Police in Cambridge are investigating after several cyclists reported that tacks scattered on the ground throughout a bike lane became stuck in their wheels and damaged their tires.
Aaron Levine said he was riding his bike Thursday night when he felt damage to his tire.
“I have a light on my bike but I didn’t see anything, and I thought I heard something after a little bit,” said Levine. “It didn’t pop or anything but I felt my front tire getting deflated. When I got back I noticed there were four tacks in my front tire.”
He said he was able to make it home. Images posted to social media captured more tacks strewn across the bike lane along Hampshire Street near Inman Square.
Levine said the issue can be more than just an inconvenience.
“Thankfully nothing bad happened to me or anyone else so far, it seems like,” said Levine. “You can imagine there are children riding their bikes or people who use their bikes every day to get to work or wherever they need to go. Someone who’s smaller than me or didn’t have great control of the bike at the time, it can be pretty dangerous.”
It’s not yet clear if the tacks were placed in the lane intentionally, but Cambridge police said they are aware of the situation and are looking into the reports.
“It just seems like an act of short-sighted anger when they’re not looking at the full picture,” said Levine. “If these cyclists or the bike lanes or whatever are getting you mad, you can be mad about it. But you can’t put people who would actually get hurt in danger by doing something like this. It’s pretty terrible.”
Cambridge police are asking anyone who had their bikes damaged in a similar way to contact them.
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