Cambridge business owners say bike lanes are keeping customers away

CAMBRIDGE – The metropolis of Cambridge is becoming sued to avert the set up of extra bicycle lanes. Harold Gilmer owns Elite Barber Store on Mass. Ave and has been cutting hair in the community for 21 many years. “It is really impacted everybody about in this article, the small business is not the exact,” Gilmer said.

He says the city’s present-day biking protection ordinance, which calls for bike lanes all along Mass. Ave, is hurting regional business enterprise proprietors.

“We have been possessing parking up and down Mass. Ave for this entire time and to fork out your costs you will need to have people today be ready to pull over and stop by the outlets,” Gilmer stated.

Other proprietors agree, the new absence of parking implies a lot less shoppers through their doorways.

“We couldn’t properly create a consumer foundation, folks weren’t strolling in so we experienced to regulate to survive we experienced to do more takeout and shipping and delivery,” mentioned Som Pogosov of Phoenix Kitchen area.  

Proponents of the bike lanes level out the city will be eliminating the median between Roseland and Beech Avenue by the finish of July to generate a lot more parking places in the Porter Sq. spot.

Chris Cassa, a volunteer with Cambridge Bicycle Protection, provides approximately two-thirds of the Cambridge local community rides bikes and safety continues to be the most significant worry.

“We care deeply about making positive that there is enough parking but also want to make guaranteed that people understand that safer streets that help folks move far more efficiently by the streets are likely to enable support smaller companies,” Cassa mentioned.

“Primarily on Mass. Ave from 2015 to 2021 6 people have died on our streets who are biking and 250 individuals who have been biking have been associated in a crash that was with a motor automobile that resulted in an personal injury or a lot more than $1,000 hurt.”  

“If we go out of company we are going to have a lot of great bicycle lanes, but it will be a shallow place,” Sam Pogosov said.