Boston Cyclists Hold Rally To Pressure City Hall For Safer Bike Lanes

BOSTON (CBS) -- Cyclists in Boston put on a rally and ride protest Sunday to say bike safety improvements in the city are moving too slowly.

"We're going to be going up Cambridge Street which is an incredibly dangerous route yet it's a continuation of one of the highest traffic corridors bringing cyclists in from Somerville, Cambridge, and beyond," said Becca Wolfson of the Boston Cyclist Union.

The four and a half-mile ride from City Hall to Dorchester took aim at Mayor Marty Walsh.

"We know what will prevent these types of serious injuries and deaths, and so Mayor Walsh just needs to implement these known measures and he needs to do it in the near future, not decades from now," said bicyclist Nathanael Fillmore.

As a part of Walsh's five-year plan, flex posts would be added to 32 miles of bike lanes in the city, but activists say only eight miles of it have been completed in the last two years.

On Tuesday, transportation funding will be discussed at hearing in City Hall. Walsh's budget proposal indicates $10.6 million for projects that would make biking safer.

Securing money in the 2020 budget is just the first step.

"They need to pick up the pace and actually implement the protected bike lanes that they have planned and committed to," said Fillmore.