Council hearing Nov. 5 on Boston's bike network plan and truck safety, months after a city planner was killed on Tremont Street

The City Council's Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation will hold a hearing Thursday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. in the Iannella Chamber on two street safety orders from City Councilor Benjamin Weber: one on the status of Boston's citywide bike network plan and one on the safety of heavy commercial trucks (public notice). The public can testify.

Both orders followed the death of a City of Boston transportation planner and bike safety advocate, who was struck and killed by a truck while riding on Tremont Street near Roxbury Crossing in July, Boston 25 reported. For anyone who walks or bikes in Boston, the hearing is a chance to hear what the city plans for bike lanes and for large trucks on narrow streets.

What the orders ask

A citywide bike plan. Weber's first order (docket 1418; text) asks for the next steps toward a "Comprehensive Plan for Bike Lane Infrastructure." That idea comes from an April 2025 review of city street projects done for Mayor Michelle Wu. The order cites a city analysis that found half as many crashes a year after separated bike lanes were installed: 68% fewer crashes involving pedestrians, 57% fewer involving bikes and 20% fewer between motor vehicles. It has 10 sponsors.

Heavy trucks. The second order (docket 1542; text) asks about route limits and safety equipment for heavy commercial vehicles. It says Boston police found that the July 9 crash on Tremont Street involved an 18-wheel truck carrying demolition material. It notes the city's 2014 ordinance requiring city vendors' large trucks to have side guards, special mirrors and blind-spot decals. It also quotes a July 24 letter in which Wu pledged to "advance more comprehensive truck safety legislation, strengthen side-guard enforcement, review City routes used by heavy commercial vehicles." It has 10 sponsors.

What our records add

Weber's case. Filing the bike order on July 22, Weber traced the city's plans from Mayor Thomas Menino's first bike lanes in 2010 through Vision Zero and Wu's Safer Streets program (watch at 1:36:30).

He said the council owed it to constituents, and to the planner who was killed, to take the issue up again and find out the status of plans for bike lanes that connect every neighborhood (1:38:16).

City Councilor Enrique Pepén, a co-sponsor, said safety is the main reason people hesitate to ride, and that protected lanes make roads safer for everyone (watch at 1:39:09).

What the city has reported. At an April 22 hearing of the same committee, a city transportation official said the Wu administration had built 18 miles of bike lanes, "nearly doubling" the existing network, along with more than 1,400 speed humps. The official said the city planned about 2.5 miles of new bike lanes this year (watch at 19:29).

The debate on the council. Not every new lane has stayed. On Oct. 28, City Councilor Ed Flynn criticized a two-way bike lane on O'Connor Way in South Boston that he said had "no connection to any network whatsoever." The city removed it about two months after it went in (watch at 1:13:39; our story). Flynn is a sponsor of both of Weber's orders.

How long they waited. The bike plan order was referred July 22 and the truck order Aug. 5. By Thursday they will have waited 106 and 92 days. City Councilor Sharon Durkan chairs the committee. Other street safety items the council has open are in our earlier roundup.

What's next

The hearing is at 2 p.m. Thursday at City Hall and will stream at boston.gov/city-council-tv. After a hearing, an order either stays in committee or comes back to the full council with a report. Any change to truck equipment rules for private fleets would likely need state action, as Weber's order notes.