You probably remember the term “one percent” or “one-percenter,” which became popularized during the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Theoretically, it referred to the richest one percent of the population, who are said to have most of the money, property, and power in society. In reality, it was used to demonize any productive individual who had the audacity to earn and accumulate any quantity of wealth.

As an economic term, it has largely disappeared, except in Marxist enclaves and public schools.

But now a new “one percent” has emerged, and their presence is being felt right here in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

The new Wakefield Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan cites census figures on how people have been getting around. These data from 2020 show that 73 percent of workers drove alone, 10 percent worked at home, 9 percent used public transit, 5 percent carpooled, 2 percent walked, and 1 percent bicycled to work.

And like the claims about the old, wealthy one-percenters, the power and influence of this new one percent on public policy is way out of proportion to their numbers.

There is probably a good deal of overlap between the wealthy one percent and these new one-percenters. Some of the tonier towns in the area were among the first to adopt bike lanes and other “bicycle infrastructure.” And as Wakefield increasingly sheds its middle-class roots, talk of bike lanes has only become louder.

These new one-percenters are easy to spot. They ride on two-wheels, wear helmets and spandex and they want to take your car away.

The recently released Wakefield Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan was developed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), but from the very first “Acknowledgements” page, Wakefield’s Safe Streets Working Group, “a volunteer bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization” is recognized for their contributions to the Plan.

“Throughout this plan, MAPC collaborated with the Safe Streets Working Group (SSWG), who provided valuable insights and participated in developing this plan,” the MAPC states in a masterpiece of understatement.

The goals of the plan are to “encourage a culture where residents and visitors choose to walk, bicycle and roll to schools, retail, places of employment and other points of interest.” In so doing, they want to “reduce car dependency” and “institutionalize pedestrian, bicycle, and rolling accommodations locally as part of all roadway projects.”

And the Safe Streets Working Group was there every step of the way as the Bike/Ped Plan was developed. The ubiquity of the Safe Streets Working Group is in evidence when the Plan discusses “Community Engagement,” specifically the site visits conducted with MAPC.

“To evaluate the existing conditions, MAPC conducted two formal site visits with Town staff and SSWG.”

The ever-helpful Safe Streets Working Group was also happy to pitch in when it came time to conduct a bicycle and pedestrian survey.

“In the fall of 2021, the project team distributed a bicycle and pedestrian survey to people that live or work in Wakefield. The survey was distributed through the Safe Streets Working Group, newspaper posts, public postings, press releases and the Town of Wakefield website.” After noting SSWG’s role in distributing the survey, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan offers the following caveat: “The fact that members of either the SSWG or FOLQ participated in the distribution of surveys does not necessarily constitute an endorsement by either community organization.”

At least the MAPC hasn’t lost its sense of humor. Does anyone really believe that the SSWG didn’t make a concerted effort to get the survey into the hands of its members and supporters?

The survey generated a whopping 360 responses. Cyclists “cited poor or missing bike lanes as the greatest barrier in Wakefield.”

The authors of the Bike and Pedestrian Plan want bike lanes everywhere, but among the Plan’s recommendations, the one that has drawn most attention concerns the Main Street side of Lake Quannapowitt, where the Plan calls for removing all parking along the Lake to accommodate a new bicycle path that would serve 1 percent of the town’s population.

Of course, the advocates will deny that the ultimate goal is to eliminate cars, and the Plan is carefully worded to avoid saying that explicitly. But you don’t need to read too deeply between the lines of the Plan to understand that cars are viewed as an unnecessary evil.

The following recommendation for providing “bicycle parking” is just one tip-off.

“Bicycle parking is a critical element to accommodating and encouraging biking as transportation and a viable way to replace driving trips.”

It’s not enough to “reduce” driving trips. Driving must be “replaced.” That word choice is no accident.

The Bike/Ped Plan is just one front in the War on Cars. Another is the new state mandate that MBTA communities like Wakefield must have at least one district near public transit stations where multi-family housing is allowed by right. Encouraging more population density around transit hubs isn’t just about housing. According to the state’s web site, it’s about “reduced reliance on single occupancy vehicles, which helps in our larger effort to confront the climate crisis.”

Appearing before the Town Council in July, Wakefield Economic Development Director Erin Kokinda admitted that the whole idea of building more housing around public transit is “getting people away from cars.“

As part of its compliance plan, the town is also considering reducing the number of parking spaces required for new building projects from 1.5 per unit to 1 parking space per unit. The ones who will benefit most from providing less parking for all these new multi-family building projects are the developers.

The planned bicycle accommodations will benefit 1 percent of the population, while the MBTA Multifamily Zoning plan mainly helps developers.

So much for inclusivity.
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[This column originally appeared in the July 29, 2023 Wakefield Daily Item .]