Bicycle sharing could come to eastern half of Cambridge by fall

By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent

Up to 14 bicycle docking stations could be opened in Cambridge as soon as this fall as part of Hubway, the regional bicycle sharing program launching in Boston next week.

Cambridge officials are targeting Harvard Square, Central, Inman and Kendall squares for some of the city’s first bicycle stations, said Cara Seiderman, the transportation program manager for Cambridge.

The eastern portion of the city is being targeted for the first bicycle stations because they would be closer to the Hubway stations opening in Boston, Seiderman told the Cambridge City Council’s Ordinance Committee Monday.

Hubway will allow users, who can buy memberships ranging from a day to an annual pass, to borrow bicycles for short trips and return them at any docking station in the regional network. Boston is planning to have 61 bicycle docking stations for about 600 bicycles in the city. Somerville and Brookline are also in the process of linking up to the regional network.

Before the program launches in Cambridge, the Cambridge City Council must vote to make bicycle sharing stations for Hubway an allowed use under current zoning laws.
The Council’s Ordinance Committee voted Monday in favor of recommending the zoning changes to the full Council.

“I think it’s going to be a tremendous addition to Cambridge and the region,” said Committee Chair Sam Seidel of the bicycle sharing program.

Seiderman said the city would use a combination of grant funding, revenues from parking fees and donations from Harvard University and MIT to launch the first bicycle sharing stations.

She said Hubway will allow the city to expand opportunities to use sustainable transportation, reduce vehicle trips, improve public health and extend the public transportation systems by allowing users to take the T and then ride a bike for the final portion of their commute.

Seiderman said bicycle stations could later be added to western areas of the city, such as around the Alewife T stop and Fresh Pond.

Launching Hubway in Cambridge drew mixed reviews from residents at the Ordinance Committee’s hearing Monday.

Cambridge resident Steve Miller, who is also a member of the non-profit LivableStreets Alliance, supported the idea because he said he thinks Hubway will make bicycling become more “mainstream” by bringing in people who do not usually ride bikes.

But resident James Williamson said before launching the program the city needs to address serious safety concerns posed by cyclists who do not obey traffic laws.

Williamson said he was almost hit by a cyclist on the sidewalk last week, and he thinks police should arrest the scofflaws and confiscate their bicycles.

“It’s just not safe walking the sidewalks of the city,” he said.

--brock.globe@gmail.com