U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

An aerial view of a two-way separated bike lane on Brattle Street. Most of the area on the left and the right of the image is filled with trees with yellow and green leaves.

Cycling Safety Ordinance

In 2019, Cambridge City Council passed the Cycling Safety Ordinance, which requires the construction of separated bike lanes when streets are being reconstructed as a part of the City’s Five-Year Plan for Streets and Sidewalks and they have been designated for greater separation in the Bicycle Network Vision.

In 2020, the Council passed amendments to the Cycling Safety Ordinance, which set ambitious requirements for the installation of approximately 25 miles of separated bike lanes within five to seven years. The location of these facilities will be informed by both the Cambridge Bicycle Network Vision and specific requirements in the Ordinance.

The Ordinance text is available in Chapter 12.22 of the Cambridge Municipal Code.

In general, the amendments to the Ordinance require the installation of separated bike lanes on:

  • all of Massachusetts Ave;
  • Broadway from Quincy St to Hampshire St;
  • Cambridge St from Oak St to Second St;
  • Hampshire St from Amory Street to Broadway;
  • Garden St, eastbound from Huron Ave to Berkeley St, and westbound from Mason St to Huron Ave;
  • and11.6 miles of separated bike lanes in other locations that are a part of the Bicycle Network Vision.

We’ve provided more details about the specific requirements and the associated timelines, and the projects that we have or will install that are related to this Ordinance.

Read the Requirements and Timelines

Get Project Information

Learn About the Cycling Safety Ordinance Advisory Group

In 2022, the Cambridge City Council requested that the City conduct a study to conduct a study on the impacts to businesses when separated bike lanes are installed on commercial corridors as part of the Cycling Safety Ordinance. The City's Community Development Department began data collection in 2023. Read more about the Cycling Safety Ordinance Economic Impact Study here

Map of Cambridge, showing streets where the Cycling Safety Ordinance requires separated bike lanes be installed in orange. Purple lines show other locations designated for greater separation in 2020 Bike Plan: the Cycling Safety Ordinance requires the City to install 11.6 miles of these.

Image (click to enlarge): Streets where the Cycling Safety Ordinance requires separated bike lanes are shown in orange. Other locations designated for greater separation in the 2020 Bicycle Network Vision are shown in purple—the CSO requires the City to install 11.6 miles of these.

Page was posted on 2/22/2021 2:38 PM
Page was last modified on 10/24/2023 5:12 PM
Contact Us

How can we help?

Please provide as much detail below as possible so City staff can respond to your inquiry:

As a governmental entity, the Massachusetts Public Records Law applies to records made or received by the City. Any information received through use of this site is subject to the same provisions as information provided on paper.

Read our complete privacy statement


Service Requests

Enter a service request via SeeClickFix for things like missed trash pickups, potholes, etc.