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Uber drivers pull over hoping to quickly pick up their fares on Beacon Street, but often times they end up sitting for several minutes.
By Denise Keniston
On any given day you can find delivery trucks parked in the designated bike lane on Beacon Street while drivers load and/or unload their cargo. Delivery truck drivers have lost much of their parking space in Somerville as bike and bus lanes have been introduced across the city.
Independent delivery driver George Gray says, “Delivery drivers operate on a tight schedule and Somerville, in particular, is a hard city to deliver to because of lack of parking,” he adds, “It’s tough to wait or drive around looking for parking spots when we have up to a dozen or more deliveries to make in a day.”
But cyclists and city leaders have little patience for delivery drivers parking illegally, and instead are now calling for police enforcement. In a recent meeting, Somerville City Councilors discussed ramping-up pressure on the Somerville Police Department to start ticketing delivery drivers parked illegally in bike and bus lanes, especially on Beacon Street.
“It’s taken a decade plus of visioning to get this protected lane on Beacon Street,” says Ward 7 Councilor Katjana Ballantyne. “There’s been a tremendous amount of frustration from cyclists that delivery trucks are always parked. Hence, cyclists are no longer safe because cyclists have to go out into the traffic to go around.”
A small delivery van parks illegally on the Beacon Street bike lane. Drivers say they are often on tight schedules making it hard to search for parking.
Trying to get a driver to move a delivery truck, van, or Uber vehicle while parked in the bike lane is a confrontation most cyclists would rather avoid and cyclists may not feel comfortable alerting the police. Plus, telling one driver at a time – who may or may not listen to you – does not solve a growing problem.
Tom LaMar, Chair of the Somerville Biking Committee, says “mountable curbs” are a big part of the problem on Beacon Street. “Parking in a bike lane is illegal and dangerous, just like parking on a sidewalk, which is why we often rely on vertical curbs to keep cars out,” he says. “Unfortunately, the westbound Beacon St. bike lane uses an outdated design known as a ‘mountable curb’ – a diagonally slanted curb that makes it too easy to drive into the bicycle lane. This lack of clear separation creates a confusing and dangerous situation where Ubers and delivery vehicles often mount the curb and park in the raised bicycle lane, undermining its safety benefits.”
According to the Somerville Traffic Commission’s Traffic Regulations document, updated and released in July 2020, any illegally parked vehicle is subject to fine. A ticket for parking illegally in a bike lane results in a $50 fine.
Ward 2 Councilor J.T. Scott says police enforcement needs to be taken in context. “I think it’s also an important conversation to have as it dovetails with the role of policing,” he says, “And how they’re [police] able to adequately address the needs that the city has. I hope this is taken in the context of the ability to enforce laws and do not lean on a police department that already has other priorities.”
A copy of the Somerville Traffic Commission’s ‘Traffic Regulations’ document can be found online at https://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/current-traffic-regs.pdf.
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When you’re on a tight schedule, you gotta cut a few corners. My uncle and I used to deliver papers, had to hit a dog once because we couldn’t fall short on our delivery quotas. Police said it wasn’t a big deal since they had other priorities and roles and they gave us a bottle of Windex to clean up.
Sounds like the police here have the right idea to not get involved and let drivers hit their quotas/cyclists.
This was talked about in the beginning with the small business owners before it was built. And here we are because the powers that be wanted this their own way and not what would work. It was to be expected. The only way it was to work is to kick out all the businesses. Maybe the city needs people in traffic design that actually know how to do these things. It was never going to work. But most everybody knew that beforehand. And yet here we are.
How did anyone not see this coming?? You remove parking and what did you expect? I can’t wait until the patrons complain because businesses can’t get supplies delivered, or residents complain that their Amazon purchases are no longer being delivered. Because that’s what this will lead to. UPS and Amazon drivers aren’t going to risk a ticket so eventually delivery companies will simply stop coming.
Well, it was inevitable that the scofflaws and just plain selfish idiots would start doing this. Good on the city for cracking down. Any cyclists spotting these morons need to take down plate numbers and report them immediately. Every. Single. Time.
Rather astonishingly, it turns out that space for parking and deliveries is a requirement for businesses in this, the most densely packed city in the blahbityblah. Apparently, using it for dedicated bike lanes (at the exclusion of all other necessary functions) is not always that practical. In the old days there was a bit of give and take and things just worked out. Now it’s just outrage and calls for policing.
I actually like the sloped curve b/c it allows you to go into the street to pass slow cyclists. Also, I find there are lots of clueless pedestrians walking and jogging in the bike lane. Instead of yelling at them to move (pointless if they have headphones in) I just swing onto the street when its safe. The sloped curb allows that.
I bike this route into Boston a few times a week and really the delivery trucks are a nuisance, but I get they need somewhere to park to make deliveries so they don’t really irritate me. The Uber drivers are another story. The worst is Uber Eats b/c the restaurants don’t run the food out to them so they just park in the bike lane (happens a lot on Somerville Ave). I find that really, really irritating. I feel like if a restaurant wants to do Uber Eats, they need to make the food handoff much more efficient
Definitely take photos of these violators’ vehicles when you can, especially catching the license plate nos. Provide the police with plenty of details (place, date, time, etc), and be sure to lodge a FORMAL COMPLAINT. These people are breaking the law and the police can’t ignore it if you make it official. There’s no point in passing laws if both the public and law enforcement blow them off. This is for everyone’s safety.
Seriously? These businesses need Uber Eats, deliveries and customers to survive. People unable to bike and without cars need ride shares. When you order take out do you ask if there is parking for the delivery service that is not in a bike lane before you order? Have you given thought lately to the issue of white privilege, role of police or the ripple effect of Covid. I’m sure you have. A blocked bike lane is an inconvenience. A bike lane is an amenity not a right.
Sorry – when it is legally mandated it is a right. Inconvenient for you or not.
Let’s see…
Make it virtually impossible for businesses already struggling to receive any sort of deliveries whatsoever?
Yep, makes perfect sense to me!
Let’s see…
Is it virtually impossible to park ACROSS THE STREET?
Or in a DRIVEWAY?
Or call shortly ahead of arrival to arrange a swift pickup ALONGSIDE THE BIKE LANE INSTEAD OF ON IT?
You people slay me. At the core of all this bike hate is manipulation by the oil/auto industries, whether you’re conscious of it or not. And sadly, pretty much all of it is unconscious.
Perhaps it’s about time for the bike lane zealots to start paying their fair share of road use taxes. These one-percenters on the road want it all for them without contributing to the cost of having roads dedicated for them. Most bicyclists and drivers know how to share the road and extend courtesies to those who are just trying to make a living during these time. The zealots just want to throw tantrums every time they don’t get their way.
The oil/auto industry shills (the true “one-percenters”) just want to throw tantrums, distortions and outright lies around every time they don’t get their way. And you can save the crocodile tears over the plight of “those who are just trying to make a living during these time” [sic]. Your actual agenda is crystal clear.
So…once more granddads, let’s break it down:
Practically all of us pay taxes, so moot point there.
Far more than one-percent of us use bikes – goes without saying, actually – and the number increases constantly. That’s why designated lanes have become necessary.
The “roads dedicated to them” are commonly referred to as “bike lanes” – something that all modern cities are developing, and at a rapid pace. Anyone who postures themselves as being ignorant of that fact just comes off looking ignorant. Or crooked.
So, my question to you is: are you a paid oil/auto industry shill, an unwitting oil/auto industry dupe, or an unpaid auto/industry shill (which is the most pathetic of all)?
Don’t answer. It doesn’t really matter. You don’t even count.
Well, this is precisely the reason I am so glad I don’t live in Somerville any more. Lived there for 65 years and now live a little further out where there are no bike lanes the bikes use the bike path and bike riders should definately pay road taxes and insurance I am tired of us footin the bill and giving in to their every whim businesses need some parking!
Welcome to somewhere else!
“Thank you for helping each other.”
I think the main reason there is so much mockery of cyclists and their outrage is that anyone who walks or drives through the city deals with the same thing everyday without inundating 311 to complain.
As I learned to do each one, I have walked, biked and driven around Somerville for years. On a very short trip yesterday I had to cross a double yellow line twice to get around parked trucks. Taking the kid for a walk in the stroller I regularly have to move to the bike lane or traffic lane to get around a car spanning the sidewalk.
This is a city, it is what you will pretty much always have to deal with. I am much more worried about the moving vehicles when I ride than the stationary ones.
The issue here is that new curb-management strategies are needed. These businesses (which I go to frequently) need delivery parking – and there are parking spaces outside the businesses that could be used for that (similar to Davis Sq). The city should create delivery zones during certain hours to allow for scheduled deliveries to businesses (ex. noon-4pm, mid-day when traffic is low and residents wouldn’t normally be home using the existing parking).
As for the residential deliveries, there is ample parking during the day (when it’s needed for deliveries) on side streets. It’s laziness and a lack of concern for people riding bikes that leads to these bike lanes getting blocked.
“It’s laziness and a lack of concern for people riding bikes that leads to these bike lanes getting blocked”
I don’t think it is anything specific about bikes as many delivery drivers and ride shares also block street and sidewalks as much as bike lanes.
As for laziness, When your job depends meeting delivery quotas and times, an extra blocks walk is the difference between keeping your job and searching for one during a pandemic. Amazon Prime customers are not usually chill about shipping delays.
With so many people working from home, I see a lot fewer open spaces mid day than prepandemic.