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Outrage in South Boston over the idea of increasing the number of bike-rental stations

By adamg on Fri, 11/15/2024 - 10:48pm

The Huntington News reports on a community meeting in South Boston last week about plans to add more BlueBike stations, which some residents boisterously declared would hurt families, young children, senior citizens and people in wheelchairs. A possible site next to the neighborhood Vietnam Veterans Memorial was decried as "sacrilege."

Neighborhoods: 
South Boston
Free tagging: 
Bluebikes
Bicycling


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Comments

By Tim Mc. on Fri, 11/15/2024 - 11:22pm.

to have a playground next to the memorial.

By Frelmont on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 1:02pm.

The joy and laughter of children is a fitting a fitting accompaniment next to a memorial for those who gave all for our way of life.

By anon on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 7:06am.

you would know that the Memorial was built in front of the playground which was there a long time ago when people started having kids.

By Camberville on Fri, 11/15/2024 - 11:46pm.

which some residents boisterously declared would hurt families, young children, senior citizens and people in wheelchairs.

Has anyone opened a smelling salts shop in Southie yet? Cause that's a million-dollar business right there.

By Kinopio on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 12:23am.

It should be mentioned that the Bridget Nee Walsh nut job quoted in the article as being against bikes is the same loser Bridget Nee Walsh who is a piece of crap that spoke out against black lives matters and racial equality and then badly lost a race for Boston City Council.
So if you are anti bike, that is who is on the same side as you. People who value parking over people are the scum of the earth.

By ben on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 11:58am.

She finished 5th out of 8 and is the alternate should any of the 4 at large councilors depart prior to the end of their term (2025).

By 02132 on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 2:09pm.

Fifth of 8, in a race to 4. First loser, then

She lost. Same as Nelson and Vitale.

By mg on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 5:23pm.

Smelling salts and pearls for them to clutch.

By Kinopio on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 12:14am.

These car nuts are a danger to themselves and the community. Tens of thousands of blue bike trips have been made with ZERO people killed by blue bike riders. Yet?

You’re creating a hazard for people on wheelchairs, families with carriages and young kids,” Evans said. “It’s just too dangerous.”

This lying by dumb, dangerous people has to be stopped. The danger is cars, not bikes. American car drivers kill 35,000 people per year. Can car nuts count that high? Apparently not.

By Ari O on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 5:40am.

Tens of thousands of blue bike trips

BlueBikes just crossed 25 million rides.

By J.R. Dobbs on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 6:24am.

Are the new Sherriff's in town.

Get used to the idiocracy.

By Wiffleball on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 7:48am.

are like truck nuts, but smaller?

By Frelmont on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 1:45am.

It is a bit tacky to sully the surrounds of memorial ground with anything-especially a disruptive commercial enterprise.

By Lee on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 7:41am.

…. noisy traffic?

By sartreswaiter on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 8:01am.

Maps can be helpful

The "Vietnam memorial" in Southie is a statue in the middle of a relatively large park. The proposed station would be outside the perimeter of the entire park... much farther away than the children's playground which is literally right next to the statue. Furthermore the park itself is surrounded by parking spaces, traffic, businesses... the idea that somehow the blue bike rack outside the park would denigrate the monument is completely laughable.

By Frelmont on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 1:09pm.

I think the point is to keep the bright blue, bulky apparatus and the attendant activity out of the sight line of the approach to and presence of this honored space. Why does art, beauty, honor, values and tradition have to lose out to utility?

By Angry Dan on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 1:57pm.

This is some dedicated trolling and I remain curious as to whether it is AI-generated.

By ElizaLeila on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 9:53pm.

I am amazed that people even bother to reply to them.

By eddie van halen on Mon, 11/25/2024 - 8:04pm.

Yeah, that's it.

By BostonDog on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 11:02am.

The bikes and stations are owned by Boston and other municipalities. They are managed by a private company but it's all public equipment.

And disruptive? What noise do they make apart from the thud of the bike being docked? A car door being closed makes about the same amount of noise.

By anon on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 2:05pm.

The very loud clank when a bike is inserted into a dock is my only concern with putting BlueBike stations in residential areas. It's much more disruptive than a car door or engine starting up, or the sound of locking a private bike for that matter. I could not deal with hearing it outside my window at all hours of the day and night.

The solution is to redesign the docks so they're quieter.

By Lee on Wed, 11/20/2024 - 8:20am.

I don’t agree it is louder.

And you’re not likely to hear it outside your window at all hours of the night.
Unlike motor vehicle noises plus fumes which will likely pass through your window into your lungs. Be grateful bikes don’t give you diseases.

By Vicki on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 12:21pm.

This isn't the big Vietnam War memorial in Washington, D.C., which veterans, and the families of the dead, visit and leave mementos.

This is just one of many memorials to people who died fighting in previous wars. A lot of them are located next to busy streets, full of car, truck, and bus traffic, and nobody seems to mind that.

By anon on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 6:59am.

All about more Blue Bike stations even though I refuse to ride a bike in Southie for my own safety. But the memorial is an objectively terrible place for one. It’s in the center of a large park. You have to walk a ways to get to it or get to anything useful (like the bus stop) from it. Seems like a pretty dumb thing to argue about. Just put the station on Broadway.

By emac on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 7:10am.

“When are you going to start enforcing the rules of the road?”

Must be new here. Traffic laws aren’t enforced for cars, parking laws aren’t enforced for cars, traffic laws aren’t enforced for bikes or motor bikes… the smart money is on never.

By Anon on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 7:15am.

Ha, yeah this is the neighborhood that declared double parking part of their heritage and enforcing parking rules would be sacrilege.

By anon on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 8:12am.

This would have happened in old Southie.

By anon on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 8:13am.

Whitey would have kept BlueBike stations out of Southie.

By cybah on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 9:17am.

Man these people need to stop clutching their pearls because they are holding them so hard, they are making their hands bleed.

Sheeesh. The anti-bike brigade is alive and well in Southie.

By Ron Newman on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 9:39am.

in Washington, DC.

https://capitalbikeshare.com/#homepage_map

By Angry Dan on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 9:59am.

Odd that there was no mention of intrepid city councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy. This meeting would seem to be tailor-made for them.

Attempted "othering" of cyclists is stupid.
Families ride bikes.
Kids ride bikes.
Seniors ride bikes.
Veterans ride bikes.

“Bluebikes is public transportation by bike,” Foltz said. “It allows people to get around the city quickly, affordably, conveniently and in a fun way. We want to make sure that it is an option for residents in every neighborhood.”

Bottom line: Anything that replaces motor vehicle traffic also increases safety and decreases congestion, benefitting EVERYONE (including the NIMBYs) in all communities.

By Frelmont on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 1:29pm.

There are virtues to the arguments against putting a BlueBike service station in the surrounds of a park memorial space.

The fact that just about everyone (the dominant voice and power in Ma) is denigrating and running roughshod over other’s views instead of recognizing and seeing and understanding our fellow citizens even if we don’t agree.

By Lee on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 1:38pm.

I wasn’t listening.

By MC Slim JB on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 3:30pm.

concern troll a few days after it started posting here. It's probably hard to summon up that much whiney, hollow sanctimony without the help of generative AI.

By Anon on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 11:55am.

Well there already is a blue bike station 2.5 blocks away at the BPL. In the back side of the park along East 1st and the Tommy butler corridor/ trail would be a good spot especially once the former Edison plant goes live down the road.

By CopleyScott17 on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 12:05pm.

They're all girl bikes, which is obviously a woke fascist feminazi plot against men!

By Lee on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 2:49pm.

Not pink. Some gender bending going on here.

By Frelmont on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 1:16pm.

I’d rent a BlueBike if I could use my transportation benefit card directly.

No one should be compelled to surrender personal information to download an app, nor be forced to download an app to engage with anything let alone a city-managed/provided common good.

By cybah on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 5:42pm.

You can get a RFID FOB (I still have mine) and just register/book online via a browser. Then use the FOB to unlock the bike.

Unfortunately registering isn't optional, as they want you to store a payment method, plus agree to a ToS. They are giving you a bike, you may not return it. Having a payment method on file and you agreeing to their ToS insures that you will return it or be charged for the bike. It makes sense to register and store a payment method.

Even if they offered ApplePay/Google Pay RFID payments at the bike racks (with a hefty charge if the bike isnt returned), Bluebikes would still hold onto your card number (or the virtual card number AP/GP generate) for the duration of your trip at least. They may keep it longer than that for accounting or metric purposes. Your payment info even if just the card number still links back to you.

Remember the issue with providing personal information or using an app isn't so much that you have to do it, its how your data is used and stored, and how the app interacts with the rest of your phone. And considering this is a public-private venture, the amount of spying or data sharing that goes on vs other apps and services is far less because the state is involved. Poo poo the state all you want, but generally the state won't sell your data or data mine you.

By Lee on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 9:52am.

“ Poo poo the state all you want, but generally the state won't sell your data or data mine you.”

As long as we remain a democracy.

Thank you for explaining all that in a way that makes sense to the average person. I have my own bike but sometimes a Blue Bike would come in handy.

By cybah on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 10:15am.

Thanks and you're welcome.

And yeah you are right.. if we remain in a democracy. But I'd like to think we are somewhat insulated here in MA.

Regardless, one thing I did want to add is that for a payment you *can* use a prepaid credit card (bluebike's website say so) so you can be somewhat anonymous with your payments. Use a dummy email and a prepaid and its as anonymous as you will get.

By anon on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 2:08pm.

It looks like you can only use a prepaid card if you qualify for the income-eligible plan.

It makes sense not to allow them. Otherwise, anyone could buy a $20 card, rent a bike, and keep it, thereby avoiding the $1200 lost bike fee.

By Dani B. on Sat, 11/16/2024 - 9:34pm.

Sounds like a good way to never see the bikes again.

By Chris77 on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 9:39am.

A Blue Bike will make for a great space saver, assuming we actually see snow this winter. I'm old enough to remember when we had white Thanksgivings.

By Lee on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 9:44am.

… actually wait for snow?