Boston

Cyclists Union

P.O. Box 301394 Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 617-620-1989

June 26, 2013

Thomas F. Broderick, P.E., Chief Engineer MassDOT 10 Park Plaza Boston, MA 02116 Attn: Bridge Project Management, Project File No. 606376 Re: Cambridge Street bridge reconstruction Dear Mr. Broderick, This letter is meant to supplement the joint letter co-signed by the Boston Cyclists Union and other concerned organizations and citizens. The Bike Union is encouraged greatly by this projects incorporation of buffered bike lanes in its first publicly shared iteration. Their inclusion shows real progress toward making safe and enjoyable bike infrastructure the standard in the projects the department designs and oversees. However, as is nearly always the case when public input is asked for, a few improvements to the plan can further that shared goal. The simplest of these would be to include physical separation of some kind between cyclists and trafficwhich often travels at extremely high speeds (50+ mph) over the Cambridge Street bridge. Adding this for the full length of the buffered bike lane would create a facility proven to be far safera cycletrack. Many municipalities are considering physical separation whenever speeds exceed 30mph, due to the increased risk of death when cyclists and vehicles inevitably come into conflict. Cambridge Street in this area, including on the actual bridge, has been the site of multiple fatal pedestrian and cyclist deaths over the last decade. A variety of physical barriers can serve to correct this danger, such as plastic flexposts (removable varieties are available to aid in snowplowing and street cleaning), seasonal planters such as those offered by Sybertech Waste Reduction Ltd. (swrl.com), or even grade separation, placing the cycletrack at the sidewalk level or between the sidewalk and street level. Narrowing travel lanes to 10 feet across the distance of the bridge might also help calm traffic to more reasonable speeds for a street with high pedestrian and bicycle demand and relative risk. There is also high pedestrian and cyclist demand for the Franklin Street footbridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike, reinforced by sharrows installed by the City of Boston that signify Franklin Street as a preferred bike route. Accessing the footbridge is currently an extreme hazard for cyclists coming from Harvard Ave., Highgate Street and Linden Street, the latter two being relatively safer and highly popular alternatives to highly trafficked Harvard Ave. It is understood that there is a grade difference at one of the possible crossing points, that it serves safety to create one crossing point instead of many, and that there are visibility challenges for vehicles cresting the bridge just before the crossingbut it is clear that the demand is so high that it would actually be detrimental to safety not to design a crossing at Highgate or Linden, since people will certainly continue to take the risk.

Boston Cyclists Union

P.O. Box 301394 Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 617-620-1989

Lastlyall bicycle facilities are only as good as their weakest link. Not connecting the cycletrack between Linden Street and Harvard Avenue on either side of the street severely reduces the invitation to bike on Cambridge Street for the great majority of cyclists. Safety is the primary concern for thousands of would-be cyclists, and MassDOTs own GreenDOT goals include prioritizing the completion of critical pedestrian & bicycle gaps of which this would quickly become upon completion of the project. It has not been clearly explained nor shown why an increase in vehicular travel lanes is needed on Cambridge Street (an increase referred to in meetings as related to the 18 Intersections Project) that would force the need for two lanes on the Cambridge bound side of Cambridge St. from Harvard to Linden; nor have traffic volumes for turning movements in the opposite direction (as Cambridge Street meets Harvard Ave.) been provided to justify the need for turning lanes in either direction as well as a through lane. Due to this intersections long history in the bike community and the neighborhood as one of the most dangerous crossings for bikes the city, the Bike Union formally here requests those traffic volumes and any other justification for this five-lane cross section, and asks that every effort be made to find a solution that will deliver cyclists safely to and from the Harvard Avenue intersection, without a break in the cycletrack where it is most needed. Thank you for your continuing efforts to create a safer environment for people who bike in Massachusetts. Sincerely,

Pete Stidman Executive Director pete@bostoncyclistsunion.org