The continuing construction of bike lanes in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is bringing frustration for some in the city.
The Cambridge Bicycle Plan requires the building of 26 miles of bike lanes over the next seven years.
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At One First Condominiums, out of the nearly 193 residents inside, about 50 of them are senior citizens.
"For those of us who need to walk out and get in as we do, this is a terrible inconvenience," said Robert Lyndamood, who lives in the building with his wife, Judy.
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The couple says they relied on the space in front of the building for quick rideshare pick-ups, and now, they're worried the bike lane will cut off that access.
"It's not that we object to a bike lane, cause we have plenty of people in the building who are cyclists," said Donald Smith, president of the association board at One First Condominiums. "It's that they are removing both of the loading zone area and parking."
Advocates for the project say those spaces aren't being removed, they're just being relocated.
"The One First Condominiums has a parking garage, and there are a lot of metered spaces," said Christopher Casses, a member of the Cambridge Bike Safety Group. "We do feel confident that alternatives could be found for those areas."
Casses says that along with creating a safe space for bike riders, the installation of the bike lanes has created a 35% year-over-year increase in the number of people using the bike share system, as well as an additional 1.8 million bike rides over the last year.
Dr. Francis Bane of Francis Bane Dentistry tells us the installation of bikes lanes limits parking spaces in front of his building on Massachusetts Avenue, which could hurt his business.
"A lot of my patients are quite elderly," said Bane. "Tempers flare. I get people coming in frustrated."
Advocates counter that parking shouldn't be an issue.
"For example, on Mass. Ave., there was a lot of concern that there would be parking loss that might impact small businesses, and this design process is a really long, extensive one that's been really careful to develop a plan that would help make sure there's enough community parking, but also make sure that everybody else that's getting around outside of a car can do so safely and efficiently, as well," said Casses.
Board members at One First Condominiums say they plan on appealing to Cambridge City Council and seeking legal aid to try to make changes to the bike lane. The city says it plans on installing two new loading zones at the complex, including one on Otis Street and the other on the north side of Cambridge Street.
