest the type of
> ridiculous crackdown
> the Cambridge Police Department deems fit to impose.
> Perhaps, as this
> crackdown suggests, cyclists are a hazard to the
> lives of the several
> thousand motorists rocketing through Central Square
> on an hourly
> basis. I'm sure the statistics will indicate that
> many motorists are
> killed annually by wayward cyclists, thus
> necessitating such strict
> police intervention. I wish that were the city we
> live in. The truth,
> however, as anyone who reads the newspaper knows, is
> quite different.
> 
> Even more than the spurious circumstances of my own
> citation, I'm
> protesting the willing disregard for dangerous and
> potentially deadly
> traffic violations that were occurring all around me
> even as the young
> officer was issuing my citation. 1) Not five yards
> away from that
> intersection, a car sat parked in the bike lane,
> forcing cyclists
> (myself included) to make a sudden dodge directly
> into moving traffic,
> ironically endangering themselves further to avoid
> being seriously
> injured or killed by the parked car; 2) Directly in
> front of me, a
> garbage truck pulled into the bike lane despite a
> heavy and highly
> visible police presence; 3) All throughout the
> Square, pedestrians
> were crossing mid-block and outside of marked
> crosswalks, forcing more
> cyclists to dodge between cars to avoid injury to
> themselves and to
> the individuals on foot. None of these flagrant and
> illegal actions
> were subject to the same discriminatory crackdown.
> None of these
> incidents, which I pointed out to the arresting
> officer, were
> investigated or similarly cited. Indeed, the officer
> specifically
> justified the garbage truck's right to be in the
> bike lane, never mind
> our proximity to the site where, in July of 2002,
> Dana Laird was
> killed as she swerved to avoid a similarly
> obstructed bicycle lane.
> Nothing has been done to improve the safety of
> bicycle lanes through
> Central Square, and yet it is the cyclists who are
> being targeted
> above all others. The liability implications are
> staggering.
> 
> That kind of hazy law enforcement, I hope you'll
> see, is ill-advised,
> ill-mannered, and potentially illegal. What the City
> of Cambridge
> fails to understand is that these behaviors
> mentioned above—behaviors
> that the officers find it fit to justify or
> ignore—sometimes
> necessitate the type of cycling practices the
> Cambridge Police are in
> fact targeting. In my case, I stopped late for the
> light because I had
> just swerved out of the way of the aforementioned
> parked vehicle in
> the bike lane. This action forced me to begin
> braking for the light at
> a later point than I would normally and, when I did
> stop, I had
> already partially entered the intersection. Rather
> than make myself
> vulnerable to crossing traffic, I waited until it
> was clear and safe,
> and proceeded through the intersection at a slow,
> measured pace,
> something pedestrians were doing directly in front
> of these officers
> without reprimand. Not only did these officers stop
> me without cause,
> they failed to defend my rights as a citizen to keep
> myself safe in a
> hazardous and unpredictable traffic situation, a
> situation implicitly
> sanctioned by the police because of their failure to
> keep the bike
> lane clear and their failure, above all, to care for
> the lives and
> physical well-being of upstanding citizens like
> myself who are guilty
> simply of choosing to ride a bicycle.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:44:12 -0400 (EDT)
> From: contraelolvido at riseup.net
> Subject: Re: [*BCM*] Central Square Crackdown
> To: "Boston Critical Mass"
> <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
> Message-ID:
>
<1265.contraelolvido.1119545052.squirrel at mail.riseup.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> I might add that the 'crackdown' on bicyclists is
> directly in proportion
> with the (more distrubing and more illegal) policy
> of random traffic stops
> for motor vehicles. One can only assume that the
> police feel the need to
> randomly screen bicyclists as well as drivers to
> uh.... prevent drunk
> driving... ya that's it.
> 
> How much are the tickets for and are you given a
> warning the fist time?
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> 
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