Bikes Not Bombs is supporting a campaign to bring bike lanes to Centre and South Streets in Jamaica Plain in 2010.

The local advocacy group JP Bikes and the brand new Boston Cyclists’ Union are circulating a petition to show that the majority of JP cyclists and JP residents do prefer the safest options for cyclists—ultimately a connective network of bike lanes, paths and cycletracks around the city that will encourage more people to ride and thus create the ‘safety in numbers’ effect seen in other cities around the world such as Portland, OR, New York City, and Cambridge, MA.

To be clear, not all of Centre and South streets are wide enough to include both a car and bike travel lane, but this petition is asking for bike lanes wherever they are possible, and “sharrows” on other parts of the street. A BRA parking study will also show where parking is being under-utilized along the street, so that the possibility of using that space to make cyclists safer can be discussed with cold hard facts at hand.

Nowadays, the city contracts much of its bike lane design work to Toole Design Group, which has extensive experience with bicycle accommodations. The community will have its first chance to review these plans, both for the long term on Centre Street and for bike lanes that could be painted as soon as the summer or fall of 2010, at a public meeting on April 15.

To join the campaign or receive more detailed updates on the effort, contact Pete Stidman of the Boston Cyclists Union at stidman (at) gmail.com.