Longtime Back Bay resident strongly opposes proposed Dartmouth Street bike lane
Dear Editor,
As a resident in Back Bay by Dartmouth/Commonwealth Avenue, my family has lived here for 14 years. We use Public Alley 435, which exits to Dartmouth Street between Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
We were not made aware of the [Dartmouth Street bike lane] proposal until last year and only become aware of it a month ago. It is extremely discouraging to see on your posted signs that the work has already been scheduled. This work will be disruptive to the neighborhood and destroy the beauty of my neighborhood
We are entirely against this proposal, since it will cause more congestion from our alley as we will have to look both ways walking or driving. The parked cars will be extended out, and there is no room for deliveries to the Saltie Girl, which will force them to illegally park and block our alley even more. The lack of police resources means there has been, and will be, no enforcement on illegally parked cars/trucks in Public Alley 435.
{The city is] discriminating against senior citizens who are not bike riders, given their age, and yet you are telling people such as my wife and myself that we should be bike users even when six months out of the year the weather is not conducive. As for the Dartmouth/Storrow Overpass, bike riders never get off their bikes for the pedestrians. This reeks of city planners forcing their views on the residents of Back Bay when they did not get their Berkeley Street bike wish, and they are now pushing it on Dartmouth residents.
We are 100-percent against this, and will be voting accordingly.
Phil Dubuque
Commonwealth Avenue