History

Bike Newton Began as a Name for a Rally

Back in 2007, several members of Green Decade Newton and the Newton chapter of the  League of Women Voters wondered why transportation in Newton was so car-centric. Newton should be a great place to bike, right? Why weren’t there more people using bikes for local trips?

The more they talked to people, the more it seemed like the major roadblock was safety. Everyone they talked to said they would use bikes for errands if only the roads were safer. But the City government didn’t seem interested in making roads safer for bikers; despite the Commonwealth’s Paulsen Bill, named after Rep. Anne Paulsen, which mandated that road projects include bike accommodations such as lanes and paths, and despite the pro-bicycling Newton Comprehensive Plan and Newton Energy Action Plan. The City of Newton still avoided adding bike accommodations. Why? Bikers were thought to be a small interest group, not a silent majority.

The thing to do was to help City Hall understand that there were many people who would bike if roads were more bike-friendly. That led to the idea of a rally and ride: get people on their bikes and make them visible. Have them come together to demand safer roads.

Rally and Ride

After much planning and coordinating, in May 2008, more than 300 people showed up at the Veteran’s Memorial steps behind City Hall to hear Anne Lusk’s ideas about safe bike accommodations, go for a short bike ride, meet then-Mayor Cohen, and eat ice cream.  That was Bike Newton, the event. It created a lot of buzz. (For more images of the event, click HERE.)

Under the leadership of Lois Levin and Helen Rittenberg, Bike Newton was incorporated in June, 2009. In 2009 and 2010 with Newton’s new Mayor Setti Warren, came two more successful rally and rides, with Boston’s “czarina” Nicole Freedman speaking at the first, and Mayor Warren leading the ride at the second. The help and participation of many organizations such as Newton Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force, MassBike and Livable Streets Alliance also drove the success of this event.

Bike Newton Is Awarded 501(c)3 Nonprofit Status

Momentum really started to gather:  In February 2010, Bike Newton was awarded 501(c)3 nonprofit status. Helen Rittenberg became Bike Newton’s first president. She and Lois Levin were well-known for advocating to elected officials about the need to make Newton more bike friendly and for operating the Bike Newton bike valet service at the Newton Farmer’s Market (see image below). Bike Newton began offering Helen initiated and led weekly “family-friendly, no rider left behind” rides from the library to destinations across the city, which demonstrated how bikeable Newton is and taught hundreds of Newton cyclists how to be safer on the roads. 

In the first months of his first term, Mayor Warren appointed the Transportation Advisory Council (TAC), the first “Share the Road” signs were installed and the first miles of bike lanes were painted along Beacon and Walnut Streets (see image, below).

It was also time to let go of the Rally and Ride as the focal point, and turn the group’s energy to the many projects it had undertaken, which include:

It was also time to let go of the Rally and Ride as the focal point, and turn the group’s energy to the many projects it had undertaken: 

• Filing an application for the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly City certification
• Leading weekly group rides
• Undertaking a bike rack survey with Newton Serves and getting more bike racks installed
• Doing a bike count with Newton Serves to provide baseline numbers on various routes
• Fostering a bike-sharing program at City Hall
• Gathering city planners, police, Aldermen (as City Councilors were then known), and citizens for a March 2010 Bike Summit
• Encouraging planning and engineering projects by local university students
• Lobbying for bike paths
• Providing safety instruction by a League of American Bicyclists-certified instructor
• Planning and lobbying for a Complete Streets plan for Needham Street
• Planning a safety curriculum with Newton Public Schools
• Updating the website. 

LEADERSHIP

A significant victory was the appointment of Lois Levin as Bicycle Coordinator, along with Alicia Bowman as Pedestrian Coordinator. These volunteer positions in City Hall provided citizens with contact people for all planning, transportation, and policy issues having to do with biking and walking. Now, Newton also has a comprehensive Bicycle Network Plan that will provide a basis for rapidly expanding Newton’s bicycle accommodations.

GROWTH

In just four short years, Bike Newton has grown from what was going to be a one-time rally and ride to a growing movement whose effects are starting to be seen in Newton’s governance, and more importantly on Newton’s roads: more signs, more road markings, more bikes and more people biking. More bikers can bike more safely in Newton.

Roads should be safe for everyone who wants to bike: young and old, male and female, carefree and risk-averse, athletic and sedentary, for sport and for transportation. It also remains committed to responding to climate change and reducing our carbon footprint. Bike Newton continues to do what it can to foster its vision, with the help of its growing membership.

WANT TO HELP?

JOIN! VOLUNTEER in our booth at an event, or one of our own events! WRITE TO CITY COUNCILORS! Use the City of Newton’s 311 system to report a road hazard. JOIN US ON A BIKE RIDE. Or you can just contact us if you have questions.

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