Report: Boston Getting More Bike Lanes, Hubway
Boston will be getting more bike lanes and Hubway bike share stations, the Boston Herald reported Tuesday, just two days after a visiting MIT scientist was struck and killed while riding her bike in the Kenmore Square area. The city plans to add up to 20 miles of new bike lanes and 20 new Hubway kiosks and might also look to install cycle tracks on major roadways from Roxbury to the Public Garden, Transportation Commissioner Tom Tinlin told the Herald. Last week, a new Hubway station opened at the recently built Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in the Charlestown Navy Yard, and Boston Bikes Director Nicole Freedman told Patch that another kiosk is planned in the Hayes Square area. With plans to install more stations in South Boston, Roxbury and other locations, the total number of Hubway options could soon approach 100, the Herald reported. Also in the works are more divided bike lanes, like the one on Western Avenue in Brighton, and cycle tracks—bike paths that separate bicyclists from motorized traffic—on Charles Street, Malcolm X Boulevard, Seaver Street and around the Public Garden, officials told the Herald. With plans to step up the bike-friendly features in Boston, there are still concerns about the safety of bicyclists, particularly following the May 19 death of Kanako Miura, an MIT researcher from Japan. Miura was reportedly struck by a motor vehicle while riding her bike near the intersection of Beacon Street and Charlesgate West at around 3:30 p.m. Several media outlets have reported that police are looking for a garbage truck that may have been involved. In March, officials announced plans to install new warning signs, reflectors and lane markings along busy Commonwealth Avenue in an effort to improve safety for bicyclists following the 2012 deaths of two Boston University students, both bicyclists who were struck by vehicles in separate incidents. The city also recently installed protective guards on 20 Public Works trucks to prevent bicyclists from getting crushed in a collision, the Herald reported. Boston Police Capt. John Danilecki told the Herald that most of the recent fatalities have involved trucks or buses and that, even when in a bicycling lane, cyclists should assume large vehicles can’t see them and use extra caution. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Report: Tsarnaev Admits to Detonating Marathon Bombs
The Boston Marathon bombing suspect currently hospitalized admitted to FBI agents that he and his brother detonated the bombs planted near the finish line, the Boston Globe reports. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, made the reported admission on Sunday from his bed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and had not yet been given a Miranda warning, the Globe reported. A “senior police official” told the Globe that authorities were not concerned about Tsarnaev not being read his Miranda rights, which means any statements he made would not be admissible in court, due to testimony of the Tsarnaev brother’s alleged carjacking victim. According to the criminal complaint filed against Tsarnaev, during the carjacking on Thursday night one of the brothers pointed a firearm at the victim and said, “Did you hear about the Boston explosion?” and “I did that.” U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz previously said that Tsarnaev was not read his Miranda rights when taken into custody due to a public safety exemption in cases of national security and acts of terrorism. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that Tsarnaev will be tried in civilian court and not treated as an Enemy Combatant. Carney noted that Tsarnaev is a naturalized American citizen and thus cannot be tried in front of a military tribunal, as an enemy combatant would. Tsarnaev is charged with unlawfully using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (namely, an improvised explosive device) against persons and property within the United States. He is also charged with maliciously damaging and destroying, by means of explosive, real and personal property used in interstate and foreign commerce and actively affecting interstate and foreign commerce resulting in personal injury and death. His brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed when he was run over by his brother, suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a lengthy battle with law enforcement early Friday morning. Read the full Boston Globe report on boston.com. South End Patch
Report: Boston Economy May Have Lost $250 Million Plus from Lockdown
How much does it cost to shut down a city for an entire day? Bloomberg Business Week reports that price tag is somewhere in the range of $ 250 million to $ 333 million, citing a chief economist at IHS Global Insight. The citywide shelter-in-place order was lifted shortly after 6 p.m. Friday, about 10 hours after the police lockdown was extended to the entire city of Boston. As of 6:30 p.m., police continued to search for the remaining at-large suspect in Monday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line, with heavy activity continuing in the greater Boston community of Watertown. The suspect was identified by authorities as 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev. While some businesses remained open during the lockdown, many didn’t open at all or closed early, sending employees home several hours after the shelter-in-place was issued, once government officials announced it was OK to leave for home. Dunkin’ Donuts shops in certain areas of the city remained open during the lockdown per direction from the city, the Huffington Post reported. Karen Raskopf, chief communications officer for Dunkin’ Brands, told the news site that the restaurants were asked to remain open “to take care of needs of law enforcement and first responders.” Business Week reports that the Boston metro area is a “$ 1-billion-a-day metropolitan area,” but that some of that economic activity could continue under a lockdown with the aid of telecommuting and technology. Other activities, such as grocery shopping, are simply shifted to another day. But even with some business in the city lost because of the lockdown, the economic expert said he did not expect the event to have a lasting effect on Boston’s economy. He pointed to New York City and Washington, D.C., both of which were able to recover relatively quickly following the attacks on 9/11. South End Patch
Report: ‘Substantial Progress’ in Marathon Bombing Case
CNN is reporting that surveillance video taken from Lord & Taylor and a Boston television station have allowed investigators to identify a suspect in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings. Boston.com is reporting a law enforcement official has a photo of a possible suspect at the second bomb site. Patch will provide updates as they become available. South End Patch
Transit Police: Report ‘Open & Gross’ Crimes on MBTA
Transit police are urging the public to report open and gross crimes they see while aboard MBTA trains and at stations following an incident resulting in an arrest at North Station Monday. Mehmet Beyaztas, 24 of Boston was arrested Monday after a witness told police she saw him masturbating on an inbound Lowell commuter rail train, according to the Transit Police News blog. Police want to make the public aware of this sort of crime noting in a following blog post that such crimes tend to go under reported. “[W]e hope it encourages others who have had similar experiences to contact and report the incident to Transit Police,” the blog says. “Our detectives will work tirelessly to identify and hold the offender responsible for their criminal conduct.” The blog instructs victims of such crimes to bring attention to the person, tell others around you, move away if possible, take a picture if safe to do so and report the incident to Transit Police as soon as practical. Also, passengers can call 617-222-1212 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or use the MBTA’s SeeSay app, according to the blog. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch