[*BCM*] My thoughts

[David Watson]

MassBike expresses its condolences to family of the rider; we're thinking
about how to respond to this tragedy.

While MassBike does work on projects statewide, much of our activity
actually is in metro Boston.  Not only is our Metro Boston chapter
incredibly involved in local projects (Charles River paths, Longfellow
Bridge, Storrow Drive, Cambridge Road Hazard ID Day, MassBike Spins Ride
Series, etc.), but our office is continually working behind the scenes on
urban issues.  We've been so busy that we haven't had time to update our
website, so the information on our projects and priorities is not current.
The bike safety bill is very relevant to urban riders, dealing with passing,
turning, and dooring.  We're trying to work with the city to make sure that
new road projects include bikes in the plan.  At the National Bike Summit in
DC last month, we asked Congress to appropriate money for the Conserve By
Bike program to encourage people to ride instead of drive on short trips,
and asked them to support the Bicycle Commuter Tax Benefit Act, which would
encourage companies to pay cash incentives to people who ride their bikes to
work.

Because so much of what we do is not immediately visible to the public,
we've been trying harder lately to let everyone know what we're working on.
If you'd like to stay up-to-date or get involved, please subscribe to our
email list at
http://www.mainstreetmail.com/signup/index.php?listID=324&redirect=http://ww
w.massbike.org.

And we are always open to input from you, the riders on the streets every
day.

-David

David Watson
Executive Director
MassBike
171 Milk Street, Suite 33
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617-542-BIKE (2453)
Fax: 617-542-6755
Email: david at massbike.org

MassBike - Better Bicycling for Massachusetts
Visit us at www.massbike.org

  -----Original Message-----
  From: bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org
[mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org]On Behalf Of Ian
Thistle
  Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 1:03 PM
  To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
  Subject: [*BCM*] My thoughts


  So I have been stewing over the last day and here are some points I'd like
to bring up for discussion.

  First, I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the
young man who died.  I didn't know him personally but it seems like I easily
could have.  I'm not sure if his name has been officially released, so I'm
not going to say it, but he was a friend of friends of mine.  It's a
terrible tragedy that I'm sure will stick with us for a long time.

  What I'm upset about is this:  Anyone who rides frequently in Boston could
have told you that the area where he was hit is very dangerous.  One of the
first responses on this list called it a "highway," and I agree.  People
drive very fast and the road is needlessly narrow.  You always have to watch
out for Northeastern / MassArt / SMFA students crossing the street without
warning and yet it's the quickest route from downtown to Mission Hill,
Brookline Village, and so on.

  Sometimes it unfortunately takes a tragedy for things to change.  I'd have
hope that the area would be improved, except the area of Cambridge St where
Kirsten Malone was killed three years ago (if I remember correctly) is still
just as dangerous as it was the day she died.  Similarly, anyone could have
told you that area was really dangerous before she was killed.

  Now, MassBike does some good things, but for a cycling advocacy group,
they haven't done much to make things better for cyclists in the city (at
least that I can tell in the four and a half years I've lived here).  One of
their major recent victories was securing $40 million of funds for bike
paths (link here).  Most of these are in the rest of the state, and the ones
that are in the Boston area aren't ones I will ever ride, nor do most of my
biking friends.  I don't want to stereotype, but they seem to mainly be for
"weekend warriors" rather than commuters.  No matter who rides them, bike
paths are in my opinion counter to the safety of cyclists, since they get
overwhelmed by joggers and rollerbladers and they reinforce the idea to
drivers that cyclists belong off the road.

  I don't want to pin it all on MassBike, as I fully support a lot of the
things they are doing.  I guess what I'm mostly looking for is some way to
get my voice heard, as a cyclist on the streets of Boston who sees the city
as needlessly forboding to cyclists.

  Lastly, I wanted to voice to everyone that while being scared to ride is a
natural and understandable reaction to this death, that they shouldn't stop
riding.  Fewer bikes on the streets makes it harder for everyone still
riding, not to mention increasing pollution and lowering personal health.

  Be safe,
  Ian
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