05.27.2025/Bike lane backlash

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A curious obsession: Amid rising public backlash, progressives have taken their bike lane crusade to the suburbs of Greater Boston

Talk about being politically tone deaf.

Progressives are proving to be painfully slow learners when it comes to the public’s limited appetite for jamming bike lanes onto busy streets.

The latest example comes from Needham, where hundreds of people packed Town Hall earlier this month to mostly blast a proposal to add bike lanes downtown and eliminate some parking spaces, The Needham Observer reports.

Residents and business owners alike took aim at the Envision Needham Center proposal.

Needham center

“There has not been a single cyclist that has come to my store to buy a vase of flowers,” said Needham Florist owner Julie Ben-David, per the nonprofit news site. “People drive to my store, they do not pedal to my store to buy anything.”

The same is true for other downtown businesses, she said.

Have members of the Needham’s Select Board been paying any attention to the headlines out of Cambridge and Boston, where bike lanes have become politically toxic?

The Cambridge City Council has voted to push out the deadline for completing the city’s planned 25 miles of bike lanes after protests from business owners and others.

And in Boston, uber progressive Mayor Michelle Wu launched a review after her aggressive campaign to roll out bike and bus lanes across the city, from traffic-clogged Back Bay streets to West Roxbury, sparked a backlash from residents and business owners.

Needham’s downtown could certainly use some boosting, as the main boulevard, Great Plain Avenue, is arguably too wide, making it difficult for pedestrians to cross while discouraging foot traffic.

The proposal, notes The Needham Observer, “would narrow Great Plain Avenue through the center and reduce the number of street parking spaces while creating more sidewalk and pedestrian space and adding bike lanes.”

Responding to concerns raised, the town’s Select Board, to its credit, has pushed back a pilot program slated to launch this summer by six months.

But it would seem like business owners should have a much greater say, especially when it comes to issues like removing parking spaces to make way for bike lanes.

The costs of housing, electricity, college tuition, healthcare, groceries, and more have all skyrocketed. Add to all that the stock market and economic volatility of the last few months, and you have a volatile mix.

People are stressed out, and for good reason.

And local pols determined to jam bike lanes down the public’s throat risk looking completely out of touch.

“In this current economic climate of uncertainty, we need your full support, not added obstacles,” said Eileen Baker, owner of Proud Mary, a downtown gift shop, per Needham Local. “While we agree there are improvements that need to be made, it should not be to the detriment of our livelihoods.”

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