LivableStreets Phil Goff speaks at Comm. Ave. bike lane press event (Aug. 5, 2008)

LivableStreets Phil Goff speaks at Comm. Ave. bike lane press event
[ Click here for TV5 coverage ]

My name is Phil Goff and I sit on the board on the LivableStreets Alliance, an urban-planning and transportation advocacy organization working to reshape notions of how cars, people and public transit can co-exist. Our group formed three years ago because we thought that when it came to designing and building streets in Boston, quality-of-life issues typically took a back seat to the quick and efficient movement of automobiles and trucks.

As you all can see in front of you, this stretch of Comm Ave represent something different: a triumph of thoughtful design where the needs of pedestrians, transit riders and cyclists have been given equal standing with automobiles. The key to this development was that the City of Boston took the bold step to do something almost unheard of: remove a lane of traffic! This provided the space for wider trolley platforms, a tree-lined median, wide sidewalks and bike lanes. This multi-modal “complete street” is hopefully a harbinger for other projects throughout the City of Boston.

LivableStreets would also like to acknowledge the unique and successful collaboration that came about in the past two years between MassHighway, the City of Boston and advocacy groups including LivableStreets, MassBike, WalkBoston and the Institute of Human Centered Design. We would like to offer a special thanks to MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky for her help to broker this collaboration. Together, we were able to bring an already-good street design to another level by finding the space to stripe bike lanes throughout the length of the project including the deck over the MassPike.

Throughout the US, urban quality of life, walking/biking for health, and serious concerns about global climate change have taken center stage. To remain a truly “world-class city", Boston needs to become a world-class bicycling city. LivableStreets commends the city of Boston for its efforts over the past year to launch its new bicycling initiative, and we look forward to working with Transportation Department, the Mayor’s office, Nicole Freedman, neighborhood groups and other advocates to make this a reality.

I am extremely excited about the completion of this project and look forward to one day seeing students, commuters, families, the elderly and people of all stripes riding in bike lanes along the entire stretch of Comm. Ave. from Chestnut Hill all the way to the Public Garden.

[ Click here to read "Boston's bike lanes nearly set for riders", Boston Globe, Aug. 6 ]

[ Click here for the City of Boston's Press Release. ]