[*BCM*] reconsider routes to prevent public safety threat

[Jeremy Chase]

Karen,

I can absolutely identify with your point of view, but I also relate
to the responses you have received so far. I ride my bikes every day
for local transport, but will drive when I am leaving the city or am
moving garishly large cargo.

The dangerous condition that resulted from the gridlock, in my mind,
is the lesser of the problems here. I'm not foolish enough to think
that the bikes weren't causing gridlock while blocking intersections,
but any true gridlock(blocked streets) at other intersections was
caused by automobiles that decided to block the intersection, just as
we decided to block our intersections.

I believe the larger problem is the ineffective way CM communicates
with the public, and the animosity created. We want people to see
bikes as transportation, but the most education we give to people who
ask is a terse shout. I suppose these thoughts are more for other CM
riders, but I'm starting to think that when asked we should stop,
talk, and educate..

Jeremy Chase



On 9/1/07, Karen Martakos <kmartakos at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi, guys -
>
> While I'm not a Crititcal Mass participant, I am an
> avid cyclist in the greater Boston area. I do
> understand the need for more bike-friendly roadways
> around here. I am, however, also a motorist. So, I see
> things from both sides. Any mature person with an
> ounce of common sense should understand that
> activities that generate more hard feelings against
> cyclists from the average citzen are not going to help
> our efforts.
>
> During your most recent ride ( August 31), you rode
> down Tremont St. through the South End. I  know
> because I was walking through the neighborhood at the
> time. What you may or may not realize is that by
> blocking this portion of Tremont St, you caused a
> gridlock that spread 6 blocks away, onto other major
> roadways in the area. See, most streets in that
> neighborhood are one-way, all eventually leading to
> Tremont St. If a long section of Tremont is
> obstructed, it causes severe backup onto Shawmut Ave.
> & East Berkeley.
>
> Why should you care about this? Because, while
> Critical Mass claims that they will make way for
> emergency vehicles, how could you possibly know about
> an emergency vehicle that is stuck 4 blocks away in
> the gridlock that you created? Drawing attention to
> cycling issues by riding en mass through the city is
> one thing; completely locking in an entire
> neighborhood is something entirely different.
>
> These activities only serve to generate further
> hostility towards cyclists. This is the primary reason
> why I do not participate in your rides. While I do
> follow any efforts to improve conditions for
> alternative transportation, I don't believe that your
> methods are effective.
>
> Perhaps if you consider your routes more carefully, to
> prevent the type of public safety threat that you
> caused in the South End last Friday, you'd have more
> support.
>
> There is no progress without dilalogue. There is no
> dilague when your mission is solely to piss off as
> many people as possible.
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Jeremy Chase
Founder, Chase Software Limited Inc.