MELROSE — Every May, Massachusetts celebrates Bay State Bike Month, a month-long series of events held from the Berkshires to the Cape to raise awareness for safe cycling across the Commonwealth. Here in Melrose, we enjoy a strong foundation for cycling. We have a wonderful local bike shop on Main Street, the Ride Café. We have an incredible “Bike Bus” of schoolchildren at the Horace Mann which has made national headlines for their fun group rides to school. We have a central business district and multiple transit access points within easy cycling distance for most residents. We have a Complete Streets policy and a mayor who has committed to adopting a “Vision Zero” framework to make safety the chief goal of every decision we make about our roadways. And we have a road network that is free from the deadliest highways and “stroads” that plague so many other communities. In Melrose, every street is a neighborhood street.
Still, there is always more work to do. The Melrose Pedestrian & Bicyclist Committee would like to take the opportunity this Bay State Bike Month to remind everyone that behavior on our roadways is one integral component to keeping everyone in our community safe. Drivers, please remember that it’s now the law to give cyclists at least four feet of clear space if you are passing them. Please always obey the speed limits and remember, using your phone while you’re driving is extremely dangerous and against the law even if you’re stopped at a light. And cyclists, please do your part to follow the rules of the road, behave predictably and always yield the right of way to pedestrians.
For those looking for a great local cycling event, Friday, May 16 is Boston Bike to Work Day and we’d like to invite anyone interested in commuting to Boston via bike to meet up that morning in front of the YMCA at 7 a.m. A group of riders will depart southbound to the Northern Strand, where we’ll meet up with folks from other communities before heading downtown for a celebration featuring music, food and giveaways. We hope to see you there!
To learn more about Bay State Bike Month, visit massbike.org, To get involved locally with the Melrose Pedestrian & Bicyclist Committee and learn more about our efforts to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety in Melrose, sign up for our mailing list at pedbikemelrose.org.