'Safe streets' group rallies for cyclist, pedestrian improvements in Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — As Cambridge City Council arrives at City Hall for a meeting Monday, they were greeted by a group of people asking for safer streets.

Local 'safe streets' advocates are asking community members to rally in demand for the city to take steps to make streets safer for people who both walk and bike.

"We're sending a message - loud and clear - to Cambridge City Hall that they are not moving fast enough," the group said in a release.

The group demonstrated in front of city hall with "friends, family, bicycles, helmets, noisemakers and energy."

The demonstration comes just a few months after a 27-year-old nursing student was killed in Inman Square when a car door opened and forced her into the path of a dump truck.

Cambridge's bike policy is on the agenda for Monday's meeting.

The group has launched a safe streets petition here.

This is their lists of requests:

• Protected bike lanes and intersections. Unprotected bike lanes in the door zone are not acceptable.
• Special attention paid to high-volume corridors such as Mass. Ave. and Hampshire St.
• Special attention paid to family bike routes to schools and other public destinations.
• Lower the speed limit across the city and enforce the new standard.
• Restrict semi-trailer operations in dangerous parts of the city both spatially and temporally (where and when they can operate).
• Make motorists accountable and have cycling awareness as part of driver education.

Cox Media Group