Bicyclists Thursday said the death of one rider and the serious injury of another on city streets 18 hours apart highlight the need for more action to be taken to improve biker safety.
“While crashes do happen, when they are caused by bad roads or bad decisions, this should be unacceptable to everyone, and we need to make sure that the city of Boston and the MBTA … do more to prevent these tragedies,” the Boston-based Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition said.
Shane Jordan, of MassBike, said the group is working on a safety campaign that includes legislation to improve pedestrian and rider safety as well as blogs that offer tips on sharing the road.
Before the two recent crashes, the city has been analyzing streets where it could set up bicycle lanes and shared accommodations, said Nicole Freedman of Boston Bikes.
Freedman, who is the director of the city agency, said the city is looking to double the 15 miles of bicycle lanes and accommodations already laid out on Boston streets this year.
“We live in a city and there is a lot of competing interests on the roads,” Freedman said. “The real issue is how we can all use the roads together and safely.”
