In September, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn proposed a bill that would completely ban delivery apps like UberEats and DoorDash from using e-bikes, bikes, and motorized scooters. This takes a step back from Michelle Wu’s expansion plan for bikes in Boston: e-bike rebates, adding more bike lanes, and discounting Blue Bike subscriptions. To me, these efforts feel like an avoidance of the true problem: the presence of bikers in infrastructure that was not meant to accommodate them. The problem isn’t delivery workers–it’s the fact that the roads are narrow and the only thing we’ve seen done to add bikes onto them are thin slivers of green paint.
I’ve spent my entire life in and around Boston–both as a driver and pedestrian–and I’ve seen firsthand how the city is not ready for bikes. I hate bikes here, not necessarily their existence, but the way they operate. No one seems to know the rules, and it just creates a more dangerous environment for everyone.
Drivers here are not the best. They use blinkers as if they were simply suggestions and honk at any minor inconvenience. Allstate’s Best Driver Report named Bostonian drivers the worst out of all the states for a tenth year in a row, and no one who has ever merged onto Storrow Drive is surprised. This, on top of the constant construction detours and streets that make no sense, results in drivers who become impatient and unpredictable. You would think that after the Big Dig the problem with traffic and accommodations would be mitigated, but rush hour still adds at least 30 minutes to your ETA…