Here in Massachusetts, election season is heating up. On November 4th, fifty-five cities and towns across the state will hold their biennial municipal elections. Check to see if your town is on the list.
But smart campaigns know that real change doesn’t start or stop just because of one election night.
Cambridge Bike Safety, a volunteer group made up of locals pushing for better street design and safer biking infrastructure for everyone – no matter their age or skill – has become a major player in Cambridge’s political scene.
That influence didn’t happen overnight though. They’ve put in years of work between elections by speaking at public meetings, going door-to-door, launching petitions, hosting events, and basically just being present wherever they can make a difference.
Cambridge stands out as one of only two places in Massachusetts using ranked-choice voting (with Boston, Bedford, Falmouth, and Concord possibly following soon). The race for nine city council seats is underway and Cambridge Bike Safety recently announced endorsements for candidates who truly support people getting around by bike or on foot.
A ghost bike memorial to John Corcoran, who was killed by an SUV driver on the bike path next to Memorial Drive in Cambridge last September. Photo courtesy of Peter Cheung.
How a Tragedy Sparked Action
The story of Cambridge Bike Safety starts with tragedy. After two cyclists died in 2016 – Amanda Phillips in Inman Square and Joseph Lavins in Porter Square – longtime volunteer Chris Cassa said “we wanted to make sure that kind of tragedy never happened again.”
The group connects with people from all walks of life; their email list has over 10,000 subscribers and volunteers like Catherine Benedict and Maggie Baratz bring diverse backgrounds and experiences.
“Cambridge Bike Safety is a group of volunteers working to make Cambridge a safer place for people who walk and bike,” Benedict says.
“It’s really an intergenerational movement,” Baratz adds. “You’ve got twenty-somethings, parents with kids, and folks in their seventies who rely on bikes every day.”
Benedict herself is 27 and works in communications here in Cambridge. She doesn’t consider herself much of a biker but joined after her friend Minh-Thi Nguyen was hit by a truck while biking to MIT earlier this year. Losing her friend pushed Benedict into action-from speaking at City Council against delays on bike lanes to now helping with outreach for CBS.
Baratz is 41, works full-time professionally, and is also a mom. She got involved when plans for protected bike lanes on Garden Street were threatened after the city considered reversing its traffic pattern there. She collected over 700 signatures on a petition to keep those plans alive.
The group keeps busy engaging with locals through events like last week’s panel about what you should do if you’re involved in a bike crash-and other workshops teaching families how to talk about biking safely.
CBS also meets people where they are-showing up at back-to-school nights across Cambridge Public Schools handing out lights, reflectors, safety gear to students, caregivers, teachers-you name it.
With election season ramping up now though, their focus has shifted toward holding candidates accountable come November 4th.
CBS wants the city to finish building the connected network promised under the Cycling Safety Ordinance by 2026-and they’re backing candidates committed to seeing that through.
Understanding the ‘Cycling Safety Ordinance’
The Cycling Safety Ordinance (CSO) has quite the history-full of community pushback, red tape from city officials, and trying to find middle ground among different interests.
Back in 2015 , Cambridge rolled out its first Bicycle Plan , later updated in 2021 , which mapped out about 20-25 miles of protected bike lanes throughout town. It was ambitious but not legally binding , so progress stalled without enough political drive.
Then , after years of advocacy plus some tragic losses , City Council passed the first CSO in 2019 , requiring protected bike lanes be built during street reconstruction projects along key routes.
“We pushed for building at least two miles per year leading up to this law-a national first mandating protected lanes whenever streets get rebuilt,” said Cassa.
At first , they aimed for adding two-four miles yearly but weren’t strict about enforcing timelines.
“Since streets only get rebuilt every 50-75 years,” Cassa explained , “if we waited just for reconstruction we’d never finish. So we set goals-about three-four miles per year over seven years-to wrap it all up by 2026.”
Advocates won an update passed by City Council in 2020 requiring that network completion stick firmly to that timeline-even if some streets weren’t scheduled for big rebuilds yet.
From the archives:
With deadlines legally set , things started moving faster : Garden Street then Brattle Street followed along segments including Mass Ave., Hampshire Street, and Cambridge Street.
But as progress picked up steam so did resistance from small businesses worried about losing parking spots plus some neighbors unhappy too. A group called ‘Cambridge Streets for All’ tried suing twice unsuccessfully hoping delays or outright stops would happen.
A narrow five-to-four vote back in 2023 rejected another attempt trying delay CSO timelines-a key moment showing how steady pressure keeps city officials aligned with residents’ wishes.
This fall, Cambridge has completed roughly20outof25milesplannedprotectedbike lanes.
“It’s really working,” Cassa said.”We’ve seen kids biking school increase more than threefold, and Bluebikes use rise28%year over year.”
CBS reports based on Transportation Department data show injury rates falling where safe lanes exist too.
Still, some important north-south routes like parts Mass. Ave. are not done yet.
Vice Mayor Marc Mc Govern looks ahead:
“Next steps involve focusing north-south connections, making transit better, and educating everyone more about road rules,” he told Streetsblog MASS.
CBS is campaigning hard before Nov4to elect candidates ready keep finishing this work on time.
Champions For Bikes In Cambridge
CBS picked seven “Bike Champions”from12candidates. They lookedforthosewho “pledged complete networkby deadline,”gave strong transportation answerson questionnaires, and incumbents had perfect voteson bike safety.
“We want accountability,”Cassa stated.”It’s notenoughtosay caring-we need actionto finishnetwork.” Baratz addedendorsements reliedonvotesand questionnaire responses.
Though council sets policy, the citymanager handles implementation. Cassa stressed choosing leaderswho deliveris vital.
Benedict praised officials who listenand care, such as Vice Mayor Marc Mc Govern who reachedout after Minh-Thi’s vigilandsupports safe streets continually.
Local politics intersectstoughlywithotherissues. Most CBS-backedcandidatesalsoreceive supportfrom pro-housinggroup A Better Cambridge.
This yearthe council voted8-1tol egalizemultifamily housingcitywide, revealinghow interlinked policiesreally are.
Talking With The Candidates
Vice Mayor Marc Mc Govern, a CBS-endorsed Bike Champion, told Streetsblog MASS he helped lead cycling safety efforts well before CBS existed.
“I was main sponsorofthe Cycling Safety Ordinance,”Mc Govern noted proudly.
“Progresshasbeen huge: crashesdown, ridershipup. Still, we facepushbackfromsome wantingto rollbacks Iwon’taccept.”<Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler takesa personal stand:
“I lost part oftwo teeth ina crash here,”hesaid. He introducedthe ordinance earlyinhis term, is runningagain topreserve saferstreets majorityon council.”
Both Mc Governand Sobrinho-Wheeler see clear priorities: protectedlanessavelivesmultiple ways.
Sobrinho-Wheeler pointedout dangerous noisy cloggedstreets hurteveryone. Safe streets provide buslanes signal priority making walkingbiking safe, resulting infewer carsfor driversand deliveries alike.”
“Safety mattersobviously,”Mc Govern added,”butmorebikers mean less pollutionhelpingour planet stay livable future.”
Mc Govern calls his relationshipwith CBS apartnership:”We teach each other, we campaign together.”
“Policymakers-and advocates working hand-in-handshapes how our city’s roads evolve,” hesaid. This teamwork showsclearly inthe community-driven pushthat led tothelawandits follow-through.
Your Vote Counts
The Fitchburg Crossing update showed local/state levels can fix gaps leftbyfederal government whenit comes toequityandevolving policies.<M c Gover n noted voterturnouthere tendslow. Sobrinho-Wheeler agreedlocal racesoftendecidedbyjust handfulvotes.<Both urgepeople tog etoutvote because transport developmentpublic safety shape daily lifehere."<Sobrinho-Wheelersaysvoterscontroltangible localissueslike street layout, housing, zoning transit supportsafter-school programs.”<Mc Govern:"Local electionsmaynotseem flashy, butdecisionsmade hereimpact residents everyday livesbigtime.”< Benedict shares similar view: “I never thought local politics matteredto me,” she said.“Butlosing my friend Minh-Thi made me realize real change starts right here-with city council.”< The deadline t o register v ote Massachusett s elections happening Tuesday November4is Saturday October25. Visit Cambridges websitefor info registeringcity election.”
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