05/31/2017
Cambridge Main Library at Broadway / Trowbridge St (8:31 pm)
Inman Square at Vellucci Plaza / Hampshire St (8:48 pm)
One of the weird side effects of great innovation is the careless copycat. I thought about this idea the other day when I heard a comment that although today it is easier to start a great company than ever before, it also means that it is easier to start a bad company than ever before. The point is that if the first step doesn't discriminate between those likely to achieve good or bad outcomes, making it easier to take the first step will increase the eventual result of both good and bad outcomes.
I suspect something along these lines happens at times with our bike lanes. The analogy here would mean that a carelessly implemented idea for a new bike lane may or may not result in improved cycling safety. I think about this anytime a perfectly good on-street bike lane gives way to a glamorous, multi-million dollar reconstruction. These shiny new bike lanes often seem to accomplish nothing except wasted money and increased danger to biker, driver, and pedestrian. What adds further insult to the increased risk of injury is how these construction projects take place despite being mere blocks away from far more significant infrastructure problems - giant potholes, faded paint on existing bike lanes, or poorly defined and ill-protected crosswalks.
When the new Western Ave bike lane won awards, it should have come with a warning - one size does not fit all. The process of allocating infrastructure resources should prioritize solving simple but significant issues in obvious problem areas ahead of funding glitzy incremental improvements that are designed to catch the eye of national magazines. As May wraps up, in Cambridge those problem areas include Mass Ave between City Hall and Harvard Square, the two-lane sections of Mass Ave between Porter Square and Arlington, and Prospect Street running between Inman and Central Squares. Those are the places that feature plenty of bike traffic despite poorly defined bike spaces. Those are the places to allocate resources. The 'Hollywood' projects of separated or elevated lanes along already safe roads can wait.
Of course, with all the money poured into Western Ave, I don't expect Cambridge has enough leftover for even the paintbrush needed to repaint a bike lane - my two cents might represent a significant portion of its remaining infrastructure funds. Logically, this means us cycling idealists should keep our hopes up only for Somerville, Cambridge's noisy neighbor and a city I've always felt demonstrated a far more pragmatic approach to its road construction projects. If you'd asked me at this time last year, I would have said Somerville's philosophy is generally to let us ride until repairs are absolutely necessary.
However, on this 2017 trip I admit to myself that recent events are perhaps forcing me to revise my view. Since my start with Hubway in 2015, I've always enjoyed finding excuses to zip southeast from Porter Square down the well paved and cleanly marked bike lane on Beacon Street. This small pleasure was taken away from me in 2016 when MassDOT started road construction and rendered Beacon Street impassable. I wasn't necessarily against the idea because theoretically the new construction on Beacon would greatly improve biking safety - but I'd also never felt unsafe on any prior ride. The construction forced me to take a regular detour onto Somerville Ave, the street that Beacon Street originates from, and as far as I could tell there was never any difference in the safety of Somerville Ave today and the safety of Beacon Street prior to the start of this project.
I recently left the bike in the dock and took a walk down Beacon Street. As far as my untrained eye could see, improved safety did not appear to be a very likely outcome of this project. The new elevated bike lane is bumpier than its on-street predecessor. It also pushes cyclists closer to perpendicular side streets, forcing me to wonder if this project ensures a collision in my future involving a clueless car rolling through the stop-sign free bike lane. Of course, there is still plenty of time - Beacon Street is shut down once again this spring to bike traffic and perhaps the delay means improvements are being implemented in the coming months. I'm not optimistic, but I'll remain open to the possibility.
In the meantime, I continue to zip with no issues up and down Somerville Ave. The street is wide, the bike lanes are clearly marked, and the drivers are aware of their surroundings. Here, the fancy and expensive solutions of elevated or separated bike lanes would feel like overkill.
