February 13, 2025 • 41 mins
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced that the city will remove a bus lane on Boylston Street in Bay Back, after neighborhood opposition. The mayor is also calling for a "review of what has been installed over the last fifteen years and adjust or redesign what has not been functioning well". Is a reassessment of Boston streets long overdue? What infrastructure changes do you think are most needed in Boston?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice Eyes.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
All right, everyone, welcome back here. It is eleven oh
seven and we're moving into our fourth and final hour.
First of all, a big thank you to Mark Missilback.
If you missed either of those hours, you can listen
to them. Rob will have them posted at nightside and demand.
Mark is a brilliant, brilliant tax analyst, strategist, whatever you
(00:29):
want to call it, a professional CPA with Cherry b
Art Beck Art Advisory LC and just does a does
a great job. And we will probably try to prevail
upon him to come back before well maybe it's sometime
(00:50):
later this month, but I think all the callers were
called and I realized that sometimes it's tough to get
your questions out. But we tried to give everybody as
lunch time as post. Now before we I'll move on,
let me remind you that tomorrow night we have a
(01:11):
special guest lined up in the ten o'clock hour, Carrie Brett,
who is a professional photographer one a member of the
Brett family Bill Brett, as you all know, and she's
written a book called Shot at Love, and her first
book as an author. She's done books with photographs. This
(01:32):
is her book as an author. It's her journey that
she found herself divorced with a with a young baby,
and she's her journey bringing up the child, working as
a celebrity photographer, uh and all the steps along the
(01:56):
way to find love. And she has found love. And
we're going to talk about that. Tomorrow night is Valentine's Day.
She will be my very special guest at ten o'clock
tomorrow night, and I think that all of you, whether
you are alone this Valentine's Day or whether or not
you're in a good, solid relationship, I think that you
(02:19):
will enjoy her as a guest. And also the stories
she has dealt with lots and lots of celebrities. And
one of the things she found out and that she
will talk about tomorrow night is that the celebrities who
all of us you think they never have care in
the world, they go through the same ups and downs
that all of us go through and the heartache that
(02:39):
all of us periodically suffer in our own lives. It's
a pretty inspiring book, and I think you'll enjoy the
conversation tomorrow night with Carrie Brett. We also have I'm
working on a special guest at nine o'clock tomorrow night
as well. I do not want to identify that special
guest until I can nail it down now tonight, in
(03:00):
this final hour, I want to talk about a story
that you might say, well, Gid, and that's a local story.
You tend to go national. We've gone national this week.
We have talked about the the USA cuts that President
Trump has attempted to impose. We talked last night about
his step back on to the international stage, his policy change,
(03:24):
the administration's policy change towards Ukraine, and and also well
the implications that has for Ukraine and also for the
for Russia and and for the European Fernato. We did
all of that last night. So I want to talk
about a local story in both the Globe and the
(03:46):
Herald today. Maywu apparently has decided that the bus lane
that is on bois Boylston Street. If any of you
have ever driven down Boyleston Street is it's a one
way street, as you know, from let's say Massachusetts Avenue
towards the Public Garden, uh and the Boston Common and
(04:10):
there's a bus lane actually this this, I guess there's
two bus lanes really and there's a you have, of course,
a but one bus lane and a bike lane. Uh,
it's a mess. It's a mess. The Back Bay Association
fought tooth and nails against this when it was when
(04:34):
it was constructed, they lost. Uh. And and Mayor who
now was having some second thoughts about that lane. Apparently
she's also having some second thoughts about other bike lanes.
I think the bike lanes and the bus lanes in
Boston are a disaster now. They were started in fairness,
(04:56):
uh to mayor. Where when we always want to be
fair to the mayor? Uh? Dating back to Tom Monino's administration,
who became a bicyclist late in his life, and he
really was the one who started bike lanes that continued
under Boston Mayor Mighty wallsh but they have exploded under
Mayor under the Wood administration. And I don't care if
(05:20):
you live in West Roxbury and you see what has
been done to Center Street what those they call it
the diet believe it or not? D I e t
what a meta, what a euphemism that is for what
has been done to West Roxbury. I don't know if
we can reverse all the bike lanes in Boston, but
(05:41):
they're everywhere in Boston. If you've driven in Boston at
any time in the last year, you know of what
I speak. At the same time, other communities are just
as bad. Certainly Somerville is right up there, Cambridge is
right up there. They're now leaking into other communities. And
I suspect that at this hour the night, at eleven o'clock,
(06:04):
we have listeners around the country in other parts of
the country and other big cities where bike lanes. This
is a national effort by I guess the progressives or
the bike lobby, whatever you want to call it, who
would like to turn every American city into Amsterdam or Copenhagen.
(06:25):
And it just is. It doesn't work. It doesn't work.
The amount of space that's given to bike lanes and
bus lanes is not commensurate with the amount of people
that use bike lanes and bus lanes. In a city
like Copenhagen, where I have been, they had bike lanes
(06:46):
and bike lanes. It looks like the equivalent of the
Southeast Expressway. That is not the situation here. So I
guess what I'd like to do is just open up
the lines and hear from you, there's no doubt in
my mind that we have gone way too far, way
too fast on bike lanes in Boston, and it will
eventually cripple Boston because you cannot bike in Boston twelve
(07:12):
months a year. Look at what we've been dealing with
the snow the last well the last two or three weeks.
Very few people are fewer people than normal are in
those bike lanes, and I suspect it's the same in
a lot of cities and communities around the country. We
cannot give up, we cannot assume. I was told by
(07:34):
a Democratic State Senator, Nick Collins that Boston has spent
one hundred and twenty one million dollars. We have a
failing school system. We have MPTA problems that are just
extraordinary compared to other cities. You go to San Francisco
and you look at the Bay Area rapid transit system,
(07:54):
much better than Massachusetts, for that matter, even New York.
We have just lost of our collective mind over bike
lanes because drivers who are impacted by bike lanes have
not stood up with the same amount of uniformity unity,
(08:15):
if you will. The bike lobby is very very effective
and bikes bikes pay no excise tax they use the roads.
They're not insured, at least in Boston. I don't know
what it is. In other communities they do not for
(08:36):
the most part, comply with traffic signals. It has turned,
it will turn American cities. The effort is to turn
it into Europe. The politicians are doing it for one reason,
and that is to get elected. Because the bike lobby
goes to the politicians and says, if you give us
bike lanes, we guarantee you every one of our members
(08:58):
and associates will vote for you. Which is fine, But
in a city like Boston, where it's not uncommon to
have fifteen or twenty percent of the registered voters vote
in an election, the folks who get elected are the progressives.
Now we will have a mayor's fight here in Boston.
Certainly Josh Kraft, who have had on the program, is
(09:20):
going to be a formidable opponent for Mayor Wu. It's
going to be a tough battle, There's no doubt about that.
It is not an easy battle to unseat an incumbent
mayor in Boston, but it's happened in other cities. So
I want to focus on bike lanes. Are you tired,
(09:41):
are you fed? Up. Have you had enough bike lanes?
Try Beacon Street. Try Beacon Street driving, drive on a
Sunday from the top of Beacon Hill, or drive from
Charles Street down Beacon Street to Mass Avenue. It's going
to take you fifteen or twenty minutes. Okay, that used
to be a street where trapped moved pretty clearly, pretty cleanly,
(10:02):
pretty quickly. Doesn't anymore. Six one, seven, two, five, four thirty.
I have a couple of lines there. The other lines
are filled up. I'd love to hear from you. If
you're a real proponent of bike lanes everywhere, feel free.
I'll be I'll be glad to talk to you. I'd
like to talk to you. But but the bike lanes.
(10:26):
We have lost our collective mind over the bike lanes,
and a lot of businesses, whether they run Mass Avenue
and Cambridge or Center Street in West Roxbury, are absolutely
adversely affected, and that is eventually going to affect the
quality of life in every city where bike lanes are
so common. Simple as that, let's let's let's let's take
(10:51):
a step back, stop the bike lanes and actually begin
to say, look, we don't need bike lanes on every street.
I've gone through some of the naighborhoods Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan.
There are bike leans on streets in that those communities.
There's enough that you lose the parking. You have one
(11:12):
lane of traffic. That's all you have. As you can tell,
I feel strongly about it, and I will say if
Mayor Will takes that bus lane off of Boylston Street,
that is a win. But it is only the first
of many wins that motorists have to win in order
to take back the streets of Boston. They do not
(11:36):
belong to bicyclists in my opinion. Back on Nightside, I
feel strongly if you disagree, love to hear from me.
If you agree, love to hear from me. It doesn't matter.
And if you are in another community, in another part
of the country and you've been been set by the
same problem, whether it's whether it's Baltimore or Washington, or
Philadelphia or Detroit, Albany, New York, with any city within
(11:57):
the sound of my voice, I love to hear from
you as well. Back on night we'll get it going
right after the break.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
All Right, let's get it go. I'm gonna start off
with John and Brantree. Hey, John, welcome you a first
this hour in Nightside.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Hey Dan, Captain Hindsight reporting in.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Hey, hey Captain Hindsight. Go right ahead, sir listen.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
I'm probably not the right person if you're looking for
some an advocate for the pipe lanes. But man Senna Street.
I got caught in that once and I haven't been
back there since. Same thing with Cummings Highway. It became ridiculous.
I would if you don't mind, I'd like to take
off a little bit off the subject and focusing on
(12:43):
bike riders and their behavior. Thank you. I'm just shocked
at how many bike riders and let's just say cyclists,
because you got the little scooters zipping around, and how
few of them are wearing helmets for the first thing.
Second thing is how hard they are to see sometimes
(13:04):
at dusk and getting in dark. They wear such dark
they wear earth toned clothes. And I don't know what
the I don't know what the new statistics are, but
people must be getting knocked off left and right more
than ever before now.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I mean it's so hard. You have some of the
kids who are using these, uh the these scooters who
are just out there raising hell. I mean they want
to cause you know, you know, chaos. And then you
have others out there who are using them individually. And
then you have others who are doing it for food delivery.
They're using it basically it's it's their business.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
And I did have some suggestions too, so go ahead,
go ahead, a couple of suggestions. One thing I have
is that, by the way, if you're going to use
our roads and share them with us, you need to
start paying up. You need to have a license, you
need to have the bike has to have signals, that
bike has to have lights, you have to wear a
fluorescent jacket. And this is only if you give a
(14:03):
crap about your own life. I mean I can't.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
It's your responsibility to avoid them. I mean, there's a
Laura in Massachusetts. I think if you come up on
a bike bicyclist who's on I'm sure, but you get
the right away like four feet no, no, four feet
give them four feet room. A lot of roads, you
legitimately can't give them four feet road four feet of space.
(14:31):
So what you're left to do you got to stand
behind them while they're going five miles or six miles an.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Hour, right. And the other thing is, would there be
any issue with taking sidewalks and on alternate years making
a sidewalk one side for pedestrians in the other side
for bicyclists each you know, every other year. I mean,
I can't imagine the businesses that are money.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
What do you say, what do you say to the
to the to the business own on?
Speaker 4 (15:01):
No, that's okay. You can still walk across the street
and go to a business. It would still be easier
than what's going on with the bike lanes now. It's
just that you would have more parking for the cars
and people could I can't even go to a hardware
store on Center Street. You can't find a spot, and
I can't take twenty minutes to go up and down
there during this.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
By the way, I just so you know, ironically, you
mentioned I know the hardware store you're talking about. I
go to that hardware store. And the reason I go
to the hardware store it's a small hardware store. It's
a small business. I hate going to the so called
big box stores, and so I would rather pay a
little extra go because I saved the time and money.
I walk in the door, I see someone there, I say, hey,
(15:44):
can you tell me where this is? In most of
the cases at that hardware store, they'll walk you down
the aisle and they'll show you exactly down.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
I don't have the time any store. Yeah, you still
have the time the extra fifteen to twenty minutes ago.
Now I avoid Center Street. I'm just going down the
VFW Parkway and I'll catch it back up on Center
Street or Baker Street up. It's just easier, you know. So.
And I just wish any bicyclists listening to if you've
got kids riding bikes, make sure they're wearing some bright
(16:15):
colors and get them some lights. Jesus, And there's not
too much to ask. It's for their lives, it's not
for us. I'd feel horrible if I ever hit one.
And I was hit as a youngster by a car
and it was horrible. But today I can see how
people are easily getting knocked up. They're wearing earth toned grays, blacks, browns,
(16:35):
and you can't see them.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
So they view themselves as kings of the road and
that they have really priority, they have special protection, special lanes.
I don't want to see when we get hurt either.
But I think that the bicyclists have really exercised political
cloud with this mayor in this city council in Boston,
and I'm sure they've done it elsewhere as well. I
(16:59):
hate to do it.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Thanks for taking a call. Someday get somebody from episodes
to explain our Raising dills is a topic if you
have here care for Thanks.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
We're working on that. I'm actually working on that, and
that might be my topic tomorrow night at nine o'clock.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
I guessed it. You thought you would keeping as a
secret until you know for sure.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
That's fine. We'll see, we'll see. Thanks, Thank you, John,
appreciate it. Good night. Let me go to Joe and Boston.
Joe your next time nights, I go right ahead.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Good evenings on my brother, My brother, I.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Know how you feel about bike lanes. Go ahead, Joe,
drive a lot.
Speaker 5 (17:42):
Yes, you're just spoke, he talked in a few points
in works Rosy. My favorite restaurant is I'm gonna give
him a plug. My Sun Center.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I know a great restaurant.
Speaker 6 (17:55):
They are great.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
They are ten minutes for my house.
Speaker 6 (17:59):
I'm able to her.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Tell me why and you're not cooking tonight. We'll gonna
share a meal, you know. For me to go down there,
I can never find a parking spa. I just park
on them, literally on the bike leans, and its insane
right there. I mean, I heard that Mayo Wood decided
to do away with the bus lanes and now on
(18:22):
Boston streets.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Yeah, let's but that's a start. But but let's keep going.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
Another thing that I heard is that he got rid
of a few bumps, those new bumps that they put
on the streets speed so that they're everywhere. Yeah, speat bumps. However,
what they instead of putting these speed bumps, what they
don't take the output and fill up the holes that
(18:50):
they got, the path holes that they got all over
the streets is insanity dead.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
No, No, you're right. If this, if the speed don't
slow you down, the potholes will. Maybe they don't feel
them for a reason, I don't know. Yeah, but no street.
The worst.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
I heard about this guy that he wants to get
rid of the bike lanes.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
No more bike lanes. So I think in fairness, what
Josh Kraft has said is he doesn't want any more
bike lanes. I think he should look, you know, his
campaign's going to evolve. He did. He didn't come across
as anti bike lanes, but I think that that he's saying, hey,
we got enough as it is. I think we need
(19:37):
to pair back. I think they need to get those
bike lanes out of Senate Street. In West Roxbury. There
were community meetings though out there. The Mayor's office went
out and they basically rolled over the residents of West Roxbury.
It was like, we're gonna do it. Tell us what
you think, but it doesn't matter what you think, and
we're gonna do it. And they did it.
Speaker 7 (19:56):
And that's the thing with Michelle Woods. She's also listened
to any but it. She's always going to do it
this way and that's it. You take it and you're
gonna like it. And you know, that's why she's.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Going to lose.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
He's going to be a one term maya.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
She's gonna I mean, he's probably having panic attacks right
now because this guy is going to win. Everybody's going
to back them up. I'm going to back them up myself.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Well, I think that he's done a lot. You know,
Josh Kraft has done a lot in the community, has
been involved in the Boys and Girls clubs. Uh, with
the the Urban League and you have. He has tremendous
support in minority communities here in Boston particularly.
Speaker 5 (20:37):
He's been bringing out to a lot of people.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Yeah. Absolutely, I've been bringing.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Out to a lot of people that I actually know
involved in politics in Boston. In myself that I very
seldom get involved. I have been involved with a few
condiments in the past, and they've been winners. And I mean,
I'm willing to go all out for him.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
All right, Joe, I'm up on my break here. I
don't mean to cut you short, but I got a
break for news as always. Thank you for your friendship,
thank you for your loyalty. And I'll see you at
that restaurant in West Roxbury. Maybe, yes, some night we
grab some week weeknight, we'll grab dinner or something.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Okay they got.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Not weeknight, weekend night, like I said, Sunday Saturday or
Sunday night. Okay, we'll talk about it. Thanks Joe, very
good dad, Thank you, my friend. Don't you soon. Good night.
Here comes the news at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Everything. The only line that's open right now is six, one, seven, nine, three, one,
ten thirty. Uh. And if you're calling from out of town,
and you have concerns about bike lanes in your community.
Whatever your point of view is is welcome. Okay. I
will admit to you I have a very strong point
of view. I think that they're incompatible with Boston. It's
as simple as that. They're absolutely incompatible. But they have
(21:58):
a very effective bike lobby, which I think has influenced
mayoral elections. And I think that we've reached a point where,
if the mayor are smart, she's gonna take the buck
bus lane out on Boylston Street. There were some other
bike lanes that kind of go. Let's start with Center
Street in West Roxbury. Back on Nightside, right after this.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Night Side with Dan Ray on w B Boston's news radio.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
All right, thank you, Dan Watkins. It's got right back
to the call. It's gonna go to gym in Kansas City.
Gym next one nights. I go right ahead.
Speaker 8 (22:38):
Yeah, hey, thanks for taking my call.
Speaker 9 (22:40):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
You were great? Are you in downtown Kansas City? Can
you tell us what the bike lane situation is like there?
Speaker 8 (22:48):
I'm not in it, but yeah, I've been down there
quite a bit. Yeah I can tell you what it's like. Yeah,
there are bike lanes almost everywhere. It's from what I gather,
it's not as I look at the map a little bit. Uh,
Kansas City is not quite as crowded and chopped up
as Boston is.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
I have been to Kansas City. It's a nice It's
a much more effectively laid out city. I would agree
with you.
Speaker 6 (23:16):
Well, in a certain way.
Speaker 8 (23:17):
It kind of is. I don't know how many real
how many trains you got there? I mean, you got
the ocean, I mean so, I don't know, but yeah,
there's bike lanes there. The bike lanes quite a few
of them.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Do people like them or.
Speaker 8 (23:32):
I don't know. I don't know. I haven't done much
bicycling here in Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
But I have when I'm sure you probably listen and
talk radio in Kansas City. Is in an issue out there?
Are people happy with them?
Speaker 8 (23:46):
I don't know. I haven't done much bicycling in Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Like I said, I'm not saying you've got to do
bicycling to understand. I'm just wondering if it's an issue.
Is are there stories in the newspapers there are people
just going along with the arrival of bike lane. That's
what I'm asking you.
Speaker 8 (24:02):
No, I don't hear too much talk about it on
talk radio or anything like that with them. I honestly
don't like I said. I mean, I've you know, the
thing that I think you and I are on the
same page about bike lanes, and that I think they
(24:24):
kind of slow bicycling down. I don't like having to
stay in the bike lanes. I don't like having to
swerve in and out of them when there's cars parked
in them. And I just my opinion I as a bicyclist,
I don't like them. I like being able to ride
on the road where I need to ride and to be,
you know, be able to cross over to you know,
(24:47):
for those Yeah. So, I but my question what I'm
and this is just a kind of curiosity to get
a better feel for what's going on. There are people
in some jurisdictions there were required to ride in the
If there's a bike lane, you're required to stay in
the bike lane, and other places you're allowed to move
in and out of it. And I'm just wondering. In
(25:09):
Boston or in the various counties jurisdictions, there are generally speaking,
our bicyclists required to stay in the lane or are
they allowed to move in and out of it.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
They kind of move what they Bicyclists in Boston kind
of do what they want to do. To be honest
with you, I mean, according there's not a lot of
enforcement if you're a bicyclist and you blow through a
red light. I've never seen a bicyclists pulled over from
blowing through a red light. I've seen cars taken over, uh,
pulled over if you take a right or or you know,
a right on red and the red light on red
(25:41):
sign says no turn on red. I don't see people
getting pulled over. Yeah, I think that. I think that
they have significant, significant opportunities here to do what they want.
They kind of do as they want. Maybe if I
got poor lines here and so I'm I appreciate your.
Speaker 8 (25:55):
May maybe other maybe other, maybe other callers will be
all to answer the question definitive p.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Yep, thank you, you appreciate your calling a great one.
Let me keep Roland here, going to go to Robert
and Wellesley. Robert, you were next to night, said a
little closer to home.
Speaker 9 (26:07):
Hi, Robert, dreaming Dan, I've said sort of a middle,
middle of the road opinion. I was thought the I
thought the comments of your previous college were interesting as
well as yours. I think the and I think that
comments have been made which support my comment I'd like
(26:30):
to make is that I think that bicycle lance has
sort of materialized out of nowhere as an American invention
to make up for a lack of bike safety education
for both motorists and the cyclists. You have said that
you either.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Way by the way, these Robert, I don't want to
disagree with you, but I'll tell you they've been in
Europe for a long time, and all this is people
adopting the European formula in in Europe, as you know,
country as smaller the area to get around as close
as as smaller. Europeans are less reliant on automobiles than
(27:06):
we are. And you go into any European city, particularly
cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, and there's more more bike
lanes and more bicycles than there are cars.
Speaker 9 (27:20):
Well, your your remark brings me up today because my
experience with Europe was much as much older than than
yours is. It's not much less up today because at
that time I observed that the motorists and the cyclists
have been observed to tolerate each other in traffic, and
(27:41):
that the motorists had to respect the bicycle as a
legitimate vehicle on the on the road. And I think
that's sort of sort of missing. So at that the
time that I might made my observations my limited experience,
I didn't really observe of any uh, any bike lines.
(28:02):
That was strictly a matter of you know, of how
strictly a matter of cyclists being accepted as being part
of traffic, and there had to be mutual respect of
on the part of both motorists and and cyclists. And
I would say that what's one thing that doesn't help
is that when UH cyclists do not operate according to
(28:25):
the to the rules of the of the road UH
and UH you know, observed traffic signals and use the
standard hand signals that UH that that a motors would
be expected to have a sense of the bicycle typically
doesn't have turn signals that would be recognized by a motorists,
then the standard hand signals should be used. So I
(28:49):
I would like I would like to give you, I
would like to give you a night side homework assignment.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Would you be kind enough someday, at your convenience, to
take a ride from Wellesley over to West Roxbury and
drive up Center Street and call me back and tell
me what you think about the bike lanes on Center Street.
Speaker 6 (29:12):
You know what? What?
Speaker 4 (29:13):
I what, I what?
Speaker 1 (29:14):
I can't what.
Speaker 9 (29:14):
The experience I do have to call upon is cycling
from Wellesley to Fantastic Beach at Hull for purposes of
triathlon training. And I was careful to spend as little
time as possible on busy roads or anything like like
big highways, So.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
It is not a big highway, Robert, Center Street is
is a main thoroughfare. Uh, it is a very important
commercial district. It runs right through the commercial district, and
the bike lanes are driving the the residents and the
store owners in Roxbury. Insane, Robert, I got to run
here because I got packed lines. I'm going to put
(29:57):
you down to someone who's pretty much in favor. Uh,
you don't see the say you don't see them as
much of a problem as I do. But I thank
you for the call.
Speaker 9 (30:05):
As always, I didn't mean to I didn't mean to
express that sentiment. I'm just saying that I think.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
I see him as a as a real pain in
the neck and an inconvenience. They don't pay any sort
of insurance. They don't pay any sort of excise tax.
They they they don't have to carry insurance. They they
they think that. My experience is that a lot of
the bicyclists think they own the roads. And and it's
it's it's dangerous. It's a dangerous combination.
Speaker 9 (30:34):
But but I've I agree with you more than you
think I agree with.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Your fair enough, Thanks Robert, as always, we'll talk soon, right,
thank you much. All right, let me get John here
in Boston. And John, you've been waiting a while. I
won't the ones you have to wait too long?
Speaker 6 (30:47):
Right ahead, thanks Dan. It's not just bike to the
motor scooters, let scooters, skateboards and uh, very often we'll
be taking your right. They'll pass on your right when
you have a right hand turn signal on and to
be passing the right as you turn your on the right.
They don't obey the traffic laws, you know, the squeeze
the un set of lights and squeezing and flying between
(31:10):
two cars waiting at a set of lights during traffic.
And yeah, well I'm concerned about the elderly did I've
seen scooters whip around corners as an elderly person trying
to cross to go around the corner twenty twenty five
miles an hour. I've seen quads doing wheelies down by
the uh Tea party ship during the summertime. And I've
talked to fire biders a lot of times. The guys
(31:31):
on bikes or scooters will be going around firefight as well.
They're trying to put fires out like it's a joke,
like gangs of them.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Yeah, well that's a whole different story. But that's a
that's a huge problem. And a lot of that stuff
has been going on in Franklin Park for years, and
it's been ignored by the Boston Police Department, by the
leadership of the Boston Police Department, not the the the
rank and file officers, but it's been political. Even them
(32:00):
alone don't worry about it. And those are the same
kids who have gone out and and and and driven
these little mini scooters on the Southeast Expressway, which is nuts, insanity, insanity.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Oh absolutely did I've talked to uh this.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
I don't believe the cost because there's four there's short
four hundred costs. I bring the city councilors and the
and the mayor of Boston. All you have to simply
do is drive around one day, Drive around the city,
Drive over by the heralds, drive just drowned Wilson's Street
right now. The bike lanes have snow and ice in them.
Very often. They'll they'll be half on the road and
half in and out on the sidewalks coming on the
(32:36):
bike lanes back in the road and they're slippery, they're
tie is. You know, we'll slide them underneath them and
it's uh, you know, very offend them. I'm sorry, it's.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Dangerous for them as well. But again, the leaders, the
leaders of the bicycle unions and you do have these
these organizations, they've made it very clear that to the
politicians in Boston, you mess with us, will mess with
you there. They're it used to be back in the day.
You know, fifty years ago, workers' unions had tremendous influence
(33:11):
in Boston that you know, the IV E W unions
and the different unions. But it's now the bicycle unions,
believe it or not, and there's no one paying dues.
It's just if you're a bicyclist, you do what all
the bicyclists tell you to do. That's what I'm telling you, right,
That's what's going on in Boston.
Speaker 6 (33:28):
Well, I would think the insurance comings they would have
a keen interest because they people must be running into
these cars, and then insurance company's going to have to
be very often. I have a bike on my left side,
a bike on my right, a couple of Scores in
the front, and and they're driving Dan. They're driving in
the colleens too. I mean, they're just no, I know, left.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
Leave me.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
I see it.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
John.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I'm totally with you, and I thank you for your
support tonight. I got you in before the break. But
I got a couple of commercials. I got a wild West.
It is. It's the wild wild West in Boston. Try
in West Roxbury. Oh that's not Square, But you know
that was always acceptable in Harvard Square because guess what,
it doesn't matter at Harvard Square. But we're talking about
(34:08):
destroying the economic base of Boston. Uh, it's Center Street
in West Roxbury. That is a great, you know, economic
engine for West Roxbury and for Boston. Go talk to
those those store owners. It's driving people away from Center Street.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
To it effects the Taurus as that they can't hear them.
They just come whipping around the corner, and the Taurus
and the elderly and very it's just it's it's reckless
and people just want to go back to the city.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
I got to run around. John, appreciate it so much.
Talk to you soon. Good night. Coming back on nights
that I get. Christine and Steve. Got a little bit
of room for you if you want to give me
a call. Coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World
night Side Studios on w b Z, the news Radio.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Back we go, got Christine first, upting Denim and then
we're gonna go to Steven Boston. Go right ahead, Christine, welcome.
Speaker 10 (35:00):
Hi, how are you Dean.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
I'm okay. You're in debt and you've been on Senate
Street and West Roxbury lately.
Speaker 10 (35:07):
Oh, yes, because my mom's had the drumming home with Roxbury.
So it's crazy over there. It's absolutely crazy because me
and my family, like we'll try to go to Korb
and you know about the difference tours, and it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Well, you talk to the merchants and and and they're
hurting over there.
Speaker 10 (35:27):
They are like the color you can't get the poor
people have a handicapped they can't get into that dead restaurant.
It's crazy they don't can't.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Well. I think Mayor Wu has basically made a decision,
and the decision is that bicyclists will will rule the city.
And I think it's going to be destructive of Boston.
I really do. We have a lot of problems in
Boston and uh bicyclist is not making any easier. And
I think a lot of people are saying, you know what,
(36:02):
there's some great restaurants in Debham and UH and Natick
and Wellesley and the surrounding communities. I don't I don't
need to go downtown in Boston. I'd like to hear
from some of the restaurant owners.
Speaker 10 (36:15):
You know what they're doing now with for us, they're
riding on the sidewalks instead of the street.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Unbelievable. Christy, thanks so much. I know you waited a
long time. I got two more. I'm going to try
to sneak in here.
Speaker 10 (36:29):
They're going to try through the bikelayes and debt them too.
And now all the way to westwards down the Highway
and lacross by the Hilton. It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
Well, it's an organized effort, and the people in Debnham
better say no and uh and and fight this thing
as best they can. But what happens is the politicians.
The politicians don't listen. They just roll over people. And
at that point people got to stand up and say
we've got different politicians. Thanks Christine, thank you much, thy
good night. Let me go to Steve's in Boston. Steven
(36:59):
that the night side a little late. Like to get
you in one more in gored ahead, Steve.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
I did, Thanks for taking my call. Welcome to a
quick break quick breakdown for you. I have a Toyota
Highland there probably spent thirty thousand dollars far regular gaspart
every single week, tires probably one thousand bucks every two years,
and regular maintenance, wearing tea. Compare that to the price
of a bike. Why why are these Why are vehicles
sharing the roads so much with the bikes? I just
(37:25):
where is the outrage I honestly don't know where is
the outrage for for all these bikes being allowed to
what they're doing and on all these bike lanes setting up.
I just don't I don't get it, Like, why are
people so nice about it?
Speaker 3 (37:35):
Well? I agree with you, but I think what happens
is the average motorists like you were me. Uh and
and I raised this issue on nightside frequently, but that's okay.
I want to get people, you know, to realize what's
going on. The bike lobby. There is a political lobby
of leaders of this group who have gone to the
(37:57):
politician and basically said, you want our votes, we want
bike lanes. It's as simple as that, and a lot
of people think, oh, that's wonderful. There's an animus against
people who work for living. There's an animus against people
who have to drive to work for a living. If
you live in Boston, Steve and you work in framing him,
you can't bicycle to work every day.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
You know?
Speaker 1 (38:18):
And when do you have kids that play sports? You
you're gonna put your two kids on the back of
a bike and take them to the field, Like what
are you gonna do?
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Yeah, as well as well as the two hockey bags
if they happen to play hockey as well.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Says in my voice. This subject infuriates me.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
I'm so I'm so delighted you called. Please continue to
call this program. Uh. We try to fight for people
who who need some support and right now, believe it
or not, men and women who are who are just
trying to earn a living uh and support their families
and pay their taxes. They are being disregarded in places
like Boston and many big cities. And they stood up
(38:54):
in this last election, and they better start to stand
up in elections here in Massachusetts as well.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Seconds, mister Gavitt Menfrid has it right. They have a
bus lane six am to nine a m buses only.
Why is it all day long? Like I get it,
it's it's it's traffic time six to nine. Open up?
Why why can't you open it up the rest of
the day for everybody? Why are in noon times you're
running errands? Why are you still sitting in one lane?
Speaker 11 (39:16):
And three?
Speaker 3 (39:16):
You got you like I got you all great points, Steven.
Wish you called earlier. Call call earlier next time and
we'll give you more time.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Okay, all right, thank you, Budy, appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Thank you, appreciate it. Donny and Walpole, Donnie, I give
you about a minute. You've been very late, so I'm
not I don't feel you got the microphone. Go ahead, Donnie, I'm.
Speaker 11 (39:34):
Very late, but I like the hockey bag the hockey
tag story. But you know, I lived from Walpole and
we're dealing with the same thing. It's like you're trying
to be respectful.
Speaker 6 (39:51):
And allow them.
Speaker 11 (39:52):
You know, they riot away, you know they rioted away.
But it's a screen taking advantage of us.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
It's exactly what it is. They It's like it isn't
they want more and more and more. And look, try
to drive through some of the roads, some of the
side streets in Dorchester and Roxbury, you know, places where
people don't even have a parking space. Ah and and
and it's bike lanes. It's bike lanes everywhere. But that's
(40:24):
the power of the bike. That's the power of the
bike lobby. And the motorists been to get their act together.
Where's Triple A those companies that that represent motorists, where
are they? Where's the lobby from the motorists? It doesn't exist.
Speaker 11 (40:38):
That's a good a good point, Dan, And you know
what I'm gonna look into that.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
Look do me a fan. I'll give you much more time.
But but we run out of time. We run out
of time.
Speaker 11 (40:51):
Great great show tonight.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I really appreciate it. Thank you, my friend. We'll talk soon.
Thanks calling again any night, good night. All right, we
are done for now. I want to wish all of
you a happy Valentine's Day. We'll see you tomorrow night.
We got some special Valentine's Day programming tomorrow with Kerry Brett.
All dogs, all cats, all pets go to Heaven. That's
why Pal Charlie Rays, who passed fifteen years ago in February,
(41:15):
this very month, That's why your pets are who passed
day loved you and you love them. I do believe
you're gonna see them again. We'll see you again tomorrow
night on Nightside. I'll be on Facebook in a moment.
Rob Brooks, Mariita, thanks very much. See you tomorrow night.
Everybody on Nightside
It's nice Eyes.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
All right, everyone, welcome back here. It is eleven oh
seven and we're moving into our fourth and final hour.
First of all, a big thank you to Mark Missilback.
If you missed either of those hours, you can listen
to them. Rob will have them posted at nightside and demand.
Mark is a brilliant, brilliant tax analyst, strategist, whatever you
(00:29):
want to call it, a professional CPA with Cherry b
Art Beck Art Advisory LC and just does a does
a great job. And we will probably try to prevail
upon him to come back before well maybe it's sometime
(00:50):
later this month, but I think all the callers were
called and I realized that sometimes it's tough to get
your questions out. But we tried to give everybody as
lunch time as post. Now before we I'll move on,
let me remind you that tomorrow night we have a
(01:11):
special guest lined up in the ten o'clock hour, Carrie Brett,
who is a professional photographer one a member of the
Brett family Bill Brett, as you all know, and she's
written a book called Shot at Love, and her first
book as an author. She's done books with photographs. This
(01:32):
is her book as an author. It's her journey that
she found herself divorced with a with a young baby,
and she's her journey bringing up the child, working as
a celebrity photographer, uh and all the steps along the
(01:56):
way to find love. And she has found love. And
we're going to talk about that. Tomorrow night is Valentine's Day.
She will be my very special guest at ten o'clock
tomorrow night, and I think that all of you, whether
you are alone this Valentine's Day or whether or not
you're in a good, solid relationship, I think that you
(02:19):
will enjoy her as a guest. And also the stories
she has dealt with lots and lots of celebrities. And
one of the things she found out and that she
will talk about tomorrow night is that the celebrities who
all of us you think they never have care in
the world, they go through the same ups and downs
that all of us go through and the heartache that
(02:39):
all of us periodically suffer in our own lives. It's
a pretty inspiring book, and I think you'll enjoy the
conversation tomorrow night with Carrie Brett. We also have I'm
working on a special guest at nine o'clock tomorrow night
as well. I do not want to identify that special
guest until I can nail it down now tonight, in
(03:00):
this final hour, I want to talk about a story
that you might say, well, Gid, and that's a local story.
You tend to go national. We've gone national this week.
We have talked about the the USA cuts that President
Trump has attempted to impose. We talked last night about
his step back on to the international stage, his policy change,
(03:24):
the administration's policy change towards Ukraine, and and also well
the implications that has for Ukraine and also for the
for Russia and and for the European Fernato. We did
all of that last night. So I want to talk
about a local story in both the Globe and the
(03:46):
Herald today. Maywu apparently has decided that the bus lane
that is on bois Boylston Street. If any of you
have ever driven down Boyleston Street is it's a one
way street, as you know, from let's say Massachusetts Avenue
towards the Public Garden, uh and the Boston Common and
(04:10):
there's a bus lane actually this this, I guess there's
two bus lanes really and there's a you have, of course,
a but one bus lane and a bike lane. Uh,
it's a mess. It's a mess. The Back Bay Association
fought tooth and nails against this when it was when
(04:34):
it was constructed, they lost. Uh. And and Mayor who
now was having some second thoughts about that lane. Apparently
she's also having some second thoughts about other bike lanes.
I think the bike lanes and the bus lanes in
Boston are a disaster now. They were started in fairness,
(04:56):
uh to mayor. Where when we always want to be
fair to the mayor? Uh? Dating back to Tom Monino's administration,
who became a bicyclist late in his life, and he
really was the one who started bike lanes that continued
under Boston Mayor Mighty wallsh but they have exploded under
Mayor under the Wood administration. And I don't care if
(05:20):
you live in West Roxbury and you see what has
been done to Center Street what those they call it
the diet believe it or not? D I e t
what a meta, what a euphemism that is for what
has been done to West Roxbury. I don't know if
we can reverse all the bike lanes in Boston, but
(05:41):
they're everywhere in Boston. If you've driven in Boston at
any time in the last year, you know of what
I speak. At the same time, other communities are just
as bad. Certainly Somerville is right up there, Cambridge is
right up there. They're now leaking into other communities. And
I suspect that at this hour the night, at eleven o'clock,
(06:04):
we have listeners around the country in other parts of
the country and other big cities where bike lanes. This
is a national effort by I guess the progressives or
the bike lobby, whatever you want to call it, who
would like to turn every American city into Amsterdam or Copenhagen.
(06:25):
And it just is. It doesn't work. It doesn't work.
The amount of space that's given to bike lanes and
bus lanes is not commensurate with the amount of people
that use bike lanes and bus lanes. In a city
like Copenhagen, where I have been, they had bike lanes
(06:46):
and bike lanes. It looks like the equivalent of the
Southeast Expressway. That is not the situation here. So I
guess what I'd like to do is just open up
the lines and hear from you, there's no doubt in
my mind that we have gone way too far, way
too fast on bike lanes in Boston, and it will
eventually cripple Boston because you cannot bike in Boston twelve
(07:12):
months a year. Look at what we've been dealing with
the snow the last well the last two or three weeks.
Very few people are fewer people than normal are in
those bike lanes, and I suspect it's the same in
a lot of cities and communities around the country. We
cannot give up, we cannot assume. I was told by
(07:34):
a Democratic State Senator, Nick Collins that Boston has spent
one hundred and twenty one million dollars. We have a
failing school system. We have MPTA problems that are just
extraordinary compared to other cities. You go to San Francisco
and you look at the Bay Area rapid transit system,
(07:54):
much better than Massachusetts, for that matter, even New York.
We have just lost of our collective mind over bike
lanes because drivers who are impacted by bike lanes have
not stood up with the same amount of uniformity unity,
(08:15):
if you will. The bike lobby is very very effective
and bikes bikes pay no excise tax they use the roads.
They're not insured, at least in Boston. I don't know
what it is. In other communities they do not for
(08:36):
the most part, comply with traffic signals. It has turned,
it will turn American cities. The effort is to turn
it into Europe. The politicians are doing it for one reason,
and that is to get elected. Because the bike lobby
goes to the politicians and says, if you give us
bike lanes, we guarantee you every one of our members
(08:58):
and associates will vote for you. Which is fine, But
in a city like Boston, where it's not uncommon to
have fifteen or twenty percent of the registered voters vote
in an election, the folks who get elected are the progressives.
Now we will have a mayor's fight here in Boston.
Certainly Josh Kraft, who have had on the program, is
(09:20):
going to be a formidable opponent for Mayor Wu. It's
going to be a tough battle, There's no doubt about that.
It is not an easy battle to unseat an incumbent
mayor in Boston, but it's happened in other cities. So
I want to focus on bike lanes. Are you tired,
(09:41):
are you fed? Up. Have you had enough bike lanes?
Try Beacon Street. Try Beacon Street driving, drive on a
Sunday from the top of Beacon Hill, or drive from
Charles Street down Beacon Street to Mass Avenue. It's going
to take you fifteen or twenty minutes. Okay, that used
to be a street where trapped moved pretty clearly, pretty cleanly,
(10:02):
pretty quickly. Doesn't anymore. Six one, seven, two, five, four thirty.
I have a couple of lines there. The other lines
are filled up. I'd love to hear from you. If
you're a real proponent of bike lanes everywhere, feel free.
I'll be I'll be glad to talk to you. I'd
like to talk to you. But but the bike lanes.
(10:26):
We have lost our collective mind over the bike lanes,
and a lot of businesses, whether they run Mass Avenue
and Cambridge or Center Street in West Roxbury, are absolutely
adversely affected, and that is eventually going to affect the
quality of life in every city where bike lanes are
so common. Simple as that, let's let's let's let's take
(10:51):
a step back, stop the bike lanes and actually begin
to say, look, we don't need bike lanes on every street.
I've gone through some of the naighborhoods Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan.
There are bike leans on streets in that those communities.
There's enough that you lose the parking. You have one
(11:12):
lane of traffic. That's all you have. As you can tell,
I feel strongly about it, and I will say if
Mayor Will takes that bus lane off of Boylston Street,
that is a win. But it is only the first
of many wins that motorists have to win in order
to take back the streets of Boston. They do not
(11:36):
belong to bicyclists in my opinion. Back on Nightside, I
feel strongly if you disagree, love to hear from me.
If you agree, love to hear from me. It doesn't matter.
And if you are in another community, in another part
of the country and you've been been set by the
same problem, whether it's whether it's Baltimore or Washington, or
Philadelphia or Detroit, Albany, New York, with any city within
(11:57):
the sound of my voice, I love to hear from
you as well. Back on night we'll get it going
right after the break.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
All Right, let's get it go. I'm gonna start off
with John and Brantree. Hey, John, welcome you a first
this hour in Nightside.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Hey Dan, Captain Hindsight reporting in.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Hey, hey Captain Hindsight. Go right ahead, sir listen.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
I'm probably not the right person if you're looking for
some an advocate for the pipe lanes. But man Senna Street.
I got caught in that once and I haven't been
back there since. Same thing with Cummings Highway. It became ridiculous.
I would if you don't mind, I'd like to take
off a little bit off the subject and focusing on
(12:43):
bike riders and their behavior. Thank you. I'm just shocked
at how many bike riders and let's just say cyclists,
because you got the little scooters zipping around, and how
few of them are wearing helmets for the first thing.
Second thing is how hard they are to see sometimes
(13:04):
at dusk and getting in dark. They wear such dark
they wear earth toned clothes. And I don't know what
the I don't know what the new statistics are, but
people must be getting knocked off left and right more
than ever before now.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I mean it's so hard. You have some of the
kids who are using these, uh the these scooters who
are just out there raising hell. I mean they want
to cause you know, you know, chaos. And then you
have others out there who are using them individually. And
then you have others who are doing it for food delivery.
They're using it basically it's it's their business.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
And I did have some suggestions too, so go ahead,
go ahead, a couple of suggestions. One thing I have
is that, by the way, if you're going to use
our roads and share them with us, you need to
start paying up. You need to have a license, you
need to have the bike has to have signals, that
bike has to have lights, you have to wear a
fluorescent jacket. And this is only if you give a
(14:03):
crap about your own life. I mean I can't.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
It's your responsibility to avoid them. I mean, there's a
Laura in Massachusetts. I think if you come up on
a bike bicyclist who's on I'm sure, but you get
the right away like four feet no, no, four feet
give them four feet room. A lot of roads, you
legitimately can't give them four feet road four feet of space.
(14:31):
So what you're left to do you got to stand
behind them while they're going five miles or six miles an.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Hour, right. And the other thing is, would there be
any issue with taking sidewalks and on alternate years making
a sidewalk one side for pedestrians in the other side
for bicyclists each you know, every other year. I mean,
I can't imagine the businesses that are money.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
What do you say, what do you say to the
to the to the business own on?
Speaker 4 (15:01):
No, that's okay. You can still walk across the street
and go to a business. It would still be easier
than what's going on with the bike lanes now. It's
just that you would have more parking for the cars
and people could I can't even go to a hardware
store on Center Street. You can't find a spot, and
I can't take twenty minutes to go up and down
there during this.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
By the way, I just so you know, ironically, you
mentioned I know the hardware store you're talking about. I
go to that hardware store. And the reason I go
to the hardware store it's a small hardware store. It's
a small business. I hate going to the so called
big box stores, and so I would rather pay a
little extra go because I saved the time and money.
I walk in the door, I see someone there, I say, hey,
(15:44):
can you tell me where this is? In most of
the cases at that hardware store, they'll walk you down
the aisle and they'll show you exactly down.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
I don't have the time any store. Yeah, you still
have the time the extra fifteen to twenty minutes ago.
Now I avoid Center Street. I'm just going down the
VFW Parkway and I'll catch it back up on Center
Street or Baker Street up. It's just easier, you know. So.
And I just wish any bicyclists listening to if you've
got kids riding bikes, make sure they're wearing some bright
(16:15):
colors and get them some lights. Jesus, And there's not
too much to ask. It's for their lives, it's not
for us. I'd feel horrible if I ever hit one.
And I was hit as a youngster by a car
and it was horrible. But today I can see how
people are easily getting knocked up. They're wearing earth toned grays, blacks, browns,
(16:35):
and you can't see them.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
So they view themselves as kings of the road and
that they have really priority, they have special protection, special lanes.
I don't want to see when we get hurt either.
But I think that the bicyclists have really exercised political
cloud with this mayor in this city council in Boston,
and I'm sure they've done it elsewhere as well. I
(16:59):
hate to do it.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Thanks for taking a call. Someday get somebody from episodes
to explain our Raising dills is a topic if you
have here care for Thanks.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
We're working on that. I'm actually working on that, and
that might be my topic tomorrow night at nine o'clock.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
I guessed it. You thought you would keeping as a
secret until you know for sure.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
That's fine. We'll see, we'll see. Thanks, Thank you, John,
appreciate it. Good night. Let me go to Joe and Boston.
Joe your next time nights, I go right ahead.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Good evenings on my brother, My brother, I.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Know how you feel about bike lanes. Go ahead, Joe,
drive a lot.
Speaker 5 (17:42):
Yes, you're just spoke, he talked in a few points
in works Rosy. My favorite restaurant is I'm gonna give
him a plug. My Sun Center.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I know a great restaurant.
Speaker 6 (17:55):
They are great.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
They are ten minutes for my house.
Speaker 6 (17:59):
I'm able to her.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Tell me why and you're not cooking tonight. We'll gonna
share a meal, you know. For me to go down there,
I can never find a parking spa. I just park
on them, literally on the bike leans, and its insane
right there. I mean, I heard that Mayo Wood decided
to do away with the bus lanes and now on
(18:22):
Boston streets.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Yeah, let's but that's a start. But but let's keep going.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
Another thing that I heard is that he got rid
of a few bumps, those new bumps that they put
on the streets speed so that they're everywhere. Yeah, speat bumps. However,
what they instead of putting these speed bumps, what they
don't take the output and fill up the holes that
(18:50):
they got, the path holes that they got all over
the streets is insanity dead.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
No, No, you're right. If this, if the speed don't
slow you down, the potholes will. Maybe they don't feel
them for a reason, I don't know. Yeah, but no street.
The worst.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
I heard about this guy that he wants to get
rid of the bike lanes.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
No more bike lanes. So I think in fairness, what
Josh Kraft has said is he doesn't want any more
bike lanes. I think he should look, you know, his
campaign's going to evolve. He did. He didn't come across
as anti bike lanes, but I think that that he's saying, hey,
we got enough as it is. I think we need
(19:37):
to pair back. I think they need to get those
bike lanes out of Senate Street. In West Roxbury. There
were community meetings though out there. The Mayor's office went
out and they basically rolled over the residents of West Roxbury.
It was like, we're gonna do it. Tell us what
you think, but it doesn't matter what you think, and
we're gonna do it. And they did it.
Speaker 7 (19:56):
And that's the thing with Michelle Woods. She's also listened
to any but it. She's always going to do it
this way and that's it. You take it and you're
gonna like it. And you know, that's why she's.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Going to lose.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
He's going to be a one term maya.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
She's gonna I mean, he's probably having panic attacks right
now because this guy is going to win. Everybody's going
to back them up. I'm going to back them up myself.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Well, I think that he's done a lot. You know,
Josh Kraft has done a lot in the community, has
been involved in the Boys and Girls clubs. Uh, with
the the Urban League and you have. He has tremendous
support in minority communities here in Boston particularly.
Speaker 5 (20:37):
He's been bringing out to a lot of people.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Yeah. Absolutely, I've been bringing.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Out to a lot of people that I actually know
involved in politics in Boston. In myself that I very
seldom get involved. I have been involved with a few
condiments in the past, and they've been winners. And I mean,
I'm willing to go all out for him.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
All right, Joe, I'm up on my break here. I
don't mean to cut you short, but I got a
break for news as always. Thank you for your friendship,
thank you for your loyalty. And I'll see you at
that restaurant in West Roxbury. Maybe, yes, some night we
grab some week weeknight, we'll grab dinner or something.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Okay they got.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Not weeknight, weekend night, like I said, Sunday Saturday or
Sunday night. Okay, we'll talk about it. Thanks Joe, very
good dad, Thank you, my friend. Don't you soon. Good night.
Here comes the news at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Everything. The only line that's open right now is six, one, seven, nine, three, one,
ten thirty. Uh. And if you're calling from out of town,
and you have concerns about bike lanes in your community.
Whatever your point of view is is welcome. Okay. I
will admit to you I have a very strong point
of view. I think that they're incompatible with Boston. It's
as simple as that. They're absolutely incompatible. But they have
(21:58):
a very effective bike lobby, which I think has influenced
mayoral elections. And I think that we've reached a point where,
if the mayor are smart, she's gonna take the buck
bus lane out on Boylston Street. There were some other
bike lanes that kind of go. Let's start with Center
Street in West Roxbury. Back on Nightside, right after this.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Night Side with Dan Ray on w B Boston's news radio.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
All right, thank you, Dan Watkins. It's got right back
to the call. It's gonna go to gym in Kansas City.
Gym next one nights. I go right ahead.
Speaker 8 (22:38):
Yeah, hey, thanks for taking my call.
Speaker 9 (22:40):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
You were great? Are you in downtown Kansas City? Can
you tell us what the bike lane situation is like there?
Speaker 8 (22:48):
I'm not in it, but yeah, I've been down there
quite a bit. Yeah I can tell you what it's like. Yeah,
there are bike lanes almost everywhere. It's from what I gather,
it's not as I look at the map a little bit. Uh,
Kansas City is not quite as crowded and chopped up
as Boston is.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
I have been to Kansas City. It's a nice It's
a much more effectively laid out city. I would agree
with you.
Speaker 6 (23:16):
Well, in a certain way.
Speaker 8 (23:17):
It kind of is. I don't know how many real
how many trains you got there? I mean, you got
the ocean, I mean so, I don't know, but yeah,
there's bike lanes there. The bike lanes quite a few
of them.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Do people like them or.
Speaker 8 (23:32):
I don't know. I don't know. I haven't done much
bicycling here in Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
But I have when I'm sure you probably listen and
talk radio in Kansas City. Is in an issue out there?
Are people happy with them?
Speaker 8 (23:46):
I don't know. I haven't done much bicycling in Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Like I said, I'm not saying you've got to do
bicycling to understand. I'm just wondering if it's an issue.
Is are there stories in the newspapers there are people
just going along with the arrival of bike lane. That's
what I'm asking you.
Speaker 8 (24:02):
No, I don't hear too much talk about it on
talk radio or anything like that with them. I honestly
don't like I said. I mean, I've you know, the
thing that I think you and I are on the
same page about bike lanes, and that I think they
(24:24):
kind of slow bicycling down. I don't like having to
stay in the bike lanes. I don't like having to
swerve in and out of them when there's cars parked
in them. And I just my opinion I as a bicyclist,
I don't like them. I like being able to ride
on the road where I need to ride and to be,
you know, be able to cross over to you know,
(24:47):
for those Yeah. So, I but my question what I'm
and this is just a kind of curiosity to get
a better feel for what's going on. There are people
in some jurisdictions there were required to ride in the
If there's a bike lane, you're required to stay in
the bike lane, and other places you're allowed to move
in and out of it. And I'm just wondering. In
(25:09):
Boston or in the various counties jurisdictions, there are generally speaking,
our bicyclists required to stay in the lane or are
they allowed to move in and out of it.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
They kind of move what they Bicyclists in Boston kind
of do what they want to do. To be honest
with you, I mean, according there's not a lot of
enforcement if you're a bicyclist and you blow through a
red light. I've never seen a bicyclists pulled over from
blowing through a red light. I've seen cars taken over, uh,
pulled over if you take a right or or you know,
a right on red and the red light on red
(25:41):
sign says no turn on red. I don't see people
getting pulled over. Yeah, I think that. I think that
they have significant, significant opportunities here to do what they want.
They kind of do as they want. Maybe if I
got poor lines here and so I'm I appreciate your.
Speaker 8 (25:55):
May maybe other maybe other, maybe other callers will be
all to answer the question definitive p.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Yep, thank you, you appreciate your calling a great one.
Let me keep Roland here, going to go to Robert
and Wellesley. Robert, you were next to night, said a
little closer to home.
Speaker 9 (26:07):
Hi, Robert, dreaming Dan, I've said sort of a middle,
middle of the road opinion. I was thought the I
thought the comments of your previous college were interesting as
well as yours. I think the and I think that
comments have been made which support my comment I'd like
(26:30):
to make is that I think that bicycle lance has
sort of materialized out of nowhere as an American invention
to make up for a lack of bike safety education
for both motorists and the cyclists. You have said that
you either.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Way by the way, these Robert, I don't want to
disagree with you, but I'll tell you they've been in
Europe for a long time, and all this is people
adopting the European formula in in Europe, as you know,
country as smaller the area to get around as close
as as smaller. Europeans are less reliant on automobiles than
(27:06):
we are. And you go into any European city, particularly
cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, and there's more more bike
lanes and more bicycles than there are cars.
Speaker 9 (27:20):
Well, your your remark brings me up today because my
experience with Europe was much as much older than than
yours is. It's not much less up today because at
that time I observed that the motorists and the cyclists
have been observed to tolerate each other in traffic, and
(27:41):
that the motorists had to respect the bicycle as a
legitimate vehicle on the on the road. And I think
that's sort of sort of missing. So at that the
time that I might made my observations my limited experience,
I didn't really observe of any uh, any bike lines.
(28:02):
That was strictly a matter of you know, of how
strictly a matter of cyclists being accepted as being part
of traffic, and there had to be mutual respect of
on the part of both motorists and and cyclists. And
I would say that what's one thing that doesn't help
is that when UH cyclists do not operate according to
(28:25):
the to the rules of the of the road UH
and UH you know, observed traffic signals and use the
standard hand signals that UH that that a motors would
be expected to have a sense of the bicycle typically
doesn't have turn signals that would be recognized by a motorists,
then the standard hand signals should be used. So I
(28:49):
I would like I would like to give you, I
would like to give you a night side homework assignment.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Would you be kind enough someday, at your convenience, to
take a ride from Wellesley over to West Roxbury and
drive up Center Street and call me back and tell
me what you think about the bike lanes on Center Street.
Speaker 6 (29:12):
You know what? What?
Speaker 4 (29:13):
I what, I what?
Speaker 1 (29:14):
I can't what.
Speaker 9 (29:14):
The experience I do have to call upon is cycling
from Wellesley to Fantastic Beach at Hull for purposes of
triathlon training. And I was careful to spend as little
time as possible on busy roads or anything like like
big highways, So.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
It is not a big highway, Robert, Center Street is
is a main thoroughfare. Uh, it is a very important
commercial district. It runs right through the commercial district, and
the bike lanes are driving the the residents and the
store owners in Roxbury. Insane, Robert, I got to run
here because I got packed lines. I'm going to put
(29:57):
you down to someone who's pretty much in favor. Uh,
you don't see the say you don't see them as
much of a problem as I do. But I thank
you for the call.
Speaker 9 (30:05):
As always, I didn't mean to I didn't mean to
express that sentiment. I'm just saying that I think.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
I see him as a as a real pain in
the neck and an inconvenience. They don't pay any sort
of insurance. They don't pay any sort of excise tax.
They they they don't have to carry insurance. They they
they think that. My experience is that a lot of
the bicyclists think they own the roads. And and it's
it's it's dangerous. It's a dangerous combination.
Speaker 9 (30:34):
But but I've I agree with you more than you
think I agree with.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Your fair enough, Thanks Robert, as always, we'll talk soon, right,
thank you much. All right, let me get John here
in Boston. And John, you've been waiting a while. I
won't the ones you have to wait too long?
Speaker 6 (30:47):
Right ahead, thanks Dan. It's not just bike to the
motor scooters, let scooters, skateboards and uh, very often we'll
be taking your right. They'll pass on your right when
you have a right hand turn signal on and to
be passing the right as you turn your on the right.
They don't obey the traffic laws, you know, the squeeze
the un set of lights and squeezing and flying between
(31:10):
two cars waiting at a set of lights during traffic.
And yeah, well I'm concerned about the elderly did I've
seen scooters whip around corners as an elderly person trying
to cross to go around the corner twenty twenty five
miles an hour. I've seen quads doing wheelies down by
the uh Tea party ship during the summertime. And I've
talked to fire biders a lot of times. The guys
(31:31):
on bikes or scooters will be going around firefight as well.
They're trying to put fires out like it's a joke,
like gangs of them.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Yeah, well that's a whole different story. But that's a
that's a huge problem. And a lot of that stuff
has been going on in Franklin Park for years, and
it's been ignored by the Boston Police Department, by the
leadership of the Boston Police Department, not the the the
rank and file officers, but it's been political. Even them
(32:00):
alone don't worry about it. And those are the same
kids who have gone out and and and and driven
these little mini scooters on the Southeast Expressway, which is nuts, insanity, insanity.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Oh absolutely did I've talked to uh this.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
I don't believe the cost because there's four there's short
four hundred costs. I bring the city councilors and the
and the mayor of Boston. All you have to simply
do is drive around one day, Drive around the city,
Drive over by the heralds, drive just drowned Wilson's Street
right now. The bike lanes have snow and ice in them.
Very often. They'll they'll be half on the road and
half in and out on the sidewalks coming on the
(32:36):
bike lanes back in the road and they're slippery, they're
tie is. You know, we'll slide them underneath them and
it's uh, you know, very offend them. I'm sorry, it's.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Dangerous for them as well. But again, the leaders, the
leaders of the bicycle unions and you do have these
these organizations, they've made it very clear that to the
politicians in Boston, you mess with us, will mess with
you there. They're it used to be back in the day.
You know, fifty years ago, workers' unions had tremendous influence
(33:11):
in Boston that you know, the IV E W unions
and the different unions. But it's now the bicycle unions,
believe it or not, and there's no one paying dues.
It's just if you're a bicyclist, you do what all
the bicyclists tell you to do. That's what I'm telling you, right,
That's what's going on in Boston.
Speaker 6 (33:28):
Well, I would think the insurance comings they would have
a keen interest because they people must be running into
these cars, and then insurance company's going to have to
be very often. I have a bike on my left side,
a bike on my right, a couple of Scores in
the front, and and they're driving Dan. They're driving in
the colleens too. I mean, they're just no, I know, left.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
Leave me.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
I see it.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
John.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I'm totally with you, and I thank you for your
support tonight. I got you in before the break. But
I got a couple of commercials. I got a wild West.
It is. It's the wild wild West in Boston. Try
in West Roxbury. Oh that's not Square, But you know
that was always acceptable in Harvard Square because guess what,
it doesn't matter at Harvard Square. But we're talking about
(34:08):
destroying the economic base of Boston. Uh, it's Center Street
in West Roxbury. That is a great, you know, economic
engine for West Roxbury and for Boston. Go talk to
those those store owners. It's driving people away from Center Street.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
To it effects the Taurus as that they can't hear them.
They just come whipping around the corner, and the Taurus
and the elderly and very it's just it's it's reckless
and people just want to go back to the city.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
I got to run around. John, appreciate it so much.
Talk to you soon. Good night. Coming back on nights
that I get. Christine and Steve. Got a little bit
of room for you if you want to give me
a call. Coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World
night Side Studios on w b Z, the news Radio.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Back we go, got Christine first, upting Denim and then
we're gonna go to Steven Boston. Go right ahead, Christine, welcome.
Speaker 10 (35:00):
Hi, how are you Dean.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
I'm okay. You're in debt and you've been on Senate
Street and West Roxbury lately.
Speaker 10 (35:07):
Oh, yes, because my mom's had the drumming home with Roxbury.
So it's crazy over there. It's absolutely crazy because me
and my family, like we'll try to go to Korb
and you know about the difference tours, and it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Well, you talk to the merchants and and and they're
hurting over there.
Speaker 10 (35:27):
They are like the color you can't get the poor
people have a handicapped they can't get into that dead restaurant.
It's crazy they don't can't.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Well. I think Mayor Wu has basically made a decision,
and the decision is that bicyclists will will rule the city.
And I think it's going to be destructive of Boston.
I really do. We have a lot of problems in
Boston and uh bicyclist is not making any easier. And
I think a lot of people are saying, you know what,
(36:02):
there's some great restaurants in Debham and UH and Natick
and Wellesley and the surrounding communities. I don't I don't
need to go downtown in Boston. I'd like to hear
from some of the restaurant owners.
Speaker 10 (36:15):
You know what they're doing now with for us, they're
riding on the sidewalks instead of the street.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Unbelievable. Christy, thanks so much. I know you waited a
long time. I got two more. I'm going to try
to sneak in here.
Speaker 10 (36:29):
They're going to try through the bikelayes and debt them too.
And now all the way to westwards down the Highway
and lacross by the Hilton. It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
Well, it's an organized effort, and the people in Debnham
better say no and uh and and fight this thing
as best they can. But what happens is the politicians.
The politicians don't listen. They just roll over people. And
at that point people got to stand up and say
we've got different politicians. Thanks Christine, thank you much, thy
good night. Let me go to Steve's in Boston. Steven
(36:59):
that the night side a little late. Like to get
you in one more in gored ahead, Steve.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
I did, Thanks for taking my call. Welcome to a
quick break quick breakdown for you. I have a Toyota
Highland there probably spent thirty thousand dollars far regular gaspart
every single week, tires probably one thousand bucks every two years,
and regular maintenance, wearing tea. Compare that to the price
of a bike. Why why are these Why are vehicles
sharing the roads so much with the bikes? I just
(37:25):
where is the outrage I honestly don't know where is
the outrage for for all these bikes being allowed to
what they're doing and on all these bike lanes setting up.
I just don't I don't get it, Like, why are
people so nice about it?
Speaker 3 (37:35):
Well? I agree with you, but I think what happens
is the average motorists like you were me. Uh and
and I raised this issue on nightside frequently, but that's okay.
I want to get people, you know, to realize what's
going on. The bike lobby. There is a political lobby
of leaders of this group who have gone to the
(37:57):
politician and basically said, you want our votes, we want
bike lanes. It's as simple as that, and a lot
of people think, oh, that's wonderful. There's an animus against
people who work for living. There's an animus against people
who have to drive to work for a living. If
you live in Boston, Steve and you work in framing him,
you can't bicycle to work every day.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
You know?
Speaker 1 (38:18):
And when do you have kids that play sports? You
you're gonna put your two kids on the back of
a bike and take them to the field, Like what
are you gonna do?
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Yeah, as well as well as the two hockey bags
if they happen to play hockey as well.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Says in my voice. This subject infuriates me.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
I'm so I'm so delighted you called. Please continue to
call this program. Uh. We try to fight for people
who who need some support and right now, believe it
or not, men and women who are who are just
trying to earn a living uh and support their families
and pay their taxes. They are being disregarded in places
like Boston and many big cities. And they stood up
(38:54):
in this last election, and they better start to stand
up in elections here in Massachusetts as well.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Seconds, mister Gavitt Menfrid has it right. They have a
bus lane six am to nine a m buses only.
Why is it all day long? Like I get it,
it's it's it's traffic time six to nine. Open up?
Why why can't you open it up the rest of
the day for everybody? Why are in noon times you're
running errands? Why are you still sitting in one lane?
Speaker 11 (39:16):
And three?
Speaker 3 (39:16):
You got you like I got you all great points, Steven.
Wish you called earlier. Call call earlier next time and
we'll give you more time.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Okay, all right, thank you, Budy, appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Thank you, appreciate it. Donny and Walpole, Donnie, I give
you about a minute. You've been very late, so I'm
not I don't feel you got the microphone. Go ahead, Donnie, I'm.
Speaker 11 (39:34):
Very late, but I like the hockey bag the hockey
tag story. But you know, I lived from Walpole and
we're dealing with the same thing. It's like you're trying
to be respectful.
Speaker 6 (39:51):
And allow them.
Speaker 11 (39:52):
You know, they riot away, you know they rioted away.
But it's a screen taking advantage of us.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
It's exactly what it is. They It's like it isn't
they want more and more and more. And look, try
to drive through some of the roads, some of the
side streets in Dorchester and Roxbury, you know, places where
people don't even have a parking space. Ah and and
and it's bike lanes. It's bike lanes everywhere. But that's
(40:24):
the power of the bike. That's the power of the
bike lobby. And the motorists been to get their act together.
Where's Triple A those companies that that represent motorists, where
are they? Where's the lobby from the motorists? It doesn't exist.
Speaker 11 (40:38):
That's a good a good point, Dan, And you know
what I'm gonna look into that.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
Look do me a fan. I'll give you much more time.
But but we run out of time. We run out
of time.
Speaker 11 (40:51):
Great great show tonight.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I really appreciate it. Thank you, my friend. We'll talk soon.
Thanks calling again any night, good night. All right, we
are done for now. I want to wish all of
you a happy Valentine's Day. We'll see you tomorrow night.
We got some special Valentine's Day programming tomorrow with Kerry Brett.
All dogs, all cats, all pets go to Heaven. That's
why Pal Charlie Rays, who passed fifteen years ago in February,
(41:15):
this very month, That's why your pets are who passed
day loved you and you love them. I do believe
you're gonna see them again. We'll see you again tomorrow
night on Nightside. I'll be on Facebook in a moment.
Rob Brooks, Mariita, thanks very much. See you tomorrow night.
Everybody on Nightside
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