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Here are the changes coming to Memorial Drive in Cambridge after cyclist killed by car
There will be a permanent speed limit reduction to 25 mile per hour and a new dedicated bike lane near the BU Bridge rotary.
Memorial Drive will see short-term safety improvements including a speed limit reduction after a Newton cyclist was killed in a crash there, the Department of Conservation and Recreation announced.
DCR, which operates Memorial Drive, began construction Monday to implement short-term improvements from Magazine Street to Audrey Street through the Boston University Bridge rotary. John Concoran, a 62-year-old man, was struck by an SUV near the BU Boathouse while cycling, reportedly on the sidewalk.
The short-term improvements have been in a design process for the past year, DCR said. Commuters will see a widening of sidewalks to 12 feet leading to the rotary on the river side, improvements to wheelchair ramps and median islands at the intersection of Memorial Drive and the BU Bridge, new fencing, and restriped crosswalks to include green paint for bike crossing.
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DCR will also implement a permanent speed limit reduction from 35 to 25 mph along the BU Bridge corridor, officials said. State Rep. Mike Connolly, who represents Cambridge, said DCR briefed Cambridge officials on the changes last week. He said a dedicated bike lane will be added to the BU Bridge intersection.
“We are breaking ground on more than one million dollars in safety upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists along Memorial Drive, underscoring our commitment to ensuring our parkways are safe and accessible for all travelers,” DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo said in a statement.
Construction will take place Monday through Friday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. More construction will continue from Oct. 15 through Nov. 26 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with potential weekend and night work, DCR said.
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“Thank you to DCR for working with us on these changes, efforts that date back to last year and build on years of advocacy — and thank you to the activists who continue to call for safety upgrades, a call made all the more urgent in the wake of the tragic killing of John Corcoran by the driver of a Mercedes SUV last week,” Connolly wrote in a statement.
Memorial Drive will get a more permanent transformation as part of the Reid Overpass project, DCR said. The project includes planning with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Advocates have long tried to address the stretch of Memorial Drive where Corcoran was struck. Last year, the BU Bridge Safety Alliance proposed changes to the pathway. When Critical Mass Boston hosted a bike ride memorial for Corcoran and other cyclists killed in Cambridge, they also called on DCR to make changes to protect bicyclists along the drive.
Two other cyclists were killed earlier this summer after being struck by box trucks in Cambridge. Kim Staley, a 55-year-old from Florida, and Minh-Thi Nguyen, a 24-year-old student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were both hit when trucks going the same way as the cyclists turned into their paths.
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No charges have been announced against the man driving the SUV who struck Corcoran.
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