by David Taber

Mapping out priorities was at the top of the agenda for the city’s official bicycle advocacy committee Jan. 16, when they held their first meeting of the year in the basement of City Hall.

“There are always more things to do than we have time for,” said Somerville Bicycle Committee chairman, Alan T. Moore.

The committee plans to map out a cross-city, on-street bike route to
run parallel to the future route of the proposed Community Bike Path
extension, and to explore strategies to promote bicycle riding as a
safe and healthy means for students to commute to and from school, he
said.

They also plan to keep abreast of developments around Somer- ville, including Assembly Square and the MaxPak site, to ensure accommodations for bicyclists are included in construction plans, he said.

The committee will also advocate for the construction of a safe bike route to establish continuity in the Mystic river bike path, currently bisected by Route 28, Moore said.   

The bicycle committee recommended, based on a proposal by Somerville Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Stephen P. Winslow, that the city request that Union Square be included in a study being conducted by the state-run Central Planning Transportation Staff, he said.

The study focuses on changes to improve conditions for pedes- trians and bikers, Moore said.

Winslow said the study might help devise a way to connect the bike route on Somerville Avenue to that on Washington Street, on the other side of the square.

Even if these plans pan out, there is still plenty of work to do in that area.

“The thing is it will probably be a $10,000 study where a $400,000 study is needed,” he said.

While the Somerville Bicycle Committee is strictly an advisory committee and does not have any statutory authority, members work closely with Winslow, who has been Pedestrian Coordinator since 2003. The committee is a great help to him in his efforts, especially when they focus on specific issues, he said.

“Ideas are easy to generate, to implement them is more time consuming,” he said.

He encourages the committee to take on more specific, small-scale projects, and to work with the city to see them through, he said. 

“He is getting busier and busier, so there are issues one might think Steve, as bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, can handle, but he was expressing that he could use more volunteering from committee members,” Moore said.

The committee hopes to develop stronger relationships in the coming year with other city departments, such as the Department of Public Works, the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, and the Police and School Departments. In part, so they can support Winslow more effectively, Moore said.

Committee members said they are interested in promoting biking to school; Winslow said recommended that members encourage the school department to let schools know that Safe Routes to Schools funding is available from the state. 

“All the principals have to do is ask,” he said.

Committee member, Ron Newman volunteered to create a proposal for an on-street bike route to parallel the future route of the community path. This construction would fulfill his dream of a flat, cross-town bike route, he said.

Once the committee has that proposal they will approach the DPW and other departments to see if they can get signs, and other accommodations, installed to direct cyclists and to ensure the route is safe, Moore said.      

According to the description of the committee on the City of Somerville Website, represen-tatives from these and other city departments sit on the committee, but Winslow said they rarely show up for meetings unless they are specifically invited and he does not know if all of those positions have ever been filled.

Moore said it is hard for committee members to keep in contact with city departments because they all work during the day, when city offices are open.  But, he said, despite everything, the committee has been relatively successful.

“I don’t think we have ever shied away or left anything that is important to do,” Moore said.

Winslow said the proof of the committee’s success was in the proverbial pudding.

According to census reports, in 2000, 1200 Somerville residents biked to work, an increase from 842 in 1990, Winslow said.

‚ÄúIt‚Äôs not a huge number, but it‚Äôs significant in the sense that surrounding communities did not see the same increase,‚Äù he said.