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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The ghost of John Forester commenting? «…“protected” bike lanes ruin the experience of biking for normal “experienced” bikers who travel at … cruising speed (20 mph & up) & know how to ride w/ traffic…only suitable for bicyclists traveling 12 mph or less, i.e., low-skilled/incompetent bicyclists.»

I come at this issue not as a motor vehicle user (since 2010) but as a cyclist who has ridden tens of thousands of miles in the L.A. area over the past several decades, often in dense urban traffic. My beef is that these curbside, barrier-“protected” bike lanes (the eastern two miles of Hollywood Boulevard, for example) ruin the experience of biking for normal “experienced” bikers who travel at their normal cruising speed (20 mph and up) and know how to ride with traffic. They’re really only suitable for bicyclists traveling 12 mph or less, i.e., low-skilled/incompetent bicyclists. The latest route they plan on ruining is Sunset Boulevard from downtown to Vermont Street, which I’ve ridden many times and which many bikers continue to ride - I’m fine with “paint stripe” bike lanes like those on Sunset which don’t reduce traffic lanes. I’d wager that the vast majority of cyclists who currently ride on Sunset “at speed” will be hugely disappointed to discover that henceforth they’ll be forced to ride in six-feet-wide debris-strewn “barrier hazard” bike lanes. And remember, E-bike speeds are constantly evolving towards higher speeds, meaning that narrow, “enclosed” bike lanes are also unsuitable for them; they’re ideally ridden in “slow” traffic lanes on 2 x 2 streets, which “road diets” remove in favor of barrier-“protected” bike lanes.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Build it and they'll come. Well-used Mass Central Rail Trail this morning in Waltham. Provide safe infrastructure and destinations (farmers market), and you'll attract casual cyclists.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Thank goodness Waltham fire chief Randy Mullin and treasurer Tom Magno support 35mph Main "Streets", where drivers routinely go 45+, so the driver of MA G7620 can express her displeasure at having to turn her steering wheel 5° to the left to maneuver around a non-car road user

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Sidewalks that just end; adjacent streets with center lines encouraging drivers to go faster, rushing to the light at route 9. A neighborhood designed to only be able to navigated by motor vehicle. These aren't "accidents".

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Red light cameras, when, in Massachusetts? Six drivers blowing through the red (the light changed to red over a second before the green bike signal comes on)

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Reposted by Saul Blumenthal

Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

It's very simple: If drivers can fit their cars in a space they will drive there. It's actually really easy to prevent this sort of thing!

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

OP here. If I hadn't gotten his attention, he would have plowed into all these people easily at 20mph, with his probable slow reaction time. But when I filled out the police report form, the desk cop said they'll likely do nothing because he didn't hit anyone.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

The problem, as usual, is cars. The river path is at times so narrow that two bikes can barely pass, next to ten lanes of highway traffic.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Your brain on car fumes. This location is a mile from Boston, and these residents (unless they're bots) can't grasp the concept of a child moving around their city unless strapped into a three-ton SUV.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Here's a local realtor, violating hands-free law taking pics when driving, criticizing a woman carrying her kids on a cargo bike through this same intersection, because "traffic was backed up unfortunately two cars were blocking the crosswalk", which is a moving violation. Car-brain is a disease.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Walkability is more than the presence of sidewalks. Watertown Sq has a 93 Walk Score, is the terminal of several high-frequency bus routes, and is a mile from the Boston line and five miles from downtown Boston. But with the Mass Pike a half-mile away it's a miserable car sewer of an urban space.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Tell me more about that cyclist you saw roll through a stop sign at 5mph, driver of MA 446ZV4

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

This could be so many streets in Waltham, if we get rid of a traffic commission w/ members like the treasurer who values car level of service above all, and a fire chief who insists any measure that slows his trucks will kill multitudes, and a traffic engineer who can be replaced by an MUTCD chatbot

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Same thread, another social media commenter using their real name to advocate for killing cyclists. Daniel Donahue Jr. Wethersfield I like to give cyclists a false sense of security by keeping at least a 4’ distance. It makes it easier for the passenger to hit them with the door. Surprise!!!

Daniel Donahue Jr.
Wethersfield
I like to give cyclists a false sense of security by keeping at least a 4’ distance. It makes it easier for the passenger to hit them with the door. Surprise!!!

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

A reminder that there are people who have zero qualms about using their real name on social media to call for killing cyclists nextdoor.com/p/by_nttBmf8KQ Margaret Pacious: «I would have.rammed the back of his bike& called 911.The biker was in the wrong,not riding in the bike lanes! Hah !»

Margaret Pacious
4h
·
Watertown

He should not be acting this way, the guy on his bike, what a trouble.maker he is ! Thats why there is road rage He's fortunate you were so nice..Thanks.for letting me know ,I go to Wilsons alot . I would have.rammed the back of his bike& called 911.The biker was in the wrong,not riding in the bike lanes! Hah ! Take your bike & stick it where the sun dont' shine ! Hah ! I would be beeping all the way !

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

@mayorwu.boston.gov @wutrain.bsky.social @streets.boston.gov There used to be flexposts turning from Arlington St to the bike lane beside the Public Garden. This is what happens when they're gone. A truck driver drove into the bike lane, and two drivers blindly followed. Please fix this.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

From a fellow cyclist: don't do this.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Tell me more about that cyclist you saw once who rolled through a stop sign at 5mph. When you're ensconced in a car, and so focused on passing a bike, you don't even notice a father and daughter waiting to cross the street.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

How many traffic violations by these highly trained, professional motor vehicle operators can we count in Watertown Square this morning?

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Me: "you ran a red light" Driver: "I know; there was traffic" It is way too easy to get and maintain a driver's license. North Beacon St, Watertown

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

In today's episode of "paint is not protection", two drivers completely oblivious to their vehicles' position, one on his phone

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Bike lanes only look empty because they're so efficient at moving people. Seven people on bikes waiting at the light in the space one person in one car would take up. Comm Ave, Boston

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Daily double of violations for the driver of MA 7CET43 this morning: parking in a bike lane, and using a phone in a travel lane. But I'm sure they once saw a cyclist roll through a stop sign at 5mph, so I guess we're even.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

This is directed to Waltham's traffic engineer & traffic commission, who think RRFBs (flashing yellow lights) are a substitute for safe design. They're not. (This isn't Waltham but a state-maintained road with awful pedestrian & bike connections & is designed to let drivers take turns at speed.)

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Ban right on red. This is why ROR is dangerous to those outside cars. Intersection has a NTOR sign that comes on during the pedestrian crossing (& bike crossing, if coming from below-grade train). This driver — on phone of course — camps out in crosswalk & starts to move forward during crossing.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Here's the guy who maintains Waltham's traffic lights, saying at Thursday's traffic commission that he opposes outdoor dining: "parking spaces are more valuable [than dining in those spots]". He lives 25 mi west of here & like most decision-makers here, only sees city from behind their windshield.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Waltham cyclists: "Can we get the city or state to plow the rail trail and river paths so they're usable in winter?" Waltham Police: "Nah, but here's a $16,000 ATV that will keep you safe from the apparent rampant crime on those paths" www.facebook.com/share/r/1Gnr...

screenshot of waltham police facebook post

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Reposted by Saul Blumenthal

TrainsBikesBus 🚂 🚲 🚌 @trainsbikesbus.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Until we treat bikes as & walking as an ACTUAL form of transportation, we will continue to languish. We cannot flourish as a society with only cars being important. They're expensive, messing with the environment, kill ppl, take up enormous amounts of space...lets do better, plan ahead, be smart.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

This, in Waltham. Our public works department and traffic commission policies and even the views of many elected officials have long prioritized drivers. It's only much more obvious now, between the lack of sidewalk shoveling rules and the still untouched key walking routes on city property

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Imagine if police were empowered to issue $100 fines for violating the hands-free law based on video and photo evidence. Using your phone while stopped at a light at an already-dangerous multi-use path crossing is not permitted.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

When MA eventually permits red light cameras, do you think this company whose driver's blocking a crosswalk will just pass along the fine to its customers as a cost of doing business? Arsenal St, Watertown

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Someday we'll look back at how society tolerated a transportation system that kills an American every 15 minutes, that injures hundreds of thousands a year, and that causes untold millions of dollars in damages each year. Remnants of a car crash along the Charles River path, shards on the bike path

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

US street safety and traffic engineering in one scene

street sign saying "slow please" with a drawing of a seesaw

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Drivers breaking The Rules of the Road™ is so normalized and common that it barely registers anymore with fellow drivers, unless it's egregious. Can you spot the two violations in this 23-sec clip?

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

BAN RIGHT ON RED (Was just listening to the latest @thewaroncars.bsky.social podcast about rampant and dangerous right on red in California)

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

"I made a mistake", says driver who knowingly goes through a red light during the pedestrian phase and honks (with illegal plate cover, to boot). But I'm sure he once saw a biker roll through a stop sign, so we're even I guess.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

While I agree with the premise that kids shouldn't be operating vehicles that can go 30+ mph, let's also see Globe editorial board come out in favor of measures like speed and red light cameras, if the concern is safety: drivers kill 70+ pedestrians a year in MA. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/25/o...

bostonglobe.com

Massachusetts laws haven’t kept up with e-bike technology, and children are paying the price - The Boston Globe

Children are riding powerful machines without adequate safeguards.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

The fine for a first violation of the MA hands-free law is $100. Imagine if police could issue fines based on video, as this driver rolls through stop line on red light with zero awareness of cyclists crossing in front, with his face buried in his phone.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

THiS iS NEw ENglaNd, yOU CaN'T biKE wHeN iT's 33° AnD wInDY Western Ave, Boston

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Right out of the @thewaroncars.bsky.social Life After Cars bikelash playbook groups.google.com/g/westnewton... «Let’s make Newton safer—without making it slower, more congested, or less livable.» The project in question: www.newtonma.gov/government/p...

groups.google.com

Fwd: Balanced Transportation for Newton — We Deserve Better Planning

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

bUT THAT BIKeR rOlleD throuGH a STOp sIgN tHAT one tIMe (I was walking my bike across the street; drivers are to yield)

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

There's a reason the MA hands-free law calls out no phone usage when at a red light and in a travel lane. This driver is inching forward in the intersection as he faces a red light, with no awareness of a bike crossing to the sidewalk (it's a dangerous intersection ahead on a bike) till I shout.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Reminder to cyclists: you can always take the lane, even when there's a bike lane, especially when said bike lane is full of wet leaves

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

This driver, who already ran the red by entering the intersection without being able to clear it, is oblivious to anyone around here, including someone on a bike accessing the adjacent bike lane.

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

There's a reason the MA hands-free law calls out no phone usage when at a red light and in a travel lane. «Handheld use is allowed only if the vehicle is both stationary and not located in a public travel lane or a bicycle lane, but is not allowed at red lights or stop signs.»

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

I'm sure if the driver of MA 2SDM61 hit someone blowing through a red light 4 secs after it changed, at an intersection marked No Turn on Red, he'd blame solar glare and police would let him off. (Cyclists are expected to use the pedestrian phase to exit the new shared-used path here.)

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

One if by land, two if by sea, three if by ebike?

cyclist in colonial garb, downtown boston

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Saul Blumenthal @saulblum.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

All five of these drivers turned left on a solid red, based on the timing of when the walk signal came on. But I'm sure they're ranting about that cyclist they saw who rolled through a stop sign at 4mph.

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