An online petition is circulating asking to have protected bike lanes installed on Centre Street.
"If the City takes Vision Zero seriously, major thoroughfares that have the street space available should have protected bike lanes installed. Let's start small and practically by choosing Centre Street to install parking-protected bike lanes," says the petition.
The petition is being formally submitted to Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and also asks for comments to be specifically directed to Boston's Transportation Department.
"The bike lanes already exist and, due to road construction, have been in dire need of repainting. We propose when the city repaints the lanes as they are required to, to put the cycle lane in between the parked cars and the sidewalk instead of between the parked car lane and traffic," says the petition.
A list of benefits from having protected bike lanes is also included with the petition, which was started by Josh Grolman, according to a version of the petition on change.org.
The benefits listed are:
- More community engagement
- Increase in local business profits
- More equity in transit options
- Lower pollution levels
- Safety improvements that will save lives
- Less traffic and competition for parking spaces
- Less double-parking, which creates additional hazards