Cambridge delays deadline for cycling infrastructure despite public outcry

Local news

The six-month delay in segregated bike lanes on Main Street, Cambridge Street and Broadway is a compromise compared to the year-and-a-half extension.

Following the death of three cyclists in Cambridge and an outcry from residents, 22 miles of segregated cycle lanes will be delayed after Cambridge City Council approved a six-month extension.

Initially, Transportation Commissioner Brooke McKenna asked the City Council to approve a revised deadline from May 1, 2026 to November 1, 2027 for some Cycling safety regulationwhich was adopted in 2020. At Monday’s session of the Cambridge City Council, councilors changed this date to November 30, 2026. The extension is intended to allow the city to limit the loss of parking spaces due to bicycle paths.

The new deadline is for the completion of continuous segregated bicycle facilities along Main Street, Cambridge Street and Broadway. The deadline for installing separated bicycle paths had already passed has already been extended until November 2027 by the Council in April. On Monday, the council shortened that decision by one year.

“At this point, due to delays last year, we are unable to meet the original deadline of May 2026.” – McKenna said, but it is possible that the November 30, 2026 deadline will be met.

More than 100 residents spoke during the public comment period, mostly about bicycle safety. ​​Earlier this summer, two cyclists died after being hit by trucks in the city. Kim Staley55-year-old from Florida and Minh-Thi Nguyen24-year-old student of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were hit when trucks were traveling on the same road as cyclists entered their paths. Both were on protected cycle paths.

John Corcoran also died while cycling in Cambridge on Memorial Drive, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

“Everyone on council wants to do everything we can to make it safer, but there are other things that need to be taken into consideration, namely small businesses in our community, residents in the densest part of our city who will lose parking spaces,” he said Councilor Paul Toner.

It will lose up to 900 parking spaces, but could add another 3,400

The meeting discussed the updated Parking and Transportation Demand Management Regulation, intended to reduce the loss of parking spaces due to zoning. PTDM anticipated a loss of approximately 800 to 900 parking spaces, but the proposed zoning could increase the number of up to 3,400 off-street parking spaces along the corridors.

McKenna also said there would be no loss of parking spaces around the Newtowne Court public buildings.

“We will carry out the same thorough process on every corridor, with extensive engagement with the public and businesses to determine the best ways to use the curbs. We will pay the same attention to design detail throughout the corridor, including intersections, regardless of which timeline we are on,” McKenna said.

Some councilors have questioned infrastructure construction delays, but the delays will allow them to work with residents on parking changes, said deputy mayor Owen O’Riordan.

“As a result of losing their parking space, it does impact them and we are all very aware of that, so if we move a little bit faster it will have a more significant, immediate impact on them and there will be less time for them to adapt,” O said ‘Riordan.

Since 2023, there have been 110 accidents on Cambridge Street, with 40 injuries – 20 involving cyclists and 8 involving pedestrians. There were 93 accidents on Broadway, 23 with injuries. Ten of them concerned cyclists and seven concerned pedestrians. On a section of Main Street designated for bike path infrastructure, there were 13 accidents that injured three people, including two involving bicycles.

In the case of PTDM, councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler said the extension should only be six months.

“We have everything we need to get this done by November 2026.” – he said on Monday. “I don’t see the need to wait another year and have more accidents and injuries that we’ve only seen in a year.”

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Molly Farrar is an assignment reporter at Boston.com focusing on education, politics, crime and more.

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