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

[Eric Mearns]

Karen,
Your issue is with automobiles and motorists.  Without them, gridlock
is impossible.
I realize this sounds simplistic, but so is taking non-motorists to
task because you saw a traffic jam.
I don't think anybody wants an ambulance or a firetruck to be delayed.
 All the more reason to ride a bike instead of taking up an absurd
amount of space by driving a car.
Also, the mission of the Mass is not to piss of as many people as
possible.  If it were, we be so far away from achieving the mission
that most of the ridership would have already left to join the
Westboro Baptist Church.  Riding bicycles doesn't really piss off
anybody except for the occasional cab driver.
Anyway, you should ride with us next month, you'd like it.  And I also
think you should ditch that car of yours, it's holding you back, man.
Motorist Karen seems kind of like an uptight middle school librarian
with little regard for youthful exuberance, whereas Bicyclist Karen
seems more like a laid back older sister who has cool Fleetwood Mac
posters in her room and buys beer for her underage siblings.  I want
to party with Bicyclist Karen, not Motorist Karen!





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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