By Mary Beth Polley
Boston University Daily Free Press, November 1997
Dodging cars and pedestrians, bicycle couriers race to beat the clock, transporting packages from one side of the city to the other. But if the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce gets its way, the renegade cyclists may soon find themselves curbed.
In response to an accident that left a prominent banker in a coma, the Chamber of Commerce and the Boston Police Department are seeking to impose stiff regulations on bicycle couriers. The Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously last Thursday to urge city businesses to use only licensed couriers who carry the required messenger vest and license.
The police department also plans to impose tougher penalties for couriers who do not comply with the laws.
The changes come in response to an Oct. 30 accident involving William Spring, vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Courier Jonathan Gladstone struck Spring as he crossed Commonwealth Avenue.
Spring remained in a coma at Beth Israel Hospital yesterday.
Gladstone was fined a total of $220 for the accident— $100 for not wearing a vest, $100 for not being licensed and $20 for not yielding to pedestrians.
"It was a signal that we needed to do something," said Boston Police spokeswoman Margot Hill. Police sometimes need a special push, such as a high-profile case, to bring the issue to the forefront, she said.
But according to Conrad Willeman, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Massachusetts, there are three reasons for the new restrictions: First, a courier was involved, and couriers have a high visibility; second, the accident involved a prominent citizen; and third, accidents involving couriers are a rarity, and when they occur they make the news.
Many couriers and courier companies contend that current laws are strict enough. Enforcement is the problem, they said. The recent move to tighten regulations is the result of hysteria rather than responsible examination of the problem, Willeman said.
"A great number of police are not really even aware of traffic laws," he added.
The new laws should make enforcement easier because the penalties involving cyclists who do not wear some form of identification will be stricter, Hill said. If police cannot identify a biker, they cannot prosecute them for not following the laws.
"He probably wasn't even aware of the law," said Regina Stone, president and owner of Boston Bicycle Couriers, adding that Gladstone was from Cambridge where the laws regarding pedestrians are different.
She also added that couriers from outside Boston are probably not licensed because other areas, including Cambridge, do not require the measure.
Other couriers agree that the prominence of the victim affected the police and Chamber of Commerce's response. Many feel that the police and Chamber of Commerce are ignoring the real cause of traffic accidents involving pedestrians: cars.
From 1994-96 there were 1,348 accidents involving pedestrians and motor vehicles, 43 of which were fatal. During the same time period, there were 412 accidents involving motor vehicles and bicyclists, only four of which were fatal.
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