Boston Herald, Tuesday, May 12, 1998
By Meredith O'Brien
Former School Committee member William Spring - still recovering froman accident involving a bicycle courier last fall - will urge city councilorstoday to get tough with reckless messengers.
Spring, who suffered near-fatal injuries in October on CommonwealthAvenue when a Cambridge courier struck him as he crossed a street in acrosswalk, inspired a proposed ordinance to crack down on bike messengerswho race through the city.
Still unable to give interviews or speak for extended periods publicly,he will submit written testimony that will be read at a council hearingtoday.
``Bill is very supportive of the police commissioner's efforts to makebicycle messenger services more accountable,'' said his wife Micho Spring,who plans to attend the council's Public Safety Committee hearing on theordinance.
Prior to the accident that changed her family's life, Micho Spring saidshe'd never thought of bicycle couriers as a threat to pedestrians.
``I had never been aware of how dangerous it was,'' she said, addingthat the doctor who treated her husband last year said he looked like he'dbeen run down by a car, not a bicycle.
``Bill's accident underscores how badly you can be hurt by a bicycle,''she said.
Spring will send the council a letter expressing his support for thenew ordinance, his wife said. ``Bill called (Police) Commissioner (Paul)Evans to offer his help and support,'' Micho Spring said. ``We want todo something about this.''
Evans, business leaders and members of the Menino administration spentthe months following the accident crafting an ordinance to require courierservices to obtain a total of $200,000 worth of insurance for each messengerfor property damages, as well as injury or death. It would also give Evansthe power to revoke or suspend courier licenses and mandate large, identifiablearmbands and license plates.
City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, chairman of the Public Safety Committee,said such regulations are sorely needed because couriers are paid per delivery,giving them an incentive to rush around city streets.
``Traveling at excessively fast speeds, weaving in and out of automobileand pedestrian traffic, ignoring traffic signals and crossways and behavingbadly are among the reasons why Boston's licensing and traffic departmentsmust put training wheels on bicycle couriers,'' Murphy said.
He endorsed the insurance provision - which may prove controversialwith messenger services - saying that other delivery companies that usecars or trucks to transport their goods must obtain insurance. ``The samestandard must apply to bicycle couriers,'' Murphy said.
Micho Spring said her husband is ``doing really well,'' and is ``makingreally remarkable progress.''
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