By Zachary R. Dowdy, Globe Staff, 11/14/97
The Boston Chamber of Commerce yesterday urged all firms to employonlylicensed bicycle couriers who follow rules and regulations, and the PoliceDepartment announced the imposition of high fines for a courier who strucka pedestrian and left him in a coma two weeks ago.
Paul Guzzi, president and chief executive officer of the 1,600-memberchamber, said, ''The reason for taking this action was to say to our membersthat at minimum, we should make sure companies we do business with arecomplying with current ordinances.''
The unanimous decision by the chamber's executive board was the mostrecent development in a burgeoning campaign to better regulate the bicyclecouriers. The attempts at a crackdown were spurred by an accident involvingWilliam Spring, 62, a School Committee member and vice president of theFederal Reserve Bank of Boston, who was struck by a bicycle courier ashe walked in a crosswalk on Oct. 30. Spring remained in the intensive careunit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center last night.
The courier, Jonathan Gladstone, who was not licensed, was cited Mondayby Boston police for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, eventhough the light was green for Gladstone just before impact, said MargotHill, a police spokeswoman.
She said the crash is still under investigation.
Hill said that Gladstone was fined a total of $220: $100 for not wearingthe vest required under a city ordinance; $100 for not being licensed,and $20 under the state law mandating deference to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Gladstone, who declined to comment yesterday, has 21 days to requesta hearing.
Hill added that a task force reviewing strategies to increase safetyon the streets is considering proposals including a new ordinance thatwould hike fines and require couriers to carry liability insurance.
Some courier firms said harsher laws and higher fines are not necessary,that reckless messengers are on the roads because existing laws are notenforced.
Hill disputed that.
''The ability to enforce lies heavily on people to abide by the rulesset out in the guidelines,'' Hill said. ''It's hard to enforce laws, asso often is the case, in hit and run cases.''
But Regina Stone, president and owner of Boston Bicycle Couriers, saidcity leaders' focus on couriers amounts to a ''witch hunt,'' and that theyare generating fear of couriers when few violate the laws.
''First they have to make sure they can enforce what's already on thebooks,'' Stone said. ''If they can't enforce what is there now, then howwill putting stiffer fines on couriers change anything?''
But Jack Avery, vice president of branch operations for Choice CourierSystems, Inc., welcomed stricter guidelines.
''If higher fines are what it's going to take, then it's important forus all to follow through,'' he said, adding that couriers should carryliability insurance.
Conrad Willeman, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Massachusetts,said the crackdown on the courier industry is ''well-intentioned, but misguided''since couriers are not the only travelers who break the laws, nor are theythe most perilous travelers, he said.
''There's a lot of abuse by bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians,''he said, adding that education for all parties, including pedestrians,would make the streets safer.
Couriers need only pay $20 to become licensed. They are subject to acriminal background check and must wear a vest displaying a number foridentification purposes.
Though some firms, like Choice Courier, have their couriers completean orientation course that includes discussion of traffic laws, the completionof a standardized course is not required.
One courier, Tim Morris, said that pedestrians place everyone at riskwhen they dart out from between parked cars and tend not to look when crossingstreets. Indeed, Boston police say that Spring was crossing against thelight.
''It doesn't appeal to me to hit anyone,'' Morris said, adding thatin his four years working as a courier, he has never struck a pedestrianor motorist.
''When we hit something, we usually get hurt, too. We might be intimidating,but we're not trying to hurt anyone.''
This story ran on page D27 of the Boston Globe on 11/14/97.c Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.
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