[BCM] My thoughts

Thu Apr 5 14:28:56 EDT 2007

Well said!

________________________________

From: bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org [mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org] On Behalf Of Jon Ramos
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 2:21 PM
To: Boston Critical Mass
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] My thoughts

I am ALL FOR a Malden ride.  I bike commute to Boston from Maden, and it has been my experience that drivers in Malden, Medford, Everett are not concerned / aware enough about cyclists in their area.

- Jon

----- Original Message ----
From: Basil Sharpe <bsharpe at redcoatpublishing.com>
To: Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 5, 2007 1:22:34 PM
Subject: RE: [*BCM*] My thoughts

It’s not just Boston that needs more awareness to Cyclist.  So do areas such as Medford and Malden .    On the March 07 ride and as we got to Harvard Square , I heard a few folks suggest that the CM ride go to Medford instead of the usual ride to Cambridge Brookline etc.   I can tell you first hand after riding home from Beverly to Medford for the past 4 plus years, it’s these close proximity towns to Boston drivers who could also stand to learn a thing or two regarding bicycles.   Time and Time again people in this Medford Malden area respond to Bicycles as if they are for kids and belong on the sidewalk.  In fact, a Medford cop told me this once.   I know Crit Mass can’t do everything but I just want to float the idea to going to Medford because I think Medford people need in a far more desperate way than Cambridge or Brookline people do to be exposed to Crit Mass.   Cambridge people are far more accepting to bicycles than Medford people are.  And Medford is in very close proximity to Boston .  A ride here could be a good thing.   I’ve just found that people in Cambridge and Brookline are more accepting to cyclists than Medford people are.    To go to Medford with a crit mass ride would just spread the idea that much more and could be very rewarding.

Basil

________________________________

From: bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org [mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org] On Behalf Of Ian Thistle
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 1:03 PM
To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
Subject: [*BCM*] My thoughts

So I have been stewing over the last day and here are some points I'd like to bring up for discussion.

First, I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the young man who died.  I didn't know him personally but it seems like I easily could have.  I'm not sure if his name has been officially released, so I'm not going to say it, but he was a friend of friends of mine.  It's a terrible tragedy that I'm sure will stick with us for a long time. 

What I'm upset about is this:  Anyone who rides frequently in Boston could have told you that the area where he was hit is very dangerous.  One of the first responses on this list called it a "highway," and I agree.  People drive very fast and the road is needlessly narrow.  You always have to watch out for Northeastern / MassArt / SMFA students crossing the street without warning and yet it's the quickest route from downtown to Mission Hill, Brookline Village , and so on.   

Sometimes it unfortunately takes a tragedy for things to change.  I'd have hope that the area would be improved, except the area of Cambridge St where Kirsten Malone was killed three years ago (if I remember correctly) is still just as dangerous as it was the day she died.  Similarly, anyone could have told you that area was really dangerous before she was killed. 

Now, MassBike does some good things, but for a cycling advocacy group, they haven't done much to make things better for cyclists in the city (at least that I can tell in the four and a half years I've lived here).  One of their major recent victories was securing $40 million of funds for bike paths (link here) <http://www.massbike.org/projects/federal_bikepath_funding.htm> .  Most of these are in the rest of the state, and the ones that are in the Boston area aren't ones I will ever ride, nor do most of my biking friends.  I don't want to stereotype, but they seem to mainly be for "weekend warriors" rather than commuters.  No matter who rides them, bike paths are in my opinion counter to the safety of cyclists, since they get overwhelmed by joggers and rollerbladers and they reinforce the idea to drivers that cyclists belong off the road.  

I don't want to pin it all on MassBike, as I fully support a lot of the things they are doing.  I guess what I'm mostly looking for is some way to get my voice heard, as a cyclist on the streets of Boston who sees the city as needlessly forboding to cyclists. 

Lastly, I wanted to voice to everyone that while being scared to ride is a natural and understandable reaction to this death, that they shouldn't stop riding.  Fewer bikes on the streets makes it harder for everyone still riding, not to mention increasing pollution and lowering personal health. 

Be safe,
Ian

"This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use or action taken in reliance upon this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify sender immediately [by replying to this email or by telephone at 312-236-4090] and delete the message and any attachments from your system. Any statements or opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the sender's employer, its affiliated companies or any other person. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be timely, secure, error or virus free. The sender accepts no responsibility for any of the foregoing." 

_______________________________________________
Boston Critical Mass mailing list
list at bostoncriticalmass.org
http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list
To unsubscribe email list-unsubscribe at bostoncriticalmass.org

________________________________

8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
with theYahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.

"This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use or action taken in reliance upon this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify sender immediately [by replying to this email or by telephone at 312-236-4090] and delete the message and any attachments from your system. Any statements or opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the sender's employer, its affiliated companies or any other person. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be timely, secure, error or virus free. The sender accepts no responsibility for any of the foregoing."
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.bostoncoop.net/pipermail/bostoncriticalmass/attachments/20070405/6097f2cc/attachment.htm