[*BCM*] reconsider routes to prevent public safety threat

[Jon Ramos]

I have seen slow moving funeral processions that cause gridlock for blocks... and blocks... and you don't hear many people gripe about it when cars are creating the gridlock.  In our case, when riding down Tremont Street we were a funeral procession of bicycles.  We paused for a moment, held our bikes over our heads, and walked past the site where a bicyclist was struck and killed by an SUV on Tremont street.  If you noticed a bit of extra traffic down Tremont it was because of the group's pause for a fallen cyclist at that location.
 
Furthermore, I would like to state that we do not CAUSE traffic, we simply ARE traffic.  We have as much right to use those roads as any car, despite how much of a hurry you are in.  If you are running late for something important you should have planned to leave earlier rather than wait till the last possible minute.  If there was a car accident, or breakdown, or funeral, or basically anything happening on your route, you would be late because of that... So do not blame bicyclists for causing delays, do not honk your horn at us, do not curse or shake your fist at us, because there are a million reasons that traffic can happen (and most of the reasons are due to cars!)  
 
- Jon
If you want to avoid being late, next time take your bike!  They are more consistent than those pesky cars!


----- Original Message ----
From: Eric Mearns <ericmearns at gmail.com>
To: Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 2, 2007 3:30:33 PM
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] reconsider routes to prevent public safety threat


Karen,
Your issue is with automobiles and motorists.  Without them, gridlock
is impossible.
I realize this sounds simplistic, but so is taking non-motorists to
task because you saw a traffic jam.
I don't think anybody wants an ambulance or a firetruck to be delayed.
All the more reason to ride a bike instead of taking up an absurd
amount of space by driving a car.
Also, the mission of the Mass is not to piss of as many people as
possible.  If it were, we be so far away from achieving the mission
that most of the ridership would have already left to join the
Westboro Baptist Church.  Riding bicycles doesn't really piss off
anybody except for the occasional cab driver.
Anyway, you should ride with us next month, you'd like it.  And I also
think you should ditch that car of yours, it's holding you back, man.
Motorist Karen seems kind of like an uptight middle school librarian
with little regard for youthful exuberance, whereas Bicyclist Karen
seems more like a laid back older sister who has cool Fleetwood Mac
posters in her room and buys beer for her underage siblings.  I want
to party with Bicyclist Karen, not Motorist Karen!





On 9/1/07, Karen Martakos <kmartakos at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi, guys -
>
> While I'm not a Crititcal Mass participant, I am an
> avid cyclist in the greater Boston area. I do
> understand the need for more bike-friendly roadways
> around here. I am, however, also a motorist. So, I see
> things from both sides. Any mature person with an
> ounce of common sense should understand that
> activities that generate more hard feelings against
> cyclists from the average citzen are not going to help
> our efforts.
>
> During your most recent ride ( August 31), you rode
> down Tremont St. through the South End. I  know
> because I was walking through the neighborhood at the
> time. What you may or may not realize is that by
> blocking this portion of Tremont St, you caused a
> gridlock that spread 6 blocks away, onto other major
> roadways in the area. See, most streets in that
> neighborhood are one-way, all eventually leading to
> Tremont St. If a long section of Tremont is
> obstructed, it causes severe backup onto Shawmut Ave.
> & East Berkeley.
>
> Why should you care about this? Because, while
> Critical Mass claims that they will make way for
> emergency vehicles, how could you possibly know about
> an emergency vehicle that is stuck 4 blocks away in
> the gridlock that you created? Drawing attention to
> cycling issues by riding en mass through the city is
> one thing; completely locking in an entire
> neighborhood is something entirely different.
>
> These activities only serve to generate further
> hostility towards cyclists. This is the primary reason
> why I do not participate in your rides. While I do
> follow any efforts to improve conditions for
> alternative transportation, I don't believe that your
> methods are effective.
>
> Perhaps if you consider your routes more carefully, to
> prevent the type of public safety threat that you
> caused in the South End last Friday, you'd have more
> support.
>
> There is no progress without dilalogue. There is no
> dilague when your mission is solely to piss off as
> many people as possible.
>
>
>
>
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