BOSTON (WHDH) - Dozens of activists stood shoulder to shoulder to form a human bicycle lane down Charles Street in Boston, advocating for a complete bike lane network amid a recent bicyclist death in the city.
“We need better bicycle infrastructure that keeps bicyclists safe!” one man who helped form the bike lane chanted.
Becca Wolfson of the Boston Cyclist Union blamed the lack of a bike lane on Charles Street on “inertia” and “a small group of local opposition.”
The protest comes weeks after the death of bicyclist George Clemmer, who was killed when he was hit by a dump truck at the intersection of Huntington Ave. and Mass. Ave.
“It unfortunately happens too often,” Wolfson said. “One fatality is too often.”
They added that, with the pandemic and prices at the pump increasing bike ridership more than ever, investment into this issue is urgent.
Organizers with the Boston Cyclists Union are demanding progress on the downtown bike network, which is currently riddled with gaps.
“People need to be able to get from Point A to Point B,” said cyclist Malaysia Fuller Staten. “If it’s just on this street, that’s no help. It’s a continuing process, but it’s a process that has to continue.”
Activists said it’s not about finger-pointing, but rather completing a bike network for a city loaded with bicyclists who need to not just get around, but do so while feeling safe.
“Mayor Wu, please complete the network,” Wolfson said. “We need to see 10 miles this year. Charles Street is easy and it’s so important to creating a better quality of life in Boston.”
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