The Imaginary Future of Cambridge Transportation by John Pitkin

Last fall the Office of the Cambridge City Manager mailed a 24-page edition of The Cambridge Life magazine to residents. On the cover was an idealized street scene of Harvard Square with the shapes of two cyclists in cool colors riding along a separated, flex-post cycle lane in the foreground; on the far side of the intersection are much smaller shapes of a mom, dad and child walking with a dog along a sidewalk. An MBTA-like bus is approaching from the direction of a high-rise building in the distance, washed in gold light from the sun beyond. The streets are uncluttered by private vehicles of any description. We see no car, truck, motorcycle, ambulance, scooter, or Segway. Nor do we see crosswalks, traffic signs or signals, or anyone who deviates from the image of a young, fit, prosperous demographic.

It is not the reality of today. It is a future-scape free of all hazards, one that exists only in the imagination. It is a “Vision Zero,” to which the cover and the main article proclaim the City’s “unwavering commitment.”
“We’re not just fixing today’s problems; we’re looking to the future 25, even 100 years out,” says a City engineer in an article.

The City Manager’s introduction is focused on the present. It highlights a list of current realities: Cambridge’s national recognition as a “paradise” for walking and biking; increased congestion; streets that are becoming “complex to navigate;” three cyclist fatalities in the summer of 2024; and complaints from “seniors and residents with disabilities that it is harder to travel around the city or receive services.”

The 14 articles in the issue address only one of the four problems in the manager’s list: cycling safety. There is nothing about increased traffic and congestion, confusing street designs, or access for service providers, delivery of goods, or visitors from outside Cambridge. One sentence is devoted to a current issue which is not mentioned in the Manager’s statement: the “loss of parking resulting from the installation of separated cycle lanes.” The needs of businesses for deliveries and customer parking are mentioned nowhere.

In an article on equity and accessibility, the Manager’s Office affirms that the City is listening to citizens’ concerns—just not those about traffic or parking. “Ensuring that the City remains accessible to all residents requires careful planning and dedicated advocacy. That’s where Cambridge’s various committees – Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit committees—step in.”
In his introduction the City Manager says, “This issue highlights how we are seeking to balance the competing challenges on our streets.” Taken as a whole, from cover to cover, the “Transportation Issue” reveals a City that is planning for a future without cars, focused on the current priorities of cyclists, and without the dedicated advocacy needed to plan for vehicle traffic and parking.

The question must be asked of City leaders if this publication is an accurate statement of Cambridge’s transportation policy.
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This article is cross-posted from Substack.
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Notes:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/Files/Publications/Issues/thecambridgelife/TCL_Transportation_Fall2024_Digital.pdf
The Cambridge Life is a semi-annual publication of the City of Cambridge Public Information Office that is mailed to residential households in February and September.