Do Not Delay on Safe, Sustainable Mobility in Cambridge

We are facing a transportation crisis in Massachusetts, etched onto our streets with each tragic incident that unfolds.

Just three weeks ago, a four-year-old girl was struck and killed by a pickup truck in South Boston. Days later, a man in a wheelchair died in a crash with a cement truck. Near South Station, a third person was struck by another vehicle.

Amidst these painful events across Boston, Cambridge faces significant challenges, too. Last year alone, there were hundreds of collisions — many involving pedestrians and cyclists — on our streets.

These aren’t just “accidents,” but reflections of policy failures — lethal ones. It is our mandate to rectify this harm.

We have already developed an answer to this crisis: Vision Zero, an ambitious plan the city adopted in 2016, aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities through improved infrastructure design. Another critical step toward realizing this vision was an ordinance dedicated to enhancing safety for cyclists. In 2019, Cambridge committed to installing protected bike lanes, becoming the first city in the U.S. to do so.

I’m reminded of the urgency of Vision Zero every day when I pass by the “ghost bike” in the Square, which commemorates the cyclist killed by a tractor-trailer there in 2020. If we already have the solution to our transportation crisis, we need the leadership and intention to implement it.

Yet today, only some elected officials are aligned with these goals. Earlier this month, three city councilors — Paul F. Toner, Joan F. Pickett, and Ayesha M. Wilson — proposed a policy order to suspend bike lane installation on major corridors throughout the city. From Cambridge St. to Main St. to Broadway, the affected thoroughfares are ones that cyclists use daily.

Such an order would have life-threatening impacts, and those seeking this delay risk future tragedies on our streets.

Contrary to the arguments supporting a delay, Cambridge’s mobility culture is shifting. In 2015, we were the only city in the nation with over 100,000 residents where over 30 percent of commuters walked or biked to work, and our share of commuters who bike has only grown since then. Not only have we seen a dramatic upswing in the number of people taking trips by bike over the past decade, but safe-cycling candidates also retained a majority in last November’s city council election.

I believe this is not because of driver shame or guilt, but because people are genuinely excited about effective modes of transportation beyond driving. The November election demonstrated that transportation is a crucial issue for Cambridge residents.

Research shows that installing protected bike lanes can improve safety in places like Cambridge St. by reducing vehicle speeds and crosswalk distances; the Boston Cyclists Union has argued that people feel safer riding in and around Cambridge neighborhoods with these lanes.

And in places like Hoboken, Vision Zero policies led to incredible improvements in pedestrian safety and zero traffic deaths in seven consecutive years.

So, why delay on safer streets? Why continue to stall when life-saving solutions are apparent and when 60 percent of Cambridge residents supported constructing additional bike lanes in 2018?

The progress and goals set in Cambridge did not come about naturally nor without effort; we made much of this progress in just the last few years. Organizers and elected officials took proactive steps to ensure our laws reflected our values. Community-led movements have made — and will continue to make — our streets more livable and vibrant. Mobility justice goes hand-in-hand with these goals, pushing for people-first, sustainable, multimodal transportation.

Everyone should be able to use our streets with dignity. Ahead of potential efforts to stop bike lanes, we must urge City staff and the City Council to remain steadfast in their commitment to street safety. Let’s continue to fight for sustainable, just mobility.

Clyve Lawrence ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Government concentrator in Adams House.