Residents Criticize New Bike Lane Proposal on Broadway

The City of Cambridge unveiled its plan to add separated bike lanes on a portion of Broadway on Tuesday — and was immediately met with criticism from residents.

This project is a continuation of the city’s Cycling Safety Ordinance, which requires Cambridge to install 25 miles of separated bike lanes by Nov. 1, 2026. City officials presented the proposal, which decreases parking between Portland St. and Columbia St. by 60 percent to make space for protected bike lanes, at a Tuesday evening meeting.

During the meeting, nearly a dozen Cambridge residents voiced their concerns about the decrease in street parking.

“I am very worried about parking,” resident Jeremy Gilbert said. “A lot of people are going to be inconvenienced or possibly not find these neighborhoods livable as a result of not being able to find parking.”

Before the meeting, flyer were placed on the windshields of cars along Broadway, calling for residents to sign a petition to reject the city’s proposal.

“We already have bike lanes on Mass Ave, Cambridge & Hampshire Streets,” the flyer read. “We say enough! We are asking the city for a balanced & inclusive transportation policy that respects ALL residents of Mid-Cambridge & The Port.”

The City Council returned the deadline to complete the bike lanes to 2026 following the deaths of bikers Kim Staley and Min-Thi Nguyen in June 2024 and John H. Corcoran ’84 in Sept. 2024.

The separated lanes on Broadway would be a “quick build project,” according to Andreas W. Wolfe, a Cambridge Street Design Project Manager.

“Quick build projects can be installed within months, even weeks, depending on the duration,” he said. “Quick build projects are what help us complete these projects within a timely manner and within the expectations of the cycling safety ordinance.”

The project is slated to begin the installation of bike lanes between Portland St. and Columbia St. this summer, with a second round of installations between Columbia St. and Quincy St. in the spring of 2026.

Wolfe said Broadway currently lacks “all ages and abilities” bicycle facilities and committed to installing barriers between bike lanes and traffic.

“We have a mix of what are called painted lanes, which is a lane sandwiched between parking and a travel lane. Then we have many sections with no dedicated bike lane,” Wolfe said. “When you’re biking on Broadway today, you’re competing with drivers for that space.”

Wolfe acknowledged the parking space decrease as one of the “key trade offs” to create space for the separated lanes.

“In order to get that space, you have to take that space from somewhere else, and in the case of Broadway, that’s one side of the parking,” Wolfe said.

Residents, however, remained skeptical.

“Most residents do not have private driveways, so the removal of so much parking is very discriminatory,” resident Renee Marie Chipman said.

Residents have the opportunity to fill out an online feedback survey for the project on the city’s website. There will also be two upcoming Community Open Houses on Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.

​​—Staff writer Jack B. Reardon can be reached at jack.reardon@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @JackBReardon.

— Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at shawn.boehmer@thecrimson.com.