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Health & Fitness

Concerns raised about Bike and Pedestrian Safety in Somerville

Somerville, MA, May 20, 2014 – As temperatures continue to climb, residents are taking to the streets, and to their bicycles, to enjoy the new weather or to get to work. More on this story!

Somerville Neighborhood News recently did a news story on how their are Concerns raised about Bike and Pedestrian Safety in Somerville.

Somerville Biking SNN Video link

Somerville, MA, May 20, 2014 – As temperatures continue to climb, residents are taking to the streets, and to their bicycles, to enjoy the new weather or to get to work.

The 2013 city bicycle count notes an increase of 16 percent in the number of bikers since 2012. 

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“The 2013 numbers indicate another massive bump in cycling,” the Fall 20013 Bicycle and Pedestrian Count report notes. “This also means an increase by over 80% since 2010.”

Counters tallied 450 cyclists per hour at “hotspots” like along Beacon Street.

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But more bicyclists can mean more potential accidents for bikers, walkers and drivers.

“Safety concerns are a mix,” City of Somerville Senior Transportation Planner Sarah Spicer told Somerville Neighborhood News. “It is certainly partly education. Making sure that everybody knows what the rules are so that they can use our streets in the correct fashion.”

One of the rules that appears to be relatively unknown, or at least less than fully respected, is the state law prohibiting the riding of bicycles on sidewalks in business districts. Union Square resident Greg Hill, who uses a cane, has been complaining to authorities for several years about the phenomenon.

“Sidewalk cycling has been an ongoing problem in the business districts and the city and the city has not really come to grips with it,” said Hill, who has been videotaping and photographing rule-breakers for the past three years. “What is really needed is really needed is an extensive, multilingual, far-reaching, bicycle/pedestrian education program.”

Other problems, according to police and to Spicer, include drivers who do not yield to bicyclists, or who drive in the bike lanes, and bicyclists who ride through intersections on a red light or during a “Walk” signal, which is illegal. 

The city has an education program, although it is currently conducted in English only. The city has posters, does education at schools, and also reaches out online. 

“We do make sure to cover all areas of the city and try to talk to as many people as we can,” Spicer said. “Having more posters, more outreach is a great idea, and that’s something we’re always looking to do. Having them in other languages, definitely also a good idea.”

Catching law-breakers is also part of the solution, according to Spicer.

Police Captain Stephen Carrabino, East District Captain and also the liaison to the bike safety committee, is also a biker. He rides to and from work every day, all year ‘round. But he also tries to stop bikers he sees breaking the laws.  

“I am out there just about every morning and I’m actually writing tickets,” he said. “I just want people to be safe.”

The city has four bicycle police officers, but needs more, according to Carrabino. 

“Drivers sometimes don’t respect cyclists and we’re trying to change that as well,” Carrabino said. “We want the cars to stay in their space, and the bicyclists hopefully stay in the bike lane. However, it’s not required that a bicyclist stay in that lane.”

The State Department of Transportation is also concerned about bike safety. Secretary of Transportation Richard A. Davey visited Somerville on May 15 to kick off a video contest called “Safe Streets – Smart Trips.”

“I’m here today to announce and interesting project,” Davey told the mayor, school officials and a group of students. “We’re going to be asking students across the state… to come up with innovative safety videos to help us get the message out about sharing the road.”

“It’s really important that we all respect each other in the multi-modal world that we’re working to create,” Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said. “We plan on being the most bikeable and walkable community in the nation, and make no doubt, that will happen!”

City of Somerville Bike Safety page - http://faqs.somervillema.intelligovsoftware.com/bike1.aspx

Contest - http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/safe-streets-smart-trips-video-contest-announced/

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