Budding Lobbyists Push Through New Penalty on Bike-Lane Blockers

The first time you get slapped with a $50 fine for parking your car in a bike lane, you have exactly four people to blame – and they're all younger than 15.

The four budding lobbyists – Guy Levin, 12, Amit Rogel, 13, Jordon Saver, 14, and Ori Kishony, 11 – overcame the doubts of some town officials this week by successfully pushing through a new penalty on drivers who block one on Brookline's bike lanes. The new regulation received a final OK from the Board of Selectmen last night and goes into effect immediately.

"It feels like we left an impact on the town, like we really changed it," Rogel said Monday night as his associates gathered in his Stedman Street living room to practice their presentation to the board.

The boy's effort to clamp down on drivers who block bike lanes – often forcing bicyclists to stop or enter into vehicular traffic – began about a year ago as part of a robotics competition the four had entered under the name "Team Top Secret." The team was asked to do a research project related improving technology, and they decided to look into bicycle use in Brookline.

But the idea for a bike-lane fine became more of a mission than a homework assignment when the team was rebuffed by one town officials – they diplomatically declined to say which one – who told them wouldn't be able to make it happen.

"We wanted to show him that we could," Levin said, to which Rogel added: "We got a lot more support when they saw that we were serious."

The team was showered with praise from selectmen when they appeared before the board Tuesday night, wearing track pants and matching yellow t-shirts embossed with a "Team Top Secret" logo.

"I expect when you started you didn't realize how many steps there would be, so congratulations on your patience and perseverance in following through," said Selectmen Dick Benka.

Over the last year, the boys have met repeatedly with members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee and the full Transportation Board, and consulted with police officers, lawyers and town engineers. They looked at what other nearby communities were doing and debated among themselves about how stiff the penalty in Brookline should be.

Under the regulation passed by selectmen last night, any driver found parking or standing in a bike lane could by slapped with a $50 fine. The penalty does not apply to taxis dropping off passengers or drivers attempting to parallel park.

It is unclear whether police will fully enforce the new law. Officers already had two laws on the books – double parking and blocking a travel lane, which both come with lower fines – that have done little to discourage drivers from parking in the path of Brookline's bike lanes.

The new fine would be issued as a civil citation and could affect the vehicle registration process for drivers who don't pay up. Brookline officers will issue a violation of town bylaw tickets until the department prints up new traffic violation tickets next year.

Town Engineer Peter Ditto said his department does not plan to post signs informing drivers of the new fine because it is consistent with penalties already in place in Boston and Cambridge.