Group Of Anti-Bike Business Owners Form In Cambridge

Seems a couple business owners have decided bikes are bad for business and are trying to stop more bike infrastructure from being put in.

Their demands are largely incoherent and factually inaccurate, but they are making them anyway.

The meeting was lively but civil, even when resident Gary Mello alluded to two bicyclist deaths last year that kicked bike lane installation into higher gear and said bicyclists were “exploiting these deaths to advance their own agenda.” The line drew applause. (He explained later that the bicyclists’ agenda was “bike lanes on every street, overwhelming everything else we’ve got.”)

Those people went out and got themselves killed, just to ruin this guys business!  What an idiot he is.

I am pretty sure that if they decide to try and stop bicycle infrastructure we could use the exact same tactics to harm their business. Maybe cyclists stop going to their stores, maybe everyone who supports livable streets stops going to their stores, lets see how that affects their business.

The reality is that there is plenty of public input in these projects with multiple public meetings taking months and months, these folks just didn’t go to them.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Newton Wont Install Bike Lanes To Make The Roads Safer Because The Roads Are Too Dangerous In Newton

This is sort of what I used to hear about kids walking and biking to school…”We can’t let our kids walk and bike to school there is too much traffic near the school.” Why is there traffic near the school…because all the parents dropping their kids off at school.  This is like electing republicans who say that government can’t work, and to prove it they are going to destroy government.

Circular arguments for everyone!

so narrow!

such small tiny lanes

how will we possibly fit a bike lane here?!

Area in question runs from Rt 30 to Otis Street. The “dangerous” section Babcock referred to is from Mill to Elm ie high school

by the way this discussion started 2+ years ago…so this even though the choice they made is probably the wrong one, they did it in record slow time….what I am trying to say here is the whole thing was done in the worst way possible. Wait that might be harsh, what I really mean is that Newton doesn’t understand how to create integrated and safe streets for all residents. If you live and bicycle in Newton you might want to go to a couple of these transportation meetings and let them know how poor of a job they are doing.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Ghost Bike Removed Hours After Installed

In Lincoln apparently even placing a ghost bike is too much for the locals.

From the globe:

More than anything, Erik Limpaecher was surprised.

The Concord resident late Sunday night erected a “ghost bike” along a busy road in the neighboring town of Lincoln, near where a cyclist was killed in a crash on Aug. 17. By Monday morning, the memorial, a stripped-down bike painted a glaring white and adorned with a sign bearing the victim’s name, had vanished.

“I didn’t expect it to be taken down within hours,” said Limpaecher. “It was really disappointing.”

Limpaecher said he spoke to a police officer parked near where the ghost bike had been chained to a stop sign on Virginia Road. The officer told Limpaecher that the bike had been removed by the town, and would need to be placed on private property if he wanted it to stay up.

“The police officer was deferential, and said he appreciated the sentiment, but said some people don’t appreciate having such a stark reminder of a tragedy like that,” said Limpaecher. “I assume they [took it down] because of some interpretation of the town’s laws. But I would hope that they would have empathy for the family of the cyclist, and for the cycling community.”

Insensitive, and problematic. Particularly this little gem:

Higgins said the stop sign chosen as the location is at the corner of a “heavily traveled intersection, where the roadways meet at a sharp angle.”

“A more inappropriate location could not have been chosen,” he said, because it can be distracting to drivers.

Oh you mean like get them to slow down because apparently people are dying in this area while riding their bicycles?

Boston used to do this sort of thing in the bad old days, and it solved nothing and only made the problem worse.

I can’t imagine a worse way to handle this sort of thing, city of Lincoln, get your shit together. Maybe Lincoln can call up the Boston city hall and ask them how to get their heads out of their asses.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Arlington Residents Vote To Reject Millions In Funding For Bike Lanes

Amazing….and ultimately sad.

On Saturday, voters in Arlington proved themselves simultaneously foolish and shortsighted when they attempted to shut down a proposal for bike lanes on a one-mile strip of Massachusetts Avenue. They’re foolish because the vote, essentially, rejects $6.8 million in funding from the state and federal governments. And they’re short-sighted because the installation of bike lanes on some—not all—streets is the future for cities and towns.

A recap: Massachusetts Avenue in East Arlington is a disaster. It’s a chaotic stretch of road with no painted lanes and few cross-walks that’s been the scene of far too many accidents. A few years ago, the town started planning an update for the street, and secured $6.8 million in funding from the state and federal governments. As state senator Ken Donnelly noted, however, MassDOT required that bicycles be accommodated in some fashion, either through bike lanes (which would eliminate one of four lanes of car traffic) or through wider outside car lanes (which would reduce the size of the sidewalks or remove parking).

Read the rest of this article, and try not to pull your hair out.

With the rest of the Boston Metro area running full speed ahead to improve cycling infrastructure, what exactly is wrong with Arlington? It doesn’t take an oracle to see that the future of urban living involves lots and lots of cycling, pedestrian, and public transportation infrastructure. Arlington is almost literally shooting themselves in the foot here. Sad. Lets hope that this non-binding vote isn’t the last one.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Lucas Brunelle’s Line Of Sight DVD Trailer

I know most people will think this is stupid, and dangerous, and it is. But its also a bunch of crazy bikers doing crazy things on film. Before you post your tirade in the comments do know I don’t endorse this sort of behavior, and am posting this because Lucas is from Boston, and this is bike related, and the trailer is awesome. Sometimes other people can do stupid things so you don’t have to.

——

Get the DVD at: http://www.lucasbrunelle.com
LINE OF SIGHT is the inside story of underground bike racing — a rare view into the riding of the best urban athletes in a sport that has become a global phenomenon. The “edge of your seat” footage, all filmed by the controversial Lucas Brunelle will leave you astonished. LINE OF SIGHT presents a view of urban landscapes that never existed before Brunelle put on his customized helmet cams and followed the worlds’ fastest bicycle messengers who use their intimate local knowledge and vehicle-dodging expertise to set an exhilarating pace.

60 min. feature film of the best Lucas Brunelle footage plus extras, outtakes, and a 40 page art book, featuring artwork by Futura 2000, photography and spoke cards from a decade of Alleycat races around the world.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet