As I predicted in this space on Aug. 27, the activists from Safe Streets Wakefield made their presence known at last week’s Town Council meeting to support Envision Wakefield, for one reason and one reason only: mandated bike lanes.

Envision Wakefield is the downtown revitalization project that will be funded by tens of millions of dollars from the state. But there’s a catch. To get the dough, you need to agree to put bike lanes everywhere.

Town Engineer Bill Renault was at last week’s Town Council meeting to provide an update on the perpetual planning process.

But before Renault spoke, four bike lane advocates took to the microphone in turn to preach the gospel of Envision Wakefield. Several seemed to be under the impression that the project was somehow in jeopardy.

Would that it were.

Not one speaker from the public had a negative word to say about the Envision project. That’s odd because, outside of Safe Streets’ membership, it’s hard to find anybody who likes bike lanes.

In fact, the only people thinking about them at all are cyclists, and by no means all of them. But we’re going to get bike lanes because people keep electing politicians who listen closely to the bicycle lobby and never hear a word from the other side.

The bike lane advocates are well-organized, which is how they will win, despite being in the minority. It was similar with the Warrior logo. The anti-logo forces were a minority, as proved by a subsequent non-binding referendum. But they got their way anyway because they were better organized than the majority who didn’t ask for a fight and just wanted things to go on as they were.

It’s true that Envision Wakefield has been a very public process from the beginning. But as the process drags on and on and on, eventually the only ones left are those who are on a mission.

In the public’s defense, the problem isn’t just apathy. You have to go out of your way to learn about the bike lanes. Knowing they’re about as popular as a root canal, the Envision advocates and politicians do their best to avoid mentioning the bike lanes whenever speaking about the project.

I’m here to fill the gap.
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[This column originally appeared in the September 25, 2026 Wakefield Daily Item.]