Wednesday, September 9, 2015

With Flowers From Boston

SEPTEMBER 09, 2015 Inspired by a book about “tactical urbanism” and what he called the city’s slow response to making certain roadway improvements, cyclist Jonathan Fertig took matters into his own hands and constructed a separated bike lane along one of Boston’s most dangerous thoroughfares using house plants and orange traffic cones. Now he’s looking to expand the project, and is raising money online to create additional improvised “flower lanes” that he says will keep cyclists and pedestrians safe from cars traveling along the busy corridor. On Sunday, Fertig, who says he commutes daily from his home in Dorchester to Cambridge, placed six potted plants and cones on a portion of Massachusetts Avenue near the Beacon Street intersection, the site of a fatal crash in August that claimed the life of endocrine surgeon Anita Kurmann. “I went to Home Depot, bought the mums that were on sale for $6, and then just put them down and walked away,” Fertig said. http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/09/09/cyclist-places-potted-plants-mass-ave-create-temporary-bike-lane-plans-install-more/rhH0HV94d1mpImKPy8vfJO/story.html

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