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© 2021 The Somerville Times. All rights reserved.
Compromise is often a hard thing to achieve. Especially when those with opposing points of view assume an intractable stance on an issue. Still, sometimes there is simply no other way to function and move forward unless some common ground is established.
One thing that all of us should be able to agree on is that everyone who travels on our city streets should feel that they can do so in safety and without undue restriction or impediment in their movements from place to place.
Cycling has grown in popularity and practice in recent years, and the numbers of those who commute to and from work or school, go shopping, or simply take leisurely rides on their bikes has grown considerably. It is a trend that has taken hold nationwide.
City planners are working hard to design practical solutions to the needs of both. Certain streets will be easier to modify for more cycling than others. In many cases, it will be up to the operators of each mode of transport to make way for the other.
Both motor vehicles and bikes are here to stay. There has to be a concerted effort made to accommodate each mode of transportation on our roadways. Let’s do our best to make it work out well.
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The issue is that the two modes of travel are not treated fairly. When I get into my car, partly for my own safety, I must have a seat belt, an inspection sticker certifying that my vehicle can be used safely on public streets, a registration sticker/license plate certifying that my car has been registered with the state, a state-issued license, I must pay a yearly excise tax and gas taxes when I purchase gas, and I must pay tolls on certain roads. If I am transporting a baby or young child I must have a car seat that meets federal safety requirements, and replace it at least twice as the child ages. All of these requirements are very expensive, and none of these are required for bicyclists. And yet the bicycle advocates have been given a seat at the table, make demands for what they need/want, and the city placates them every time. We need to require bicyclists wear helmets, take a certification course to learn the rules of the road and safety regulations, and receive a state-issued license plate for identification. We also need to make the little boxes attached to bikes for transporting babies and young children illegal. They are unsafe, specifically putting the child at great risk as they are so low to the road that they are not visible, and the child is at the level of the fumes that people rail about from cars. Taking these steps would be a huge step forward to equalizing the treatment of bikers and drivers.
You’re right! They AREN’T treated fairly.
One gets a minimum of about 25 square feet per person of road space, and the other gets about 6.
One has free (or cheap) parking across the city, blocking lines of sight and reducing available road space for either type of transportation. The other has to hunt for someplace to lock up, and if there IS a shared parking area in the roadway, it fits about 15 people’s worth of transport in the same space usually committed to a single vehicle.
One weighs thousands of pounds and damages the roadways, creating and exacerbating potholes. The other doesn’t weight enough to do any damage.
And to me, the most important difference, is one type of vehicle is used primarily by Somerville residents and residents of abutting communities and the other is used by commuters from everywhere, leaving only a sliver of roadway for actual Somerville residents.
If you equalize all of these, I will happily go take a course at the RMV, register my bike (it’s already registered with the SPD), and have a license plate.
I will not, however, give up my cargo bike just because you think it’s a “little box attached to a bike”. I bike very safely and conservatively (the way you want me to!). My children are strapped in with a 3-point harness and are wearing helmets. I don’t understand the visibility issue… are you implying that drivers would be less toxically aggressive if they noticed a child on board? Because that’s just horrible. And I hate to tell you this, but sitting in the compartment of a car does not protect you against breathing in exhaust. Around town, I can make a trip in half the time of driving, which means my child and I are exposed to less fumes. The downside is all on me because the body absorbs more when exerting itself.
The problem is that one needs to have more knowledge of what is going on here. I am on both sides here. There are many good reasons we have cars on the road, it is essential for many of us, not for pleasure. As with biking we have problems on both sides. I have to agree carrying a child in the back would be illegal. You are probably careful, I get that, but a number of people driving are not. It is not worth the risk for my child safety. It’s not you, it’s the other person. There are many reasons, speeding, aggressive driving distracted driving, anyway my child’s life is not worth that. Also the same applies to bikers. I have been hit by more bikers than cars. But yet I go out each day being careful. Since I have biked for over 50 years until mother nature took that away from me I am understanding. I am prescribed a number of pain killers which I refuse to take as I have to be ready in an emergency to get on the road and go. Like most drivers I care. I can’t say everything as there is just so much to say on this and everyone would have to be opened minded about the information I have put together. And just for information purposes we are adding on about 800 more cars per year here. There must be a reason.
I’m with You’re Right.I ride a bike and I drive a car. The city should be charging me a TON more for the car.
“You’re Right!”, I have to LMAO at “I bike very safely and conservatively (the way you want me to!). My children are strapped in with a 3-point harness and are wearing helmets….” – that’s safe?!?!? You’re basically putting your life and your kid’s lives at risk because you want to cycle around city streets that were never designed for bicycling. Those stupid painted bike lanes are a hack meant to thin the herd. Putting your life at risk – go for it, but putting your children’s is plain selfish.I will say a prayer for you and your family Sunday at Church.
I said it before – those painted bike lanes will be gone from streets a generation from now, but in the meantime the carnage on our streets will continue.Bike related fatalities and injuries have skyrocketed – I wonder why!! We need to stop the madness on our streets.
** if you stayed on bike paths or dedicated bike lanes (separated from vehicles) then I would applaud your efforts. It sounds like this is not the case however.
Mr. Union Guy comes off like a total psychotic. No… uh, sir…if you can’t drive your car safely and responsibly on streets that are shared by both cyclists and motorists then it is you who needs to be taken off the road. And no, these painted bike lanes will not be gone a generation from now. Many more, in fact will be present. What won’t be there are dangerous kooks like yourself. So do the world a favor and trade in your smog monster for a Charlie Card—or even a bike. Or better yet just stay home, apart from civilized society. That will be best.
You sure got that right. If this character openly admits he’s planning on running his heap into a bike lane then his driver’s license ought to be revoked immediately. Scary.