John Bergdoll and Biker Boy (Zach Cone) at Mayor Menino's Bicycling Safety Summit. Biker Boy volunteers his time by going to schools to teach kids the importance of wearing helmets and bike safety.

The Summit gathered area bicyclists and high-ranking city officials including Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston Police Commissioner, Ed Davis, Boston Transportation, Commissioner, Thomas Tinlin, State Transportation Secretary, Jeffrey Mullan, and Boston Bikes Director, Nicole Freedman to discuss ways of improving safety for everyone who uses Boston’s roadways.

“The car is no longer king in Boston,” declared Mayor Menino. “In the last year, we have added 15 miles of bike lanes, 500 bike racks, and now parking in bike lanes fetch a steep $100 fine." The audience of area bikers broke into an appreciative applause when the Mayor announced that he just filed legislation to limit the speed limit to 25 MPH in Boston." Lower speed limits is a key measure to fewer biking accidents.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino

Commissioner of Boston Police, Ed Davis, announced, “We all have a responsibility. We’re going to provide a balanced enforcement.” Tom Tinlin, Boston Transportation Commissioner, Boston Transportation Commissioner, mentioned that three years ago, Boston was ranked last in bicycle safety. Now, Boston ranks 26th.

There was an extraordinary outpouring of passionate bike riders sharing smart ideas from painful lessons learned on the streets after years of first person testimonials. It was fascinating to hear their stories. One biker said that someone ‘takes a chance on him’ everyday as he rides his bike through Boston. Another biker told of her biking accident with a taxi and asked for signage on the inside taxi doors to ‘Look first before opening the door.’

Comments from the bicycling community (open microphone):
- “Wear helmets and wear them all the time.”
- “Bus drivers are venomous to bikers.”
- “Police officer don’t get reports from bikers who are sent to the hospital after an accident and are no longer at the scene.”
- “We need a cultural change in behavior.”
- “I notice there is a great improvement (respect from autos) when I wear a neon jacket.”
- “Ghost bikes (memorial bikes) should stay up like they do in New York and the rest of the country.”
- “1000 new bikes will be on the streets this summer. Will they be wearing helmets?”
- “I’d like to see Boston Police Officers on Bikes observing the rules of the road.”
- “For every car driver who makes one egregious mistake, there are 40 or 50 bikers who do the same.”
- “I would like to see Public Service Announcements teaching kids about helmets and bicycle safety.”
- "Each fall there is an influx of students to Boston presenting a HUGE opportunity for a coordinated bike safety awareness campaign. I think it is incredibly important – from a Boston-based “voice”.
- “Is there a possibility of a congestion tax?”
- “There are no campaigns for bikers.”
- “We need regulation on cell phone usage.”

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