
There was a resurgence of adult bicycle riding in the 1970s, and along with it came the formation of the Boston Area Bicycle Coalition (later MassBike) in 1977. It had been relegated mostly to the realm of children’s toys. By 1950, it was rare to see an adult on a bike. He was also instrumental in the passage of policy to allow bicycles to use public roads and take bikes on the rail system as ordinary carry-on baggage.Įnthusiasm for the bicycle waned considerably at the turn-of-the-century with the introduction of the automobile. The original owner of the company, Civil War veteran Colonel Albert Pope, championed the League of American Wheelmen (now the League of American Bicyclists). Its successor, Columbia Bicycles, is still around, though headquarters is now in Westfield. in the late 1870s, the Pope Manufacturing Company that mass-produced bicycles was based in Boston. In fact, when bicycles first gained popularity in the U.S. Boston’s Cycling Safety HistoryĪbout 1.2 million Massachusetts residents take to a bike at least once a year.īoston in particular has a robust history of bicycle participation and activism. Given the substantial health, environmental and social benefits of biking in our community, it’s in the city’s best interest to continue prioritizing bicycle safety to encourage ridership and drive down the number of bicycle injuries and deaths. There are an estimated 56,000 cycling trips taken in the city every day.

The Boston Cyclist Safety Report revealed nearly 1,500 bicycle accidents in the city over a recent three-year span, with 28 percent increase in ridership during that time and a 2 percent increase in serious biking accidents. Still, as the Boston bicycle accident attorneys at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers's are aware, cycling still carries significant risk. The number of bike trips have been steadily increasing. This prioritizing of cycling safety by the city has emboldened more riders in the region to adopt biking as part of their lifestyle. It’s a reputation the city worked hard for by investing in updated infrastructure, building roads with bicycle tracts, founding one of the nation’s first public bike-sharing systems and implementing policies that hold motorists accountable for endangering cyclists.

5 overall, behind San Francisco, Minneapolis, Denver and Portland. In cities with populations of 500,000 or more, Boston ranked No. Massachusetts has been deemed one of the most bike-friendly states in the country, with Boston and Cambridge considered the best places for cyclists in the Commonwealth in terms of biking commuter numbers, infrastructure and public safety.
