Mural Ride, Protected Bike Lanes, Member Discounts and more!

Mural Ride

On August 10th, come socialize, ride bikes and visit murals throughout Boston! It will be a slow, 10-mile roll to check out 8-10 murals in Boston, with the option to finish at Coppersmith in Southie for refreshing New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza beer and food. Along the way, ride leaders will share a brief background of each mural and artist, so you can learn more about the interesting artwork lining our city streets.

Please note: We will not be providing on-site tools, like pumps or chain lube, so please make sure your bike is tuned up before the ride. If you need any repairs ahead of time, you can visit the Dudley Bike Workshop on Tuesdays from 3:30-7:30, or a Bike to Market event (full calendar on website).

Standing up for protected bike lanes. Literally.

This month, we sent a powerful signal that protected bike lanes (PBLs) save lives. More than 120 people joined us to stage people-protected bike lanes on Park Drive and Fenway to protest the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s decision against providing physical separation for cyclists on those roads. The following week, we helped organize a Critical Mass-style ride on Memorial Drive to demonstrate against another DCR plan, which fails to provide adequate, safe spaces for all modes along that parkway. Both actions received widespread, favorable coverage, elevating bike safety in the public consciousness, shaping the narrative around this issue, and building pressure on officials to act. In conjunction with these actions, we also testified at a DCR stewardship meeting about the need for the agency to update its approach to PBLs and/or cede control to agencies with more resources to handle road design. We’ve received encouraging feedback from both DCR and lawmakers, and plan to continue this conversation until PBLs are the norm, not the exception, on our parkways and greenways.

New Member Discount Partner!

We’re excited to add a new name to our member’s list: Cleenland! Cleeland is a Cambridge business and is a one-stop shop for low-waste, refillable personal and home care supplies ranging from clay masks to eco-friendly, compostable food wrap. Cleeland is now offering Bike Union members 10% off their purchases, so drop by and check them out!

Need to renew membership, or become a member?

Another Big Win: The Charles River Dam / Craigie Bridge Redesign

Protected bike lanes arecoming soon to the Charles River Dam / Craigie Bridge! This is an ideal outcome won through our collective action. Despite November’s fatal bike crash in this area, original plans called only for painted bike lanes. However, that changed after we mobilized a mass turnout to a December meeting about this project and placed pressure on MassDOT to develop a safer alternative. Thank you to everyone who spoke out on this project, either at that meeting or in written remarks! Your feedback is directly responsible for making this new, better design possible.

Make the Case for Better Ride-Hailing Regulations

Boston receives a flat $0.10 per Uber/Lyft trip that starts in the city. A bill under consideration at the State House would change that, setting a variable fee that accounts for distance, demand, and whether the ride is shared or solo. The result: A fee that better reflects the impact to our streets of so-called transportation network companies (TNCs), while providing cities like Boston with crucial revenue to reinvest in mass transit, street improvements, and new bike infrastructure. Mayor Walsh testified in support of this bill in July, and we stand with the mayor in urging state lawmakers to pass it this session. To help boost this bill’s odds of passage, we encourage you to write to your representatives and others with authority over this bill. You can find more info on how to get involved here.

Boston Presents an Ideal Plan for Tremont St.

After months of organizing and lobbying, we were thrilled to see the Boston Transportation Department announce a plan for Tremont St. that includes several key safety features, including parking-protected bike lanes and a road diet. This is a huge win for bike safety, and it was all made possible thanks to the many advocates who showed up and spoke up over the last year and a half of the planning process. Our work isn’t done until these changes are on the ground though, and with some mild pushback from pro-parking advocates emerging since BTD’s announcement it’s important that we remain engaged and encourage the city to make this design final. (Info on how to stay involvedhere.) The Tremont St. design includes so many of the complete streets elements that we are advocating for across the City, and it can serve as an example and inspiration to other planning processes underway. If this design is implemented, we are hopeful to see more like it!