On Wednesday September 16th, near the intersection of Parker and Tremont, a scooter rider was hit and injured by a driver. We are hopeful to hear that they will make a full recovery. This intersection is notoriously unsafe, with Boston Transportation Planner Louisa Gag being killed in nearly the same spot earlier this summer. The dangers on Boston’s streets are well known. To continue to allow these crashes to happen is a political choice, not an inevitability.

Residents are taking streets into their own hands

At Louisa Gag’s vigil, Mayor Wu promised rapid safety improvements to this intersection. Despite this, the City has yet to install safety improvements on Tremont St or publicly present plans to improve street safety in this area. Residents have been frustrated with the city for its lack of progress on building safer streets. From the seemingly indefinite extension of the 2025 “30 day review” to the opaque cancellation of developer paid-for and designed protected bike lanes in East Boston, we’re not surprised that some residents are attempting to implement street safety improvements on their own. This is what happens when politicians respond to the needs of wealthy, politically-connected individuals, rather than the needs of the people. 

City Hall must act with urgency

The Boston Cyclists Union continues to urge Mayor Wu and her administration to respond to the dangerous conditions of Boston’s streets with dire urgency and uphold its commitment to Vision Zero. Serious injuries and deaths on our roads are preventable. We trust that the City’s talented transportation planners and engineers are more than capable of rapidly improving the safety of Boston’s streets. 

As Chris Osgood has stepped back into the Streets Cabinet as Interim Chief, we applaud the increased transparency and his willingness to work with transportation advocates. We’ll continue to call on City Hall to release an updated comprehensive bicycle network plan, Vision Zero Action Plan, and to replace all damaged or removed protection on bike lanes citywide. We look forward to working with the Streets Cabinet to advocate for these measures.

City Council needs to hold the City accountable

We also urge Boston City Council to continue to use their power to ensure that City Hall fulfills its duty to protect vulnerable road users through the installation of protected bike lanes and traffic calmed streets. Councilor Murphy’s hearing order in response to the recent scooter crash acknowledges the dangers of the intersection of Parker and Tremont St. We agree that there is an urgent need for professionally designed and implemented safety improvements. 

We look forward to attending this hearing as a chance to discuss why this intersection remains so dangerous and whether progress has been made on Mayor Wu’s promised “urban design evaluation of the Tremont Street corridor in Mission Hill to identify important fixes.” 

We applaud Councilors Breadon and Pepén for leading on introducing an Ordinance Mandating Annual Reporting of Streets Projects. We also applaud Councilor Weber for filing for a hearing to review the status of the citywide bicycle network plan, and Councilor Durkan for filing for a hearing on traffic enforcement of blocked bike lanes and crosswalks. We look forward to working with these councilors on the annual reporting ordinance and we look forward to the opportunity to testify at these hearings. 

We know how to build safer streets, and we will continue to advocate for safe, slow streets and protected, connected bike infrastructure. We hope that all members of Boston City Council, the Mayor, and the Streets Cabinet will work with us to advocate for the same.