A dormant West Roxbury group that fought a proposal to add bike lanes to part of Centre Street in West Roxbury has sprung back to life, convinced that now that the pandemic is ending, City Hall and a sinister cabal of bicyclists will once again attempt to impose their will on the neighborhood.
The West Roxbury Safety Association has printed up 500 lawn signs opposing the proposal - and hopes to print up another 1,500 - to convince politicians running in the fall elections it's serious about keeping bike lanes off the neighborhood's main commercial strip, one of its leaders, Stephen Morris, told the West Roxbury Civic and Improvement Association tonight.
Morris said mayoral candidates Jon Santiago, John Barros and Annissa Essaibi-George have already pledged to block any bike lanes on Centre Street.
Although BTD has said nothing publicly about a proposed "road diet" to slow traffic on Centre Street following an angry community meeting at the Irish Social Club in November, 2019, Morris said new bike lanes along Cummins Highway and American Legion Highway in Mattapan and Roslindale show that "Downtown" still has its spoked eye on West Roxbury along with bicyclists eager to pedal all over, he said.
The city originally proposed reconfiguring Centre Street between Spring Street and the Holy Name Rotary to make it safer for pedestrians by reducing the number of motor-vehicle lanes from four to three, adding new turn lanes and pedestrian islands and installing bike lanes after Marilyn Wentworth of West Roxbury died at Centre and Hastings, thrown into the air by a motorist who said she never saw Wentworth due to solar glare on Feb. 5, 2019.
Morris, whose group said the bike lanes would actually make Centre Street more dangerous, called for the resumption of the war against the bike lanes now, warning that otherwise, "we're going to wake up one day and somebody is going to be on Centre Street putting up those white pylons." He pointed to growing social-media chatter by bicycle and pedestrian groups.
The meeting was held in person, in the parking lot of St. George's Church on Washington Street. Morris called on residents living along that thoroughfare to support his group, saying that they could be next in the city's bid to expand bike lanes.
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Comments
Fuck these NIMBY assholes. I
By ZachAndTired
Tue, 05/11/2021 - 11:28pm
Fuck these NIMBY assholes. I'm not looking forward to almost getting run over every day on the way to and from the train again when my office opens back up.
Stephen Morris is a waste of
By Kinopio
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:19am
Stephen Morris is a waste of skin. Imagine how messed up in the head you have to be to think your car is more important than other people’s lives.
What's wrong with you?
By Waquiot
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:53am
With comments like
You are truly a horrible person.
As for everyone else who is criticizing the man's proposals, go on.
There will be no hyperbole
By BannedFromTheRoxy
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 11:52am
There will be no hyperbole allowed at this tea party I do
Declare
I call BS
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:41am
There is nowhere in West Rox that REQUIRES you to take Centre St to arrive at one of the two stations.
Unless you're up by Crushed Stone, but that section of Centre isn't being discussed. WoooMee!
????/
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 11:04am
If you live north of Centre Street and need to get to Highland, for example, you have to cross the street, which is very dangerous to pedestrians.
What? I live south of Centre
By ZachAndTired
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:46pm
What? I live south of Centre Street. My train station is North of Centre Street. There isn't a magical tunnel under the street and I don't own a helicopter, so I need to walk across Centre Street to get to and from the train station. Is it really that hard to understand?
OK
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:28pm
And installing bike lanes ON Centre St wouldn't do anything for you commute. But WooooMeee!
The whole impetus behind this
By ZachAndTired
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 8:24pm
The whole impetus behind this project is to make it safer for pedestrians, because people keep getting killed crossing the street. The road diet would condense the 4 existing lanes into 3 (one in each direction with a turning lane in the middle) and would also include the buildout of pedestrian islands. The bike lanes are essentially a byproduct of the road reconfiguration and a productive way to utilize the space that was previously taken up by the 4th lane. You dumb motherfucker.
What do bike lanes along
By Refugee
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:42pm
What do bike lanes along Centre Street have to do with crossing Centre Street?
i'll go slow
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:45pm
1) this road is a mess for every mode of transportation.
2) adding bike lanes will make it less of a mess, by forcing car traffic to drive slower and preventing them from having to swerve around bikes.
3) being less of a mess will make it safer for pedestrians who need to cross the street because cars and bikes won't be fighting over the same space.
Bike lanes are just one part
By ZachAndTired
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:46pm
Bike lanes are just one part of the road diet this guy is fighting against. The plan was developed to make Centre Street safer after multiple pedestrians had been killed while crossing the street.
Bike lanes actually make pedestrians safer
By fungwah
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 2:10pm
A couple of quotes from actual studies to this effect:
All bike lanes? No matter how
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:46pm
All bike lanes? No matter how bad or good their design?
I have a tough time crossing the street with protected bike lanes that push the parking out towards the middle of the road. High-speed traffic is hidden by the parked cars.
z
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 10:42am
Agreed...traveling by bicycle to Forest Hills from most parts of West Rox is a nightmare. Single lane roads were not designed for cars, trucks, busses, and bikes to share and are no longer feasible when the cost of sharing is lost time, real or perceived, for all parties.
It's great to ride Weld, Bussey, and South Street at night but catch me dead during traffic hours.
Agreed
By Zoe
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 7:16pm
I bike down Centre street regularly. I also drive down it regularly. I'm 100% in favor of the road diet. I'm also 100% in favor of these people shutting the f up. It's really strange, the neighborhood is clearly changing. Yet it still feels like all you hear are these obnoxious, ignorant, small-minded old white yahoos who still seem to think they live in Mayberry.
He would do well to fear
By MostlyHarmless
Tue, 05/11/2021 - 11:35pm
Studies of quiet streets initiatives during covid (and in the North End of Boston in particular) have a massive positive impact on local businesses: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-11...
Those quiet streets...
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 2:52am
Do not carry three bus routes that run every 5 minutes (i.e. 15-minute headways on each route) during rush hour. They are not a fair comparison to Centre Street, which does have many local businesses, but also serves as a major commuting corridor for other destinations (Dedham Mall and the VA Hospital, among others).
Much of Elm Street in Davis
By TheBostonCrab
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:11am
Much of Elm Street in Davis Square in Somerville has been one lane since the pandemic, and it has several bus routes that pass through regularly.
Yes, there exist one-lane
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:55pm
Yes, there exist one-lane roads with buses.
That doesn't imply that reducing Centre Street to one lane will have no negative effect on buses.
Buses
By Jameson Brown
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:27am
What do a few buses have to do with this?
If you're worried about the buses getting caught in traffic, know that
Buses matter because...
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:36pm
Bus riders come from the most socioeconomically disadvantaged groups -- predominately low-income folks and people of color. It's also not just "a few buses": combined, the 35/36/37 run every 5 minutes during rush hour, which equals 24 buses per hour traveling on the corridor. Last time I checked, 24 40-foot buses are not "a few".
Also, island bus stops are already present on Centre Street. It's also important to note that all-door boarding is an ongoing/planned initiative designed to provide faster rides, not to balance out the negative externalities of adding bike lanes such that riders see the same travel times.
In other words, the lack of consideration for the needs of bus riders is an issue that needs to be addressed, bike lanes or not.
The road diet and complicated
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:51pm
The road diet and complicated traffic light phases to separate right turns from protected bike lanes on Mass Ave through MIT made things MUCH, MUCH worse for buses. Even in the direction that got a bus lane.
I don't see how you can declare that a road reconfiguration won't make things worse for buses. What if it does?
LOL 5 minutes. More like you
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:29am
LOL 5 minutes. More like you get all three of them at once and it's a half hour until the next one comes. Because they all get caught up in the same car traffic of people double parking in the right lane and turning in the left.
Actual road design would increase the transit efficiency a LOT in addition to making everything safer. Or, if busses are soooo bad, the neighborhood could push for the OLX. But that'll never happen, because Westie in 2021 is just as provincial, small minded and racist as Arlington was when they defeated the Red Line and shot themselves in the foot.
Nice try anon
By Angry Dan
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 10:14am
But the city already did the traffic study that showed the safety changes would have a negligible impact on travel times.
I commute on Centre Street daily (on foot, by bike, and by bus) and can confirm that without the study. The road is mostly empty between lights except for the bursts of motorists drag racing each other to the next traffic light.
It's also consistently dangerous. I've been hit from behind at Walgreens when a car in front of me stopped and I've nearly been hit multiple times by speeding vehicles in multiple crosswalks around Centre and Corey Streets.
Having dangerous streets does nothing to support local business. Even if it did, that's no excuse for putting the neighborhood's residents at risk.
Still to the Weld St / Vermont St alternative
By Parkwayne
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 10:20am
You can drive 40mph+ without nearly as many crosswalks and lights!
[This is sarcasm.]
Washington street in
By Anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:09pm
Washington street in roslindale has 9 bus lines. And they somehow managed to accommodate bike lanes.
The microchips aren’t working
By Westieborn
Tue, 05/11/2021 - 11:44pm
We’re supposed to have our Agenda 21 one-world government, bike lanes and taco trucks by now. I guess that lab leak was for naught.
Foiled again by those intrepid retirees.
Oh well, I’ll do pickup at Chilacates instead.
I don't get the opposition.
By Jerquad
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:03am
I don't get the opposition. Is it just a smooth-brained need to be in opposition to things regardless of whether or not it has any meaningful impact on them? Couldn't these hicks put this effort into literally anything else?
Granted that pic of dude with a "I have a collection of pictures of the local highschoool swim team"-style bowl-cut is pretty great.
smooth-brained
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/13/2021 - 9:29pm
That's awesome. I'm going to borrow that.
.
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/13/2021 - 9:29pm
.
Good
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:07am
Good
This is so stupid
By Mark-
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:15am
Centre St. in West Roxbury is one of the most annoying roads in the area, whether you’re a driver, a pedestrian, a bus rider, or a bicyclist. The 4 lane design leads to constant weaving around turning cars and double parkers. The unsafe curb build-outs at intersections mean the buses stop in traffic lanes, which leads to more weaving. There’s no room for bikes except to travel in the middle of a traffic lane, which is the legal and safest practice under the circumstances. A 3 lane road is the solution, with bike lanes on the side and a dedicated left-turn lane in the middle.
And where do buses go?
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 2:48am
With a 3-lane road, buses will still stop in the middle of a traffic lane, except the weaving will be more dangerous. To drive around a stopped bus, cars will have to go into the turn lane and potentially face oncoming traffic. This is dangerous for both bus riders and pedestrians, since almost all the bus stops are located at intersections.
No one so far has proposed a design that would improve bus service on the corridor -- in fact, the city's initial proposal even called for the elimination of several bus stops. Since buses will be stuck in general traffic under any road diet, and since congestion will undoubtedly increase, the end result will be lengthened commutes and less reliable transit for those who cannot afford the 3x premium charged by the Commuter Rail ($1.70 bus or $2.40 bus + subway, versus $6.50 for CR alone). Who is representing the voices of the thousands of daily bus riders on Centre Street, a group that includes the VA's behind-the-scenes staff, nursing home staff, trailer-park residents, grocery store and restaurant workers, and people with disabilities?
Yes, the road is dangerous, but the lack of consideration for some of the most vulnerable users of the corridor -- bus riders -- is concerning and needs to be addressed. A redesign that does not incorporate robust public transit improvements would just be a less explicit form of hostile infrastructure.
Bus stops would be separated from the travel lane
By HenryAlan (not ...
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:02pm
The plan would be for bus stops to be between the car travel lane and the bike lane. You can see an illustration of that in the original Northeastern study: http://www.northeastern.edu/peter.furth/road-diet-...
As for delaying bus riders, who I very much agree deserve a high priority, the engineering study found that proposed corridor changes would lengthen trip by at most 2 minutes, during a short by higher congestion time window.
In essence, buses would pull to the side at bus stops, and would mostly take about the same time they require now to transit the area. In return, pedestrian and bike safety (many of whom are also bus riders) would be enhanced.
A 2 minute increase in bus
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:59pm
A 2 minute increase in bus travel times is huge. It's most likely an average, so on a given day your bus could be much more delayed.
Once they start talking about a 2 minute decrease in bus times, I'll think about supporting the project.
That's easy
By Mark-
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:55pm
The buses stop where the curb build-outs used to be. That leaves plenty of room for the bike lane, the travel lane, and the turning lane, all to the left of the stopped bus.
Bike lanes
By Brendan
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 7:54am
All you have to do is spend a day walking in the Back Bay Beacon street , Comm ave and down by north station which all have bike lanes
NO ONE is using them I work down there all day long ..might see at tops 10-20 bicyclists all day
Stop trying to destroy Main Street business around our city who absolutely need the help. You don’t need bicycle lanes to slow down traffic on Center street.
Funny thing
By Parkwayne
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 10:23am
Since bikes in bike lanes are more efficient for local travel and take up less space, they appear less used than a street with the same amount of cars.
That logic doesn't make sense
By Refugee
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:48pm
That logic doesn't make sense. At any spot on Comm Ave (or any major street in the city) the flux of the number of bikes passing by is lower than the number of cars passing by.
It's not bicycles taking up less space than cars do, but that there are fewer of them.
it makes perfect sense
By berkleealum
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 4:00pm
have you ever seen a traffic jam on the minuteman bike path?
Beacon St. Somerville in the Beforetimes
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/13/2021 - 9:34pm
Commuting home I would bunch up at a light with 25-30 cyclists.
We would all clear the intersection in less time than it took five cars going the other direction.
That's why the traffic studies found that a substantial percentage of the traffic during rush hour was cyclists - like a third to a half. We didn't jam up because we take up much less space.
DOT hired my boy to work on tech counting cars, bikes, pedestrians, etc. in support of the humanizing of city streets and other improvements for safety. The numbers are happening.
I've worked in BB for 20
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 10:28am
I've worked in BB for 20 years and I see biking commuters all.day.long.
The argument that Main Streets will be destroyed is such an old and tired song. Also, completely untrue.
Main Streets are being destroyed by cars and the ppl that drive them. I no longer do my errands on Centre b/c I am tired of almost getting hit or playing Frogger w/ cars in the crosswalks. Every single time I walk down Centre. This is the reality of foot and bike commuters. Yes, walkers & bikers are commuters too - car owners (and I am one) do not own the streets.
Meanwhile
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/13/2021 - 9:36pm
In Davis Square Somerville there have for years been these bike corrals that hold about 30 bikes per parking space.
They make it attractive for cyclists to go there and buy things.
Cyclists are more likely than motorists to visit local businesses and spend $$$ - in other words, to save main street.
Anecdotal evidence is not a strong argument
By HenryAlan (not ...
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:06pm
People who analyze these things need to conduct actual counts. And it turns out that such counts happen in Boston. On Charles St., for example, bikes represented 1 of 3 vehicles during morning rush hour in 2019. That was without any bike lanes at all. A similar count today, would likely yield an even higher percentage.
https://mass.streetsblog.org/2020/09/04/boston-bik...
yeah I was gonna say
By cybah
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:36pm
Yeah I was gonna say there's numbers out here to support the fact that biking has INCREASED in our region after adding more bike lanes.
I'm no biker lover, but the numbers speak for itself. "If you build it, they will come" is true here.
And frankly as someone who tried to bike 20 years ago here and sold it after being door'd too many times, I welcome these lanes and it does make biking more attractive because its safer.
So they cherry picked one
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 4:05pm
So they cherry picked one hour on one road. A road which only had 348 cars per hour -- hardly a major traffic artery.
I support bikes. I don't support dishonest statistics.
citations please
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/13/2021 - 9:37pm
citations please
this is hilarious
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:48pm
do you actually sit at the window where you work and count cyclists?
what does your workplace think of your productivity?
... so you don't actually have an accurate count of cyclists, do you?
just an already established dislike of them.
Your comment is divorced from reality
By Tim Mc.
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 6:59pm
Unless you're counting 4 AM traffic during the height of lockdown, in which case that *might* be plausible.
There are a ton of cyclists on those roads. I know because I used to commute along those (except for North Station) and I was frequently passing or getting passed by other cyclists.
Bus/Bike Lane
By elise
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 7:54am
Somerville recently turned the right lanes on most four lane streets into bus/bike only lanes, keeping them a full lane width.
As a driver I was worried what this would do to traffic but it’s actually been an improvement. No more weaving in and out as you said and I imagine it would make biking a lot more pleasant. Traffic flow really hasn’t been impacted.
In Westie this would make being a pedestrian a lot nicer to, no more having to worry that someone’s going angrily weave around the traffic stopped at the crosswalk for you.
There are no bus lanes
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 11:21am
Being proposed here. If anything, the city has actually proposed the elimination of several bus stops along the corridor, which hurts the vulnerable populations who tend to ride buses.
Actually it's 6 lanes of cars
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:07am
Actually it's 6 lanes of cars in a Main Street district. 6 lanes. Whether you're a pedestrian or biker you take your life into your hands every time you try and cross Centre street. In crosswalks or not. And for those that will poo-poo this - get out of your cars and walk West Roxbury everyday at all different times and let us know how you fare.
These goons are worried that people from "downtown" want to bike all over the city that they pay taxes in? How dare they! Sounds like the good old WRox dog whistle to me.
Take a right turn across any
By Sure death for ...
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 2:32am
Take a right turn across any bike lane in Cambridge or Boston, it's heartstopping. There has to be a better way.
Many ways to handle this
By eeka
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:54pm
The bike lane and travel lane can have separate signals.
Drivers can learn to turn their heads to check blind spots before making all turns. Road tests can require this skill be mastered, as happens in civilized countries.
Hitting cyclists or pedestrians can be harshly punished as it is in civilized countries.
Car ownership and use can reflect actual costs rather than being heavily subsidized, as it is...you know.
Very helpful
By Sock_Puppet
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:21am
Now I know who not to vote for.
Exactly
By Chris In 02134
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:59am
My thoughts on who not to vote for and even help campaign against. Long live the bicycle Cabral!
Yep!
By eeka
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 1:08pm
I also know that Mayor Janey is for sure car-free, and Councilor Wu is either car-free or car light. Both use the T regularly and Councilor Wu commutes on bike regularly, including with kids.
As a parent in a walking/biking family, I particularly want to hear from people whose kids walk and bike or who are familiar with families who do, because infrastructure really needs to be done correctly for kids and families to use it. Like, the city's default response on bike lanes constantly being blocked is that it's fine for people to use them as parking lots, because fit young adults on road bikes can easily just merge into car traffic to bypass it. However, this means there are routes on which it would otherwise be safe to send kids (or smaller/less-fit adults with a trailer or a loaded bike, or elders, or people with disabilities...) but isn't currently since there might be vacant city vehicle or USPS/UPS truck sitting in a bike lane.
I think that it's better to
By anon
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 4:02pm
I think that it's better to think how we can make it safe for everyone...people without families and who are able-bodied would like to be considered.
And there you have it
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/13/2021 - 9:39pm
The "all lives matter in traffic" guy has arrived.
Essaibi-George
By Bill B
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 3:53am
In 2019 Essaibi-George met with me and a group of pedestrian safety advocates at Local 338. She agreed redesigning Centre Street was the right decision and talked with us about convincing skeptical business owners.
She also seemed to think “moot” and “mute” were the same word, which at one point kind of confused the discussion. That was the most memorable part of speaking with her.
She's a patsy for cops and developers
By Parkwayne
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 8:19am
No thanks!
Body language
By THE_WIZ
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 5:38am
Is always quite telling.
Looks like a fun dad or uncle.
another tell
By berkleealum
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 7:56am
the reframing of “safety” to mean *opposing* measures to make the road safer. these guys love doing that
When is "Reframing" just lying?
By cinnamngrl
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:11am
This road wasn't built for 4 lanes. It is wide because of the street car that used to be there.
yes
By berkleealum
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 10:08am
this is the the essence of the question i ask myself about reactionaries; are they just straight up lying when they do shit like this? what am *i* lying about to satisfy my own fucked up desires?
Pedestrian islands
By sixthfastestman
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:00am
Setting aside the plan to reconfigure the lanes, the pedestrian island idea seems like a no-brainer, especially at the Centre & Hastings intersection. I cross there all the time (usually pushing a stroller) and it always feels dicey.
Let the mayor know
By Mont
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 11:11am
This link is from city website to contact Mayor Janey. Takes two minutes. Important to let her know many people in West Roxbury want safety improvements. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7vdhGO7...
Or go here and scroll https://www.boston.gov/departments/mayors-office/k...
Trumpers
By Alex Sm
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 9:02am
People reading this need to understand this is all a culture war play. Mr. Morris and his anti-bike lane cohort took over the Ward 20 Republican Committee last year because it wasn't sufficiently pro-Trump for their liking. They are the "Blue Lives Matter" crowd that hates bike lanes because they associate them with liberals. That's what this is, nothing more. Any mayoral candidate who associates with this and supports them is not fit to serve in the office.
Yes, but ...
By adamg
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 10:22am
The other Republican slate was also against the bike lanes.
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