Biking and driving on the streets of Boston
By 
Cyclists are some of the most passionate advocates that the Bay State’s transportation sector has ever seen. Thanks to the pressure of bike advocates, bike lanes have been carved out along major thoroughfares such as metro Boston’s Massachusetts Avenue and major transportation projects like the Green Line Extension include considerations for cyclists.
Yet the mix of cars and bikes is a combustible one given the driving habits of Homo sapiens in Boston, frequently rated among the country’s worst. Combine people in four-wheeled vehicles who don’t respect each other with people pushing pedals and you have the perfect recipe for conflict.
So it is not surprising that when Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby proposed that cyclists keep to bucolic landscapes such as the Arnold Arboretum, the full fury of the biking world would rain down upon him in the comments section. “Utter drivel, Jacoby,” noted one poster.
Indeed, what’s at work is not some ephemeral trend, but a monumental cultural shift in the way large numbers of people get around cities. Many drivers likely share Jacoby’s sentiments, but bicycles continue to gain in popularity as a commuting alternative to cars and the MBTA in Boston. The likelihood that transportation officials and political leaders will discourage cyclists is nil.
Boston officials responded to the death of cyclist Anita Kurmann, at the notorious intersection of Mass. Ave. and Beacon Street where the fatal accident occurred, by implementing new traffic measures, such as no right turn on red. The MBTA’s Harvard-Dudley 1 bus and MASCO’s Harvard Square-Cambridge shuttle bus stops are also being moved a short distance away.
Avi Ofsevit, a transportation management specialist who blogs at The Amateur Planner, noted that further modifications such as flexi-posts should be installed along the route to further protect cyclists.
How to change Boston’s driving culture is a bigger lift. Transportation and public safety officials will have to consider the effects on driver behavior of the increases in the numbers of cyclists and decreases in the size of driving lanes to accommodate them.
Similarly, enforcement of current bicycle regulations may need to be stepped up and other regs revisited. There are cyclists who ignore basic road rules, such as red lights mean full stop; wait for green to proceed.
Then there is the cringe-worthy spectacle of helmetless cyclists studying their smartphones, or, better yet, texting while cruising on Mass. Ave. at rush hour. Texting while driving is prohibited in Massachusetts and subject to fines; the law does not specify bicycling. As for helmets, only cyclists 16-years-old and under and motorcyclists are required to wear them.
—GABRIELLE GURLEY
Close to 200 children under state oversight in foster homes or group homes were subject to abuse or neglect in 2014, according to a troubling new report. (Boston Globe) Forty children died while in state care. (State House News)
Ground fishermen do not agree with how Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed to spend federal fisheries disaster money. (Cape Cod Times)
WGBH’s Mike Deehan profiles Katie Stebbins, the Baker administration’s point-person on innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Lawrence residents pushing for the recall of Mayor Daniel Rivera say they are responding primarily to hiring and firing practices that did not follow city rules, but also his decisions to close two fire stations and not reopen a footbridge over railroad tracks. (Eagle-Tribune)
A Salem News editorial backs revised plans for the construction of Gateway Center that include a senior center and housing rather than a senior center and office space.
Gloucester residents push an ordinance that would open more beaches to dog walking while increasing the fine for failing to pick up after your dog to $200. (Gloucester Times)
Former Fall River mayor Will Flanagan, the first mayor in the city’s history to be recalled, is easing back into public life by opening a law office downtown. (Herald News)
Framingham selectmen vote to allow three medical marijuana dispensaries to open in town.
OLYMPICS
As expected, the US Olympic Committee endorses Los Angeles for the 2024 Olympics bid. (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses because of her religious convictions regarding the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman, has been married four times and has bore at least two children outside of her marriages. (New York Times)
President Obama has secured enough votes in the Senate to ensure his nuclear pact with Iran will be implemented. (New York Times)
ELECTIONS
CNN amends its criteria for deciding who will participate in the upcoming GOP debate to better reflect more recent polling data, a move that could give a boost to Carly Fiorina. (CNN) Fiorina is in, reports the Washington Post. The move follows a report from MassINC Polling Group’s Steve Koczela on how CNN’s criteria made little sense. (CommonWealth)
Donald Trump may be stooping low by calling his Republican rivals losers, but Jeb Bush is hitting back with new ads that go even farther by charging Trump with being a liberal. (Boston Globe) The New Republic‘s Brian Beutler pushes past the safe Trump-is-current-front-runner call to say he’s the most likely GOP nominee at this point.
Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig talks with Jim Braude about his reasons for exploring a run for president, including his pledge to step down after passing his proposed “Citizens Equality Act” and handing the job to the vice president. (Greater Boston)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Stocks continue to tumble, and may not be done. (Boston Globe)
Boston Fed chief Eric Rosengren says any interest-rate increases will be gradual. (Boston Globe)
Sean Murphy has the tip sheet on what the brief return of horse racing to Suffolk Downs means for various interests. (Boston Globe)
EDUCATION
The Boston Teachers Union president Richard Stutman says inexperienced principals are to blame for the fact that 159 tenured teachers remain on the city payroll but are not assigned to any classroom because of the district’s new mutual consent hiring policy that diminishes the role of seniority in placements. (Boston Herald)
Kerry Healey did not prove to be a stellar politician, but she is hitting her groove as president of Babson College. (Boston Globe)
HEALTH CARE
Health care spending rose 4.8 percent last year in Massachusetts, well above the 3.6 percent target, with the primary culprit being much higher growth in Medicaid spending. (WBUR)
A federal judge has ruled a non-religious organization can claim a “moral exemption” to the mandate to provide contraception under the Affordable Care Act. (New York Times)
TRANSPORTATION
A California judge allows a class action lawsuit brought by Uber drivers to proceed. (Time)
Taxis and Uber may be worsening the paratransit problem in Washington, DC. (Governing)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Opponents are considering appealing a state regulatory decision approving utility contracts to obtain natural gas from the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline. (Boston Herald) Kathryn R. Eiseman, a pipeline opponent, documents Kinder Morgan’s misinformation campaign. (CommonWealth)
A state Appeals Court panel has sided with a group of Hingham homeowners who claimed a beach in the town’s toney Crow Point neighborhood should be accessible to all residents in the area, not just a select few who say a 1929 deed gives them sole possession. (Patriot Ledger)
Residents near a former cranberry bog in Middleboro are opposing a plan by a retired British national to buy the property and build a fish farm, grow blueberries, and keep bees and livestock. (The Enterprise)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
A former Irish nanny is quickly deported after the state’s medical examiner concludes the baby who died in her care may not have been shaken to death. (Associated Press)
Massachusetts police are using Taser guns at nearly twice the rate they did four years ago. (Boston Herald) New Bedford police used the electronic weapon the most, more than twice as often as the second city, Lawrence. (Standard-Times)
The Pokemon suspects were prepared to inflict mass casualties, prosecutors say at a dangerousness hearing. (Boston Globe)
MEDIA
The New York Times has a glowing review of Black Mass, the Whitey Bulger movie due out in two weeks, calling the film a serious contender on the awards circuit.