Local News
Three cyclists in Cambridge have already died this year.
Cyclists at Riverbend Park along Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Vincent Alban for the Boston Globe
The Cambridge City Council passed an ordinance Monday to lower the speed limit “as much as possible” on state highways in Cambridge and particularly on Memorial Drive, following several cyclist deaths this year.
The order, which narrowly passed 5-4, comes after the death of cyclist John Corcoran last month on Memorial Drive.
“We must do everything we can to make our streets safer,” Cambridge City Councilman Marc McGovern wrote on X after Corcoran’s death.
I was devastated to learn of the death of another cyclist in @CambMAthe third in just a few months. We must do everything in our power to make our streets safer, without delay. @cambbikesafety
– Cambridge Vice Mayor Marc McGovern (@Marc_C_McGovern) September 24, 2024
Over the past 10 years, more than 1,200 accidents have been reported on Memorial Drive, according to City Councilor Patricia Nolan.
Corcoran marked the third cyclist death in Cambridge this year. In June, a 55-year-old Florida woman and a 24-year-old MIT student were killed while riding their bikes in the city.
“The tragic death of a cyclist on Memorial Drive last week highlights the danger present on sections of Memorial Drive and the limits of Cambridge’s ability to make critical safety improvements within the city,” it said. the order.
This order aligns with Cambridge’s commitment to Vision Zero, a “strategy to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries while increasing safe, healthy and equitable mobility for all,” according to the site City Internet.
“Vision Zero requires cities to focus on safety and explore all avenues of multimodal transportation on our streets,” Nolan, who voted to pass the ordinance, wrote in a statement. “Lowering speed limits is a proven way to reduce injuries and crashes. »
Advocates have called on officials to review the current design of Memorial Drive to create a full-width, shared-use path that addresses safety concerns.
The policy order builds on short-term safety improvements that were announced after Corcoran’s death along Memorial Drive from Magazine Street to Audrey Street via the BU Bridge traffic circle.
Changes included widening sidewalks leading to the BU rotary, improving wheelchair ramps, replacing the existing Boston Pattern fence, including green painting bike crossings, and implementing a reduced speed limit to 25 mph on the BU Bridge corridor.
DCR began working on the improvements Monday.
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Here are the changes coming to Memorial Drive in Cambridge after cyclist dies in car
The policy order directs the city manager to work with DCR and other relevant departments to continue to improve safety along Memorial Drive in the short term.
In addition to Memorial Drive, the city council aims to lower speed limits on all state highways within Cambridge’s geographic boundaries. The ordinance calls for “expanding green spaces,” “improving highway crossings” and “reducing motor vehicle travel lanes.”
“Lowering the speed limit on Memorial Drive should help, but we really need infrastructure changes that will force people to slow down if we are to avoid tragedies like Dr. Corcoran’s death,” McGovern wrote in a statement.
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