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Tell us: Should bicyclists and drivers be treated differently?

In Somerville, city councilors are calling on police to stop issuing warnings to bicyclists who pass through stop signs and red lights if they properly yield to traffic and pedestrians.

Bikes in Alan Wright’s basement he fixes to donate to new refugees in the Boston area, who use them to get to jobs, shopping, and to explore their new environs. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe

By Laura Emde

August 28, 2023

1 minute to read

Bicycling has long been a source of contention in Greater Boston. From disagreement over a potential bike lane on Boylston Street to a recent state law protecting “vulnerable” road users, there has been many discussions surrounding the place of bicyclists in the area.

The most recent debate arose in Somerville, where city councilors are calling on police to stop issuing warnings to cyclists who pass through stop signs and red lights as long as they properly yield to traffic and pedestrians.

Somerville police received a $17,000 grant for cyclist and pedestrian enforcement in June, and have issued about 200 warnings to cyclists since then, according to a Boston Herald report.

Somerville city councilors who want police to ease up on the enforcement, as well as cyclist advocacy groups, cited the “Idaho Stop,” which allows bicyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs and red lights like stop signs.

In Massachusetts, bicyclists are required to stop at red lights and stop signs under state law.

Those who oppose easing enforcement of bicyclists, such as Jason Mackey, who previously ran for State Representative for the 27th Middlesex District, said that unlike more rural areas such as Idaho, Somerville is too densely populated to implement such a law.

We want to hear from you: Should bicyclists and drivers be treated differently? Should the “Idaho Stop” be implemented in Massachusetts? Share your thoughts by filling out the survey below or by sending an e-mail to [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.

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