Somerville City Council wants police to focus less on cyclists who run red lights

Cyclists should be allowed to travel through a red light as long as they yield to pedestrians or vehicles which have the right of way.

That’s the position of the Somerville City Council, which is suggesting the city’s police department taper enforcement of cyclists who blow through red lights, without putting pedestrians and motorists at risk.

The stance, put forth by Council President Ben Ewen-Campen and Councilor At-Large Jake Wilson last week, is a mere recommendation. Cities and towns don’t have the authority to legalize the practice, as state law requires cyclists and motorists to stop at red lights and stop signs.

After research of the so-called ‘Idaho Stop,’ which allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs, Ewen-Campen said he believes Somerville would be better off if police prioritize other enforcement, such as texting-and-driving.

“When you have complex, and in some cases controversial, questions about what should be our high priority enforcement behaviors, our job is to follow the data,” Ewen-Campen told the Herald on Friday.

“In this case, you have the federal Department of Transportation, not a bunch of wild-eyed radicals, reviewing this data, and they’re saying ‘This increases safety, decreases injury and does not, in any way, put pedestrians at increased risk.’ To me, it’s kind of a no brainer,” he said.

Approximately 198 cyclists have received a written warning from Somerville police since the department gained a $17,238 state grant in June for pedestrian and cyclist enforcement, Captain James Donovan told the City Council’s Public Health and Public Safety Committee last week.

The grant allows the department to pay overtime to officers who conduct targeted enforcement, pulling over cyclists who run through red lights. Police are focused on high-volume areas across the city, and they view this as an educational opportunity rather than a way to punish those who violate state law, Donovan said.

“As we all know this city is known for its congestion, and it’s getting more congested,” the police captain said. “We want to make sure our cyclists are safe, educated. There are a lot of cyclists out there who are great, but with the encouragement of more people taking bicycles, there are people out there who aren’t aware of what’s going on. That’s what we’re hoping to target.”

Eight states — Idaho, Delaware, Arkansas, Oregon, Washington, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah — have laws that allow cyclists to go through red lights and stop signs in special circumstances.

Delaware saw a 23% drop in traffic crashes involving cyclists at stop sign intersections in the 30 months after it passed its law in 2017 compared to the previous 30 months, according to federal data.

Not all are on board with the Somerville City Council’s idea.

Jason Mackey, a candidate who lost in last year’s 27th Middlesex District House race, said in a tweet that such a policy should only be considered statewide.

“This is a reckless idea and does not adequately address potential risks such as possible confusion among drivers and cyclists or increased danger for pedestrians,” Mackey said. “Further, allowing cyclists to run red lights in one city, but not the other is a recipe for disaster.”

In response to opposition that he’s faced since he floated the proposal, Ewen-Campen said, “This is not about picking winners or losers in a culture war. This is about safety, it’s about preventing people from being hurt or killed.”