Cambridge business owners say bike lanes are keeping customers away

CAMBRIDGE – The city of Cambridge is being sued to protect against the installation of extra bicycle lanes. Harold Gilmer owns Elite Barber Store on Mass. Ave and has been reducing hair in the community for 21 yrs. “It truly is affected every person all around here, the business is not the very same,” Gilmer mentioned.

He claims the city’s current cycling security ordinance, which calls for bicycle lanes all alongside Mass. Ave, is hurting regional organization proprietors.

“We’ve been possessing parking up and down Mass. Ave for this whole time and to shell out your payments you have to have to have people today be equipped to pull above and stop by the outlets,” Gilmer said.

Other entrepreneurs agree, the new absence of parking implies much less customers through their doorways.

“We couldn’t properly make a buyer base, people were not going for walks in so we experienced to adjust to survive we had to do a lot more takeout and shipping and delivery,” mentioned Som Pogosov of Phoenix Kitchen area.  

Proponents of the bicycle lanes position out the city will be eliminating the median between Roseland and Beech Road by the conclude of July to build much more parking places in the Porter Sq. space.

Chris Cassa, a volunteer with Cambridge Bicycle Safety, adds practically two-thirds of the Cambridge community rides bikes and safety stays the biggest issue.

“We care deeply about creating positive that there is adequate parking but also want to make certain that people acknowledge that safer streets that help individuals move additional successfully by way of the streets are going to enable assistance little companies,” Cassa stated.

“In particular on Mass. Ave from 2015 to 2021 six individuals have died on our streets who are biking and 250 persons who have been biking have been associated in a crash that was with a motor vehicle that resulted in an harm or much more than $1,000 hurt.”  

“If we go out of small business we will have a ton of excellent bike lanes, but it will be a shallow space,” Sam Pogosov mentioned.