Cambridge Gears Up To Install Bike Lanes Near Sanders Theatre, Science Center

Cambridge is rolling out its plans for bike lanes along Quincy St. and Kirkland St., a long-awaited project set to start construction this spring.

The new bike lanes will extend between Sanders Theatre and the Graduate School of Design on Quincy Street, as well as along a portion of Kirkland St. between Divinity Ave. and just past where the road curves at the Science Center.

Work on Quincy Street was initially slated to begin this fall, but construction in the area has delayed the project. Over the last month, the city has been working with Eversource to fix sidewalk portions that were affected by recent utility work. Renovations to Cambridge Fire Headquarters, also on Quincy St., have also been ongoing since last October.

Despite the delay, the bike lanes will be completed quickly once the design is finalized. Jackie McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the city’s transportation department, said that these bike lanes are a “quick-build project,” which do not require reconstructing sidewalks or moving the curb line.

Members of the public will be able to weigh in on the draft designs at an open house scheduled for Jan. 22 at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

The project will bring separated lanes to Quincy St., including a buffer area between bike and car lanes marked by vertical flexible posts. Traffic will run through one lane each way, updating the street design to make permanent the temporary lane reduction used during construction.

The city will also install separated bike lanes on Kirkland St., displacing roughly 15 parking spots between Oxford St. and Quincy St.

These few blocks will count among the 25 miles of lanes required by the Cycling Safety Ordinance, which the Cambridge City Council passed in 2020. With a November 2026 deadline for completion and just over 16 miles of bike lanes built or under construction, according to this year’s progress report, the city seems poised to meet its goal — an objective which itself has polarized the city.

CSO’s timeline has been the subject of lengthy public hearings and controversial Council votes. In a tight 5-4 vote in April 2024, the Council delayed CSO’s deadline from May 2026 to November 2027, but backtracked that October amid public outcry.

Now, CBS volunteer Christopher A. Cassa said he is “very confident” it will be completed in the next year.

Bike lanes have also consistently brought Cantabrigians to the polls. Cambridge Bicycle Safety, a super PAC which has advocated for a network of separated bike lanes for nearly a decade, endorsed seven of the nine city councilors elected last month. Every CBS-endorsed candidate committed to completing the network by next November.

“The city’s known about these projects for seven years and has really good designs and stuff already,” he said.

“It is a milestone year, and we’re happy with how it’s going so far,” McLaughlin said.

Three cyclist deaths in 2024 made the issue more pressing for the city — but residents remained split. Several residents interviewed by The Crimson as they exited the polls last month named bike lanes as their key voting issue, even as they took opposite sides of the debate.

The bike lanes on Kirkland and Quincy Streets are still subject to public input, before the city finalizes the plans and moves forward with installation.

Cassa sees these few blocks of bike lanes as an opportunity to bridge gaps in the network of bike lanes.

“This connector is going to help make the network just more consistent and safe and comfortable for people to use, to be able to have the option to choose to walk or bike,” he said.

—Staff writer Emily T. Schwartz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @EmilySchwartz37.