2025 Cambridge Bicycle Safety School Committee Questionnaires

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes

Alborz Bejnood

Yes

Anne Mathilde Coburn

Yes

Caitlin Dube

Yes

Melanie Gause

Yes

Jessica Goetz

No

Lilly Havstad

Yes

Jane Hirschi

Yes

Elizabeth Hudson

Yes

Eugenia Schraa Huh

Yes

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

Yes

Arjun Jaikumar

Yes

Jia-Jing Lee

Yes

Luisa de Paula Santos

Yes

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

Yes

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes, I grew up East Fort Worth, Texas in the Meadowbrook where my main transport was either by walking public transport; bicycle or had my father drive my family to and from school or events. I participated in many sports including: Middle and high school basketball, junior varsity tennis, soccer, track and JROTC.

Alborz Bejnood

Taking the bus and getting driven to and from school. Afterschool activities were easily accessible (and in fact preferable since my parents worked later), but it did mean I wouldn’t get home until rather late.

Anne Mathilde Coburn

I grew up in Cleveland Heights, OH in the ’80s and ’90s. I have a very clear memory of walking to kindergarten (half a mile away) by myself at the age of four, and being taught to ride my bike at the age of five by my uncle Miles. During middle school (1.8 miles away), I biked or walked, occasionally catching a ride with one of my parents. High school (1.1 miles away), was also a combo of biking, walking, and car rides. In terms of independence, by the age of 10 or 11, I started camping out at the local library after school until it closed at 9 p.m. I first babysat by myself at the age of 13. My first regularly paid job was at 15 – also the year I attended the 4th U.N. Forum on Women in Beijing, China, with the Cleveland-based organization Women Speak Out for Peace and Justice (and without my family). I didn’t get my drivers’ license until I was 20 years old, in part because I could get where I needed via bike. This attitude was influenced by my family. My grandfather biked to work every day until he retired. My uncles waited for my younger brother’s birth before biking across the country. In 2008, right before I went to grad school, I biked 300 miles between Poughkeepsie, NY to Cape Cod with my husband and my father. A month after that, however, my uncle Miles, a biology professor at John Carroll University, was killed while he was biking on the outskirts of Cleveland. It’s fair to say that I think about the interplay of bicycles, safety, and independence quite a bit.

Caitlin Dube

When I was in elementary school, I walked to school with a group of kids from my neighborhood and some of my siblings. In middle school, I took a city bus and in high school, my older sister drove me to school. Walking to school in elementary school made me feel excited about the morning- knowing I would see my friends before getting to school made the mornings easier. I felt a sense of independence, and in fifth grade was trained as a “student crossing guard” at the small street nearest to my school.

Melanie Gause

In my days, I utilized the bus, train and my huffy bike; which gave me the freedom of learning the city. There were times I would take nightly rides with my family and friends from my home to the Boston Commons for exercise and time together.

Jessica Goetz

I lived very close to school – a 3 minute walk. I lived in a single parent household so being able to get ourselves to and from school was key. I rarely even thought about how I would get from point A to point B, my whole life was on foot or public transit. Transportation was never a limiting factor for my afterschool activities. Our apartment was often a hub where other kids spent the night if they needed to be at school early or stay late. It was great for when I forgot stuff!

Lilly Havstad

By car and bus — I grew up in rural northern CA and while my elementary and middle schools were geographically close, the bus rides were LONG. My high school was.much further, I had to be on the bus by 6:10am. I hated it. I didn’t have independence until I got my driver’s license at 16. I started biking to get around town when I went to college at UC Davis, the greatest biking city! The new independence I had being able to get around cheaply and on my own schedule by bike was a breakthrough. When I moved to Boston for graduate school in 2010 after getting tired of waiting outside in the cold for the T, I bought my trusty Falcon on Craigslist for $175 and began my journey into dense urban biking.

Jane Hirschi

I grew up in a suburban town in Florida. It had meager bus service and no bike lanes. I got my drivers license as soon after my 16th birthday as possible.

Elizabeth Hudson

I took the bus, as there were no other transportation options available (too long to walk; no shoulders). This meant that I didn’t have much independence beyond that which my parents were able to provide by taking time off work, before I was able to drive.

Eugenia Schraa Huh

When I moved to NYC (in 6th grade), I went to and from school by public bus. It made my life easy and flexible. It would have been even better had I been able to bike straight over (~15 mins vs. ~30), but that wasn’t a safe option then. I just looked it up, and looks like it would be today. Progress!

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

I grew in the segregated south, in New Orleans, Lousisiana. My family was too poor to purchase bicycles, so my siblings and I walked to our elementary school during all 8 years. We were independent within our immediate neighborhood, but racism and the laws of segregation limited the activities we could participate in.

Arjun Jaikumar

From kindergarten until fifth grade, I mostly walked to and from school (excepting during poor weather and on particularly cold winter days). One exception: in first grade, my family lived abroad and I attended an English-language school several miles from our apartment, so I took a school bus to school, and came home on the bus or on public transit with a caregiver. From sixth grade through twelfth grade, we used school buses and carpools.

Jia-Jing Lee

I grew up in Malaysia, where public transportation and biking were uncommon, and biking was and still is considered unsafe. Our schools were not within walking distance, and with tropical heat and heavy rain year-round, we relied on rides to school, which limited our independence. There were no bike lanes or safety awareness programs, and even motorcyclists were frequently in accidents. I vividly remember a family friend’s daughter who died while biking to an after-school class. That tragedy made me acutely aware of how unsafe travel can affect students’ lives and strengthened my commitment to safe, accessible routes. Students should be able to travel safely while learning responsibility and life skills. This personal experience informs my advocacy for infrastructure, education, and programs that make walking and biking to school safe, purposeful, and enjoyable. Integrating these experiences into students’ daily travel aligns with my platform of experiential learning, joy, and life skills development, helping children gain independence, confidence, and real-world skills while promoting safety and equity for all.

Luisa de Paula Santos

I grew up in Miami, FL which is a very car-centric city. I lived in Miami for one year after college and that is when I decided that I wanted to study urban planning– because I became involved with environmental and transportation issues in Miami at that time. I actually didn’t get a driver’s license until after college, so I got around by relying on my dad for rides, carpooling, and taking the limited public transportation available. Otherwise, I mostly stayed home. This certainly impacted my mobility and independence growing up. That certainly contributes to why I have chosen to live in more walkable/bikeable neighborhoods as an adult.

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

When younger, my father would drive us to school in AM and we would take school bus in PM. In middle school we would catch public bus to and from school. In high school my parents bought my brother and I a used car to go to school. They provided us with money to buy enough petrol to make the round trip to school. We asked friends for money to make additional use of the car.

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes, I have a 14 year old who my family adopted and he run a nonprofit for kids with autism. The city environment doesn’t really affect him because he is under the care of my family.

Alborz Bejnood

Not applicable yet

Anne Mathilde Coburn

My husband Adam Zeller and I have two children, Zora (almost 12) and Harriet (5). Zora was born in 2013, when we lived in the farthest northern neighborhood in Manhattan. Her daycare was a couple of blocks away from our home. Her pre-school was also walkable. She went to her first elementary school via subway. When she was born, Adam worked for the New York City Office of Management and Budget. He then worked as the Executive Director of Budget at the NYC Department of Transportation. Each job was as far south in Manhattan as you could get. Ironically, while he worked on the creation of Vision Zero at his job, he rarely had the opportunity to commute to work by bike. Instead, he spent more than an hour on the subway each way every day. As a filmmaker, my own commute ranged project by project, but was also often over an hour away. The punishing toll of our commutes was a major factor in our decision to send Zora to Kennedy-Longfellow for elementary school when we moved to East Cambridge in September 2019. Adam and our daughter Harriet now bike to her daycare in downtown Boston, located in the same building where he works for the MBTA. But in two weeks, Harriet will either walk or bike to kindergarten at King Open, and Zora will take the bus to Putnam Avenue Upper School. While Zora would like to bike to PAUS, I’m concerned that the bike ride would not be safe enough for her to take on by herself.

Caitlin Dube

My daughter is a rising fifth grader, and she takes the bus to school. We often walk to sports practices. I had a serious injury several years ago, so am very cautious about biking on our city streets. I love biking on bike paths. If there is a protected bike lane, I am more apt to bike with her.

Jessica Goetz

I have two kids – a rising 7th grader and a rising 8th grader. Initially, my oldest was put at King Open, which was in the Longfellow building at the time. For 6 weeks we drove to school, which was terrible. I had just started making arrangements with friends in the Netherlands to ship over a cargo bike (they were not as readily available locally back then) when we got into G&P, which we can walk to. For 8 years we walked to school; sometimes we would bike, but I was pretty strict about not driving (it honestly took longer and was annoying). We are extremely excited for the new DVUS building after 2 years of terrible school bus experiences travelling to VLUS. We did bike to the Spring Street building a few times, but I was not OK with how unsafe Cambridge Street felt and going along the Somerville bike path made the ride too long for my late-rising children. In the end my daughter opted for public transportation to VLUS. All that to say that we’ve tried a variety of ways to get to school. I will always prefer walking, but my kids are getting more into biking. I wish I felt great about them biking around Cambridge, but I don’t. This doesn’t fully affect the actual choices we make for them, but it does affect my cortisol levels when I know they are out and about. And I always make a strong plug for public transportation!

Lilly Havstad

My oldest is a rising third grader at Graham & Parks and because we are just under 1mile walking distance from the school, we are not eligible for school bus service. So we primarily bike, walk, and occasionally drive him to school since he’s not yet old enough to walk or bike to school alone. We look forward to him getting to that age (as does he!) but without safer walking and biking routes to/from school, I don’t know when we’ll feel comfortable letting him bike/walk without an adult.

Jane Hirschi

My children’s experience was very different from my own. They grew up in Cambridge and attended Cambridge Public Schools from preschool through high school. As a family, we owned a car but also relied on walking and buses/subway and bicycling to get around. Both my daughters rode bikes on Cambridge streets and my younger daughter chose to travel to CRLS from Rindge Ave by bike.

Elizabeth Hudson

I have three – soon to be four – kids, who are all pretty small, and thus dependent on us for travel. Each of the three are currently in different schools: The oldest takes the bus, to MLK, the youngest is walked to school, and my middle son takes the T most days with an adult.

Eugenia Schraa Huh

My kids are 6 and 8. They take the school bus, or, if I need to be at school, too, I will bike them. We have a car, so on rare occasions my husband Ming drives them. For pickup, they take the bus to afterschool at the YMCA, and I pick them up almost every day in our family Aventon e-bike (they ride in the back). They’re still too young to do a lot of school activities alone, but the other day there was a playdate at the school’s playground. My kids insisted that they could bike there. (This is over a mile, ~15 bike/car ride.) It took a long time, but we did it. When there were bike lanes, we used them. When there weren’t, we went on the sidewalk. I was really proud of them! It was all their idea. I resisted it, and it was a lot of stressful vigilence, but it was great. One issue it points to is that, once you’ve taught your kids to bike (usually around age 5), they may actually want to BIKE. I could have kept them off the streets, but only with a huge fight. Unless we literally make biking illegal, there is no keeping at least some young people from wanting to do it for real. Yet another reason we should make sure it’s safe.

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

My adult daughter grew up in Cambridge and walked to school during her 7th and 8th grade years. She was picked up and dropped off to sports and other activities that weren’t within walking distance of home or the school.

Arjun Jaikumar

We walk to school with my son, except on days when he prefers to ride his bike (which is increasingly common). Similarly, we generally walk to his activities within Cambridge, such as Cambridge Youth Soccer. Part of the reason we chose to live in Cambridge in the first place is because we wanted to raise our family in a walkable city with good public transit. For the first five years after we moved here, we did not own a car.

Jia-Jing Lee

We live close to the schools, so we often walk unless the weather is bad. Our kids don’t yet know how to bike, and my husband and I aren’t confident bikers due to safety concerns—my caution comes from witnessing a childhood family friend’s tragic biking accident and growing up in a culture where biking was unsafe. Walking helps reduce traffic and emissions while giving us peace of mind about our kids’ safety. This personal perspective strengthens my commitment to safe, accessible, and purposeful active transportation for students. As a School Committee member, I would advocate for infrastructure, programs, and education that make walking and biking to school safe, enjoyable, and educational, helping students build independence, life skills, and confidence while promoting healthier, sustainable habits.

Luisa de Paula Santos

Not applicable

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

When very young, we would either walk, bike or drive with them. When in late elementary school they would either walk or bike. In high school they biked to all their school and social activities.

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes

Yes, I do support have separate bike lanes although please include highlighted areas (might reflectors) for when bikes and even pedestrians and wheelchairs cross through street zones at night. Although, there have been some concerns among homeowners that the bike lanes are impeding on their car parking (Cambridgeport area). As well as a lack of additional car parking garages in the area. Many homeowners also complain that even if they find parking in the city, can be ticketed if park outside of authorized city zone with the visitors/city residential parking permit. Also a bicyclist complained that he wanted an additional raised bar/protected area to protect cyclist from motorist in the area.

Alborz Bejnood

Yes

The School Committee of course doesn’t have jurisdiction as far as the timeline or streets, but I personally support the projects.

Anne Mathilde Coburn

Yes

The process of turning cities into a mixed-transportation environment is both structural and cultural. Many drivers resent the presence of bikes on the road; many inexperienced cyclists unknowingly create hazards while biking. While the process of constructing separated bike lanes may be inconvenient for cars and parking in the short term, the realization of those plans will help to keep everyone safer in the long term.

Caitlin Dube

Yes

Our childrens’ safety is our top priority, and students who are able to bike to school should have the safest routes available to them. Schools should reflect the value we place on our children and our community, and making them more accessible for bikers is one way we can commit to our students now, and in the future.

Melanie Gause

Yes

I believe having safe bike lanes are absolutely wonderful especially for OUR children to utilize is great. I love seeing children passing my home during the school season and watching the joy in their faces.

Jessica Goetz

Yes

Lilly Havstad

Yes

Jane Hirschi

No

Safe routes to schools, bicycle training for students, and Bike Buses are all school-related questions and I am eager to answer them- my “no” means I choose not to answer a question that requires SC candidates to take sides on an issue we have no authority to affect. As I go door-to-door, I speak with people who wonder if the school committee can make changes to zoning policy, to bike lanes, and who ask where I stand on Gaza. I explain what the school committee makes decisions about. I respect their questions and so far the people I’ve met have respected my answer. I stand by my decision to keep the school committee responsibilities clear and distinct from city councillor responsibilities.

Elizabeth Hudson

Partially

It’s smart to say “I don’t know,” where you don’t know / and are not the expert. I spend all my available time on what happens on the school bus, and during the school day. On all other matters, I’m reliant on a well informed network I trust, to help me understand where and when I need to weigh in.

Eugenia Schraa Huh

Yes

Bike lanes improve safety for all users, including walkers and drivers. They also make streets more pleasant and less polluted, which in turn has been proven to benefit retail (despite what many feel in their gut, with few studies to back them up)*. In part b/c my husband owns some local restaurants, those things really matter to us. And they help all of us (not just kids) be independent and healthier.

B’way leads to Main Library + CRLS. Right now, it’s a scary ride (I just biked it), except for the small eastern segment that’s finished. And Cambridge Street only feels safe near King Open/CSUS.

* www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-08/for-store-owners-bike-lanes-boost-the-bottom-line

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

Yes

Bike lanes have not been coordinated or included a plan to have them safely connected to a consistent and safe transition to other bike lanes.

Arjun Jaikumar

Yes

I support completing these projects. I don’t have much to add other than that Cambridge Street Upper School (CSUS) is also affected!

Jia-Jing Lee

Yes

I support bike safety and will partner with City Council and transportation staff to develop safe, practical bike lanes. Narrow streets, heavy traffic, limited parking, and complex intersections make biking risky even where lanes exist. I am committed to engaging residents, businesses, schools, and cyclists in transparent dialogue to design routes that are safe, connected, and practical. By prioritizing safety near schools and key corridors while balancing community needs, we can encourage cycling and protect all users.

Luisa de Paula Santos

Yes

My apologies for defying the 700-word rule on elaborations, but this is a caveat that matters a lot to me and that I feel is necessary to lift up in this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DK67M0T7PM88tTTSi9bvoTaVbubv34zk5lkWeDDBt7A/edit?usp=sharing

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

Yes

Both Cambridge St and Broadway are key bike routes for W-H and East Cambridge to activities around CRLS and Dannehy Park.

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes

Giving children better access to quality bike areas especially due to bus services zone restrictions

Alborz Bejnood

Partially

As with most things, there’s tradeoffs involved with time and cost, so I wouldn’t want to commit to a particular date (in this case 2030) without more time to properly study the project and its potential delays.

Anne Mathilde Coburn

Yes

At the moment, kids often spend more than an hour on a bus when they cross from one side of the city to the other. This is in a city that is only 7.1 miles across. At the same time, the FY2026 CPSD budget shows $14.4M transportation spend — a 5% increase from FY2025. And the district negotiates their contracts with the bus companies at an extreme disadvantage, as the transportation companies hold a monopoly on those services. That means that there’s no leverage to improve service or lower costs. Creating biking connections to schools may help to keep kids safe while also offering a way forward for more favorable future negotiating positions.

Caitlin Dube

Yes

Biking to school is a climate justice issues, a social justice issue, and an wellness issue. For students and families who are able to bike to school, our community should provide safe biking connections so that families feel safe and confident when their children bike to school. We should also be focusing on equity issues- ensuring that all students in CPS have access to bikes if they want them, providing biking instruction, and piloting bike-shares for younger students. Safe biking connections should also include free “pay phone” stations for students to use if they need help.

Melanie Gause

Yes

Jessica Goetz

Yes

I would hope they could also be used by pedestrians.

Lilly Havstad

Yes

Jane Hirschi

Partially

I support ensuring that every school has a safe biking route mapped as soon as possible, and I hope way sooner than 2030. I don’t know what installing biking connections to all of our schools means and what it would entail. I would need to know that before I supported it.

Elizabeth Hudson

Partially

I support looking into this. We need to understand which campuses we’ll be operating (we’ll re-open the Kennedy Longfellow, but it’s an open question whether it will be an 11th elementary school, or whether we’ll consolidate and move another elementary/upper school community in as well) – and where they’re located relative to the school aged population. I’m not a transportation expert (beyond that which I’ve learned about our bussing setup, which is a lot at; I can talk about this for hours), but I do know this: Kids can’t learn if they’re not in class on time, and without easy transportation options that don’t place additional unnecessary stressors on families. So this is important.

Eugenia Schraa Huh

Yes

Making this a concrete plan for the next 5 years is a great idea. We could work with various school partners — probably starting at just a few schools — to create a map showing all the paths that our schools need. The Peabody bike bus had the idea to go from local subsidized housing to the nearest school. That’s probably the best starting point, from which we can expand to middle schools and the high school.

(The map idea worked in Paris – see https://www.ecf.com/en/news/ambitious-plan-will-make-paris-a-100-cycling-city-by-2026/)

Another way to grow support is to focus on the physical/emotional benefits of having children start and end their day with physical, outdoor activity.

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

Yes

The existing bike lanes should be studied and an evaluation of the safety of existing bike lanes should be done with recommendations to remove, enhance, or connect them to the safest routes.

Arjun Jaikumar

Yes

I do support this initiative. I’d add that although the focus of the question is on K-8 students, (and rightly so), many kids bike to CRLS as well, in part because there is no bus service to CRLS aside from MBTA buses.

Jia-Jing Lee

Yes

I support safe biking connections at every school by 2030. With 40% of K-8 students walking or biking, routes must be safe and reliable, especially near schools with traffic, narrow streets, intersections, and parking risks. I would collaborate with City Council, transportation staff, schools, and communities on phased improvements, protected lanes, bike signals, traffic calming, and student education. I also support programs like Youth Bluebikes discounts, refurbished bikes, or other incentives where bus service is limited. Combining infrastructure, education, and incentives will promote sustainable, equitable, and safe mobility for all students.

Luisa de Paula Santos

Yes

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

Yes

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes

Gives students and parents a safety zone area for pick up and delivery

Alborz Bejnood

No

I read a couple of articles about the School Streets program piloted in other cities, with mixed results. It doesn’t appear to be actively harmful, but not clear that it’s actively helpful either. I think pending data from other similar pilot programs, I would prefer to spend community time and effort focusing on more immediate challenges (such as transportation accessibility citywide).

Anne Mathilde Coburn

Yes

Caitlin Dube

Yes

I think School Streets center families and students, and are an important way to show care to our youngest community members. And, I think there are some accessibility and equity issues involved in closing schools to car traffic- school buses should be able to access the school so that all children have an adult point of contact upon arrival, especially students with accessibility needs and our youngest learners. We would need to staff entry points to our School Streets so that students who do get dropped off by caregivers are able to be received by an adult.

Melanie Gause

Yes

Jessica Goetz

Partially

I really LOVE this idea! There are too many unsafe/unattentive drivers around schools. I answered partially because I’m not sure how that would work for CRLS (being sandwiched by two major streets), but I support it around the elementary and upper schools for sure.

Lilly Havstad

Yes

As I answer these questions and read through the materials provided (thank you!) I’m struck by how common sense these solutions like school streets are– and what a boon such approaches would be to the equity efforts of the city and district to better support working families who don’t have reliable means to get their kids to school safely and on time! I believe there is research showing that creating safer pathways to urban schools can help reduce absenteeism, a problem CPSD is trying to address, but with some outdated approaches in my view (like increasingly punitive attendance policies).

Jane Hirschi

Partially

I support exploring a pilot of Safe Streets in Cambridge. Cambridge has a precedent for robust community input around street design, a process upon which the Cycling Safety Ordinance is founded. School Streets sounds like a good candidate for that process. I live close to the Peabody School on Rindge Ave and am well aware of the safety issues to children and other pedestrians at arrival and departure times.

Elizabeth Hudson

Partially

I’d want to better understand the impact this would have on local traffic (thinking specifically busses going to other schools); I know many of the entrances are on heavily trafficked streets (which is, of course, why this is important – but also why I’d want to be better educated). I presume this would also differ school to school (e.g., at the new Tobin, the bus and walker drop off is on a separated loop, off the main street without through traffic, and the car drop off is underground, in the parking lot).

Eugenia Schraa Huh

Yes

Paris has a program like that’s beloved. One of motivators was that car/truck pollution is harmful to students who need to focus. Noise pollution, too; decreasing traffic noise is calming and beneficial for learning.*

A top concern is choosing the right schools for a pilot. Tight streets like those by Cambridgeport or Amigos might work well.

We should show the benefits of change before pushing it more broadly/creating backlash. We should also work with Friends of + Council groups, so the idea comes from within, too.

* urban-mobility-observatory.transport.ec.europa.eu/resources/case-studies/school-streets-safe-and-sustainable-school-trips_en

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

Partially

Any piloting of School Streets must be done following conversation(s) and agreement with schools, their neighbors, and abutters.

Arjun Jaikumar

Yes

I support piloting such a program. I think it will be challenging to implement, both logistically and politically, but that we shouldn’t be afraid to try a pilot program because of what we *fear* effects on traffic will be.

Clear communication well ahead of time to school families, people in the neighborhood, and people who commute along those streets will be essential to the success of a pilot — the more buy-in the program has from the neighborhood at the outset, and the more time affected parties have to prepare and adjust routes, the smoother the transition will be.

Jia-Jing Lee

Yes

I support piloting School Streets at all City schools to create safe, car-free spaces during arrival and dismissal, reducing traffic risks and promoting walking, biking, and sustainable commuting. Implementation should include clear signage, advance notice, alternate routes, and ongoing communication with neighbors, families, staff, and businesses. Pilots should be phased, evaluated, and adjusted based on feedback. By balancing safety with practicality and maintaining transparent dialogue, School Streets can protect students while minimizing disruption and can expand citywide if successful.

Luisa de Paula Santos

Yes

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

Partially

Sounds interesting, but would need more information to form an opinion.

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes

Yes, but this opinion might change during the winter months where parents now have to rely on car/Uber/other transportation services to get the students to school

Alborz Bejnood

Partially

This is a great practice! I am in favor of highlighting and helping coordinate it.

Anne Mathilde Coburn

Yes

Please sign me up – and could we also formally ask the Friends of groups for various schools (some of which are quite well off) to operate a kids’ bike rental or cheap used bike purchase program for the school year?

Caitlin Dube

Yes

I think students biking to school when possible is a public good, and I think we have to look at equity and access issues so that all of our learners can access bike buses. I also think CPS and the City should staff the routes or pay caregivers, much like we do with bus drivers, so that there is a central and equitable distribution of resources. Formal support would also include accessible bike options so that all students, regardless of ability, could be biked/bike to school. Piloting a “City Bikes Jr” program would decrease equity issues, like accessibility for students who stay later for afterschool or may go to afterschool programs at a different school building.

Melanie Gause

Yes

Jessica Goetz

Partially

I have participated in and watched bike buses. I love them!

I can imagine some ways the city could be helpful: providing traffic cones or crossing guards. Yet, I can also imagine that, if the city has more say there might be rules around timing or noise or which days are OK (maybe not on garbage days in certain neighborhoods, for example). So, I’m torn. I support bike buses and I would love for them to be an option for all families, but I also love that they are caregiver-driven and community-specific. I’m open to being persuaded though.

Lilly Havstad

Yes

I love our bike bus, just need to get my kid more excited about it (hoping he’ll be more interested in it this year). I would imagine expanding the practice so he sees more bike busses would help him get more excited about this way of getting to school!

Jane Hirschi

Yes

I am excited to explore what school and city support could mean for schools’ Bike Buses.

Elizabeth Hudson

Partially

I know many who participate in the bike busses, though I don’t myself (see above; too many kids to fit in one vehicle / going three different directions all around the same time) – I’d rely on bike bus participants to speak to that support which is most desired. The simplest idea that comes to mind is more visibility (the school can reach all parents; we have email addresses for 90%+) for existing groups, and/or organizational support (on the latter though, I’d note that the transportation team needs to focus first on executing its existing responsibilities well – ie making sure the buses run on time – before I’d support it taking on more).

Eugenia Schraa Huh

Partially

I love Peabody’s bus bike; I rode in it 3 times! But I worry about how many volunteers it requires (a lot!). I spoke with organizers Katherine Beaty, Mark Boswell, Ruthann Rudel; they didn’t have easy ideas for big expansions (though it has grown!).

Perhaps, let’s use bike buses to advocate for/inaugurate/publicize safe bike paths to schools. Starting with student groups in high/middle schools + Friends of/School Councils, we can get grassroots support for bike paths. Ex:

– Rindge Towers to Peabody (elementary) + then DVUS (middle) + then CRLS (high school).

– Wash. Elms/Newtowne Ct to C-port + then CSUS (middle) + then CRLS.

Bike buses would be great proof points for such paths .

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

Yes

Arjun Jaikumar

Yes

I would love to see the City formally support bike buses. My kid and I have participated in our school’s Bike Bus previously and we have both loved it. It enables kids to bike to school in a safe and protected environment, and it helps build community and relationships among caregivers who may not otherwise have met.

To support bike buses, schools should use their communications platforms and resources — emails, class lists, room parents, family liaisons — to promote bike buses. At our school, the organizers have relied primarily on word-of-mouth and the school hasn’t been involved. Also, the city can increase bike rack space (including newer, more permanent racks) at several schools.

Jia-Jing Lee

Yes

I support the City formally backing Bike Buses and expanding them to all elementary schools. Bike Buses offer a safe, social, and active way for students to bike while reducing traffic. Support could include liability coverage for volunteers, safety gear, route-planning help, scheduling guidance, and promotion to families. Coordination with schools, City staff, and volunteers ensures safe, practical routes and clear communication. Small grants or recognition could encourage participation. City support plus community engagement can make Bike Buses a reliable, equitable, and enjoyable way for students to travel safely and sustainably.

Luisa de Paula Santos

Yes

I think formal support could include: providing stipends to low-income parents who organize Bike Buses; making bikes, bike safety equipment like helmets and locks, and bike storage available to low-income students; promoting rent-controlled apartments and affordable housing near schools.

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

Partially

Sounds interesting, but would need more information to form an opinion.

LaQueen Arleen Battle

Yes

Basic safety education on how to ride a bike is essentially fundamental especially when families live in metropolitan cities such as Cambridge and even New York or San Francisco/Oakland Bay area

Alborz Bejnood

Yes

Anne Mathilde Coburn

Yes

Biking defensively is probably one of the easier ways to keep a cyclist safe. So it’s logical to teach all kids how to safely ride a bike and it’s fantastic to give kids enough security so they can actually have fun on a bike as well.

More personally, when Zora took her bike safety training in elementary school, it was the first time she ever felt good at anything in gym class. I believe that feeling taught her that trying hard and succeeding feels great. I also believe that those classes helped to set her up for a far better relationship with her education than she had previously had.

Caitlin Dube

Yes

Bike safety training, biking skills, and navigation are all important skills students can learn as part of physical health, mental heath, SEL, and social studies work. I can imagine a project-based learning project centered around Bike Accessibility, Navigation, and Equity that allows CPS students to investigate, advocate, and present to the community about their ideas around biking to school. We could also provide caregiver bike training so that all of our community members can bike safely should they want to. We should also be providing bikes for students/caregivers to use (either through a City Bikes Jr. bike-share or other program), so that everyone who wants to bike is able to.

Melanie Gause

Yes

Jessica Goetz

Yes

I would love to see these opposrtunites also expanded to families. Or, at least, have the kids bring home summaries of what they’ve learned.

Lilly Havstad

Yes

Jane Hirschi

Yes

Yes, I do!

Elizabeth Hudson

Partially

I’d want to know more about what this means (e.g., what is ‘at all levels of education’). My only hesitancy – and it stands for all additions to the curriculum – is time. We have limited hours available during the school day, and we’re already dramatically behind on the fundamentals (ensuring kids can read; ensuring they’re working at grade level in math; etc.) Fewer than half our kids are working at grade level today, across English, math and science, and not because we’re not stuffing the day to the gills (younger students often have so little time for lunch that they don’t get to finish eating, for example). I want us to better understand first how we’re using all our educational time.

Eugenia Schraa Huh

Yes

1st, all kids should be able to ride a bike. You’re behind most others if you can’t.

2nd, as I said above, as soon as you can ride a bike, you often want to actually go places. Like our 6yo Maxine, who rode all by herself from Central (where we live) to Boston City Hall (h/t FamilyBikeRide – the best for families who want healthy, outdoor activities with young kids).

We’ve been able to keep Maxine safe/surrounded on her street bike rides so far – she’s only 6. But what about when she turns 7, 8, 9, 10?? I don’t know how long I can keep her physically protected by my own body, biking frenetically to keep ahead of her. I’d rather she (and her older brother) be safe asap by themselves.

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

Partially

The school curriuclum is already over-loaded and schools are asked to provide more services than staffing allows. I would suggest and support the development of alternatives to a school-based program on bike education.

Arjun Jaikumar

Yes

Absolutely. Bike safety training protects not only cyclists, but pedestrians. I think continuing training at all levels of education helps students to internalize proper safety practices, and helps to normalize cycling as a preferred means of transportation into adulthood.

My kid actually became a confident rider, and got excited about biking, through PE in school rather than at home. I think it’s important to give kids that opportunity throughout their education, and to teach and reiterate safety practices throughout.

Jia-Jing Lee

Yes

I support bike safety training for all students to build safety, confidence, and street skills. Frequency should be flexible based on age, experience, and teaching schedules, with teachers’ guidance to fit it smoothly into school time. I would collaborate with schools to integrate programs into project-based or experiential learning, which is my platform. Teachers wouldn’t teach bike safety directly, but programs can complement instruction while making learning fun, engaging, and focused on life skills. Coordinating with schools, City staff, and families ensures safe, practical, and engaging programs that equip students with essential skills.

Luisa de Paula Santos

Yes

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

Yes

LaQueen Arleen Battle

If there was a few internet apps that (created by the Cambridge Bike Community) centered and specifically designed for Cambridge students to have parents ensure the safety of their students to/from school at an allotted time.

Alborz Bejnood

One of the best resources for learning how to improve student safety is from students themselves. A main goal I have is improving how the School Committee communicate receives feedback from students.

Anne Mathilde Coburn

I plan to push for a more robust transportation department within the district that sees its brief as encompassing transportation and related services of all kinds – from buses to parking to cycling. I’m looking forward to connecting with the city’s newly revised transportation department to ensure more coordinated services moving forward.

Caitlin Dube

We have a nearly 15 million dollar transportation budget and we need to be looking at the ways in which it is and is not serving our students. I believe that the more ways students have to start their day outside, moving their bodies, and connecting with peers, the better wellness and academic outcomes will be. I would propose a pilot of a shared-bike program (City Bikes Jr.) so that all kids have access to bikes stations located around the city and at all schools, community centers, parks, and playing fields, so that biking is maximum accessible to all families. For families who cannot bike their students to school, and for students who are unable to bike to school, we also need to provide adaptive bikes, trailers, and other options so that biking is accessible to all families.

Melanie Gause

I would love for all OUR children to have helmets and gear with lights attached for their safety especially when they ride on the weekend with their family and friends.

Jessica Goetz

I feel strongly about not driving to school every day when it can be avoided. My kids and I agree that walking or biking to school is a great way to get some exercise and clear your head on the way to school. I know that I prefer non-car travel around Cambridge and, if people who would rather not drive are empowered to choose other modes of transportation, the roads will be clearer for those who must drive. In addition to walking and biking, I feel strongly about public transportation. When my daughter chose the public bus over the school bus, it made total sense. The public bus is free or low price for students, air conditioned, clean, quiet, free from fighting, and trackable. I have heard from teachers that many mornings are spent undoing the bad moods that the school bus can put kids in. As a potential School Committee member, I am interested in synthesizing all of this to truly scrutinize our current school bus situation. Do we really need so many of those archaic yellow buses around town? What cost savings could be put towards safer biking and walking routes? Can we educate and encourage families to use public transportation (and not be afraid of their kids using it independently)? ***Note: I just want to explain why I answered “No” to accepting an endorsement. This is because I don’t have clarity around what that would look like and what the expectations that went along with it would be.

Lilly Havstad

I plan to vote for and elevate the work of city councillors who are committed to preserving and expanding on the progress we’ve made towards greater bike and pedestrian safety. There’s a lot more work left to do, including more outreach, education, and other forms of community engagement to help us overcome the nasty bike wars that, in my view, are wasting precious energy and resources. Frankly, as a cyclist, pedestrian, and motorist, I do not understand why the bike lanes are so controversial for some because as a Cambridge resident I NEVER have issues finding parking. The folks standing in the way of better bike (and pedestrian!) infrastructure seem unwilling to do much other than block current and future projects. So, we need fresh commitments to evidence-based solutions for safer streets for all. Finally I think by connecting the transportation freedom issues that CBS is tackling to the ongoing transportation inequities and challenges in getting our kids to school safely and on time, we can build some new coalitions to safeguard the bike infrastructure you’ve all made possible, and to push current and future projects forward.

Jane Hirschi

As a school committee member, I would be an advocate for students biking and walking to school. I am concerned about pedestrian and biking safety at intersections with heavy traffic. In addition to the ideas put forth by Cambridge Bicycle Safety, I would like to see more traffic control of these intersections, especially during student-use times. I would like the school committee to make students’ transportation to school, including biking, a regular part of our agenda.

Elizabeth Hudson

To anyone reading the SC candidates’ answers and thinking about the schools more generally – thank you, very much.

Eugenia Schraa Huh

The schools are a great potential source of bike users and activists and probably the best showcase of what safe streets are all about. I’d love to find events & partnerships within schools to push for safer streets + bike infrastructure. – School Councils meet monthly — let’s arrange presentations on the nearest safe biking paths/school streets. – Friends of groups raise money — we could partner on bike-a-thons to benefit the school — along our desired safe street/school street. – Teens want meaningful activities — let’s help them advocate for bike safey. – So many young families would rather avoid cars (agh! car seats!) — let’s work with preschool/middle schools on cargo bike test drives.* School Committee can also push for gathering (and publicizing!) bike/car/walk/bus data. The results will likely surprise a lot of car-centric people who claim families of young kids “need” cars. They don’t. And I myself am always amazed at how many families bike to/from preschool, afterschool and school-school. The Huhs are not alone in this! * https://www.familybikeride.org/testdrive

Caroline Mary Lisette Hunter

Biking to school is a parent’s choice for their child, and discussions of bike safety should and must begin at home. I would encourage and support school access for the Cambridge Bike Safety if you develop bike safety education programs for school students and provide financial support for families to purchase bikes.

Arjun Jaikumar

Schools should work closely with the CambridgeBikeGiveBack program and similar organizations that help provide bikes, helmets, locks, and lights to kids who may not otherwise be able to afford them.

Jia-Jing Lee

As a School Committee member, I would prioritize safe, accessible, and enjoyable routes for students walking and biking. Bike travel should be fun, purposeful, and educational, reflecting my platform of experiential learning, joy, and life skills. I would collaborate with City staff, educators, families, and stakeholders to plan streets, intersections, and school corridors that minimize risk while teaching responsibility, awareness, and independence. Bike safety could integrate with project-based learning. Programs like School Streets, Bike Buses, and city-supported bike access would expand opportunities. Clear communication with students, caregivers, educators, neighbors, and businesses ensures transparency and collaboration, making commuting safe, joyful, and educational.

Luisa de Paula Santos

I believe that by advocating for better use of teaching resources so that school days can be shortened, paying school staff living wages so they can live closer to work, advocating for improved housing affordability and other wraparound supports, would all incentivize the use of bicycles. Not only would people have more time and material resources, they would be less stressed out, and I imagine stress majorly exacerbates traffic accidents.

José Luis Rojas Villarreal

We need to provide more bike parking areas at CRLS that have enough foot traffic or other risk mitigants to minimize stolen bicycles. Similar efforts should be explored at our middle and elementary schools. We also need to continue to collaborate with the City to provide them with date on bike usage so that they can support enhanced safety of students biking to and from schools and school activities.