Earlier this month, the Middlesex District Attorney released a statement that road design was not a factor in the 2016 fatal crash in Porter Square. This is patently false. Anyone who walks or bikes through Porter knows how dangerous it can be.
There is no disputing the fact that in the case of Joe Lavins, and Amanda Phillips in Inman Square, protected bike infrastructure would have saved their lives.
Come rally and show that we #DemandMore. We demand safer Squares that are designed for less than 20 MPH speeds, instead of hoping that people follow the speed limit. We demand a city-wide network of protected bike lanes as specified in the Cambridge Bicycle Plan within the next 5 years so we’re not left with #BikeLanesToNowhere.
SCHEDULE:
5:30 PM: Gather (mingle, kid’s crafts, art displays, music)
6:00 PM: Rally beings
6:30 PM: People-protected bike lanes begin on Somerville Ave & Mass Ave
RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/686778251516652/
>>> We #DemandMore <<<
** A Porter Square with protected bike lanes by the end of 2018
** A Porter Square with dramatic traffic calming for pedestrians by the end of 2018
** A network of protected bike lanes across Cambridge within 5 years
Read more about the network of protected bike lanes and why they are needed: http://www.cambridgebikesafety.org/mission
>>> WHY? <<<
**In 2016, two members of our community were killed in Porter Square by drivers -- Joe Lavins while biking and Marcie Mitler while walking. Unfortunately, planned safety improvements have been delayed and are inadequate.
** Porter, Inman, Harvard and Central Squares are dangerous by design and it’s long past time that it be redesigned to prioritize safety for people walking and biking. While the city deserves credit for including protected bike lanes in the design for Inman Square, Porter Square’s proposed changes include no protection whatsover.
** Since 2015, at least seven bicyclists and pedestrians have been killed in crashes on streets in Cambridge, many while walking or biking in our city’s Squares. Emergency responders are called to a crash involving a bicycle and a vehicle almost every other day in Cambridge.
** In the last four months alone, a high school teacher crossing Mass Ave in Central Square was struck and killed, and a high school student riding on the street was injured in a hit and run crash.
** The city has missed multiple opportunities during street reconstructions to create safe routes for people riding, even though those streets were slated for separated bicycle infrastructure in the Bicycle Plan. Examples include Huron Ave, Garden St, Concord Ave, Mt Auburn St, North Mass Ave
** Installation of a city-wide network of protected bike lanes is all but stalled, with only one project in the planning stages and none other planned even though the Vision Zero Plan calls for three projects this year.
