Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The three-mile path between Somerville and Cambridge is a shared space for thousands of people, including cyclists, runners and children.
But the path faces a big safety concern: speeding, motorized e-bikes and scooters that don’t always yield at street crossings, or for those they’re supposed to be sharing the path with, like Niles and his dog Alfie.
“I don’t think the scooter and moped riders really know what’s acceptable,” Niles said. “If they do, it’s not as ingrained as bike etiquette would be.”
This fall, the path is getting some safety upgrades, including the installation of speed bumps, signage improvements and other traffic calming measures.
Somerville resident Chris said he thinks speed bumps could be a good idea, if rolled out correctly.
“For the motorized [vehicles] yeah, they’d have to properly calculate the speeds,” he said. “A lot of the bicycles do follow the rules, so I wouldn’t want to hurt their vehicles.”
Signs along the path will also be changed to remind those on bikes and scooters that this isn’t specifically a bike path, but a path for the entire community.
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojas.bsky.social) reports.