CAMBRIDGE – The town of Cambridge is staying sued to stop the installation of additional bicycle lanes. Harold Gilmer owns Elite Barber Shop on Mass. Ave and has been slicing hair in the community for 21 several years. “It truly is influenced all people about listed here, the enterprise is not the identical,” Gilmer explained.
He says the city’s current biking security ordinance, which calls for bicycle lanes all along Mass. Ave, is hurting area organization homeowners.
“We have been obtaining parking up and down Mass. Ave for this total time and to pay out your costs you need to have to have people today be ready to pull around and check out the stores,” Gilmer said.
Other owners concur, the new absence of parking signifies a lot less shoppers by means of their doorways.
“We couldn’t thoroughly develop a shopper base, folks were not strolling in so we experienced to adjust to endure we had to do much more takeout and delivery,” mentioned Som Pogosov of Phoenix Kitchen area.
Proponents of the bicycle lanes position out the town will be eliminating the median between Roseland and Beech Avenue by the finish of July to generate far more parking spots in the Porter Sq. location.
Chris Cassa, a volunteer with Cambridge Bicycle Basic safety, adds practically two-thirds of the Cambridge neighborhood rides bikes and basic safety remains the most important concern.
“We treatment deeply about creating confident that there is ample parking but also want to make guaranteed that persons recognize that safer streets that assistance persons move far more successfully by means of the streets are likely to support support little businesses,” Cassa claimed.
“Particularly on Mass. Ave from 2015 to 2021 six individuals have died on our streets who are biking and 250 persons who were being biking have been included in a crash that was with a motor auto that resulted in an personal injury or much more than $1,000 destruction.”
“If we go out of organization we will have a great deal of great bike lanes, but it will be a shallow region,” Sam Pogosov mentioned.
