Cambridge City Councilor Joan Pickett, Activist Who Fought Bike Lane Expansion, Dies at 69

Updated August 31, 2024, at 11:33 p.m.

Joan F. Pickett, a longtime opponent of efforts to expand separated bike lanes who was serving her first term in the Cambridge City Council, died on Friday following a brief illness. She was 69.

Pickett rose to prominence in Cambridge as the chair of the advocacy group Cambridge Streets for All, where she unsuccessfully sued the city in order to halt the construction of an expanded bicycle lane network under the amended Cycling Safety Ordinance.

According to Robert Winters and John Hawkinson, two local independent journalists, Pickett’s seat on the Council is expected to be filled by Cathie Zusy, a local activist best known for leading the charge to restore Magazine Beach Park in Cambridgeport.

If a seat on the Council becomes vacant, a successor is determined by a recount of the votes cast in the previous election as if the vacant member was not on the ballot, according to Massachusetts state law.

Under Cambridge’s ranked-choice voting system, Zusy would have won a seat on the Council in 2023 had Pickett not been a candidate, Winters and Hawkinson wrote. Mayor E. Denise Simmons, however, declined to immediately confirm who will take Pickett’s place on the Council.

“When there is news as to the mechanics of determining who shall fill this vacancy on the Council, and as to a timeline of that process, we shall work to get this information to the public as quickly and as thoughtfully as possible,” Simmons wrote in a statement Saturday afternoon posted to the city government’s website.

Pickett was previously a top administrator at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a former president of the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association.

Victoria L. Bestor, the secretary of Cambridge Streets for All and a close friend of Pickett’s, said she was “absolutely devastated” by Pickett’s death.

“When she decided to run for City Council — something I had been urging her to consider for a long time, I said ‘I will do anything I can to help,’” Bestor said.

“She was the perfect person to have in that position at this time — when the city is facing more difficult financial decisions than they ever have in the past,” Bestor added, referencing Pickett’s background in finance.

While the city has yet to confirm that Pickett’s seat will be filled by Zusy, Bestor said Zusy would be a “great councilor,” saying she was “very knowledgeable on the city.”

Councilor Patty M. Nolan ’80, who served as co-chair of the Council’s Finance Committee alongside Pickett, also spoke admirably about her fiscal chops.

“As finance co-chair I worked closely with councilor Pickett in this challenging fiscal time and respect how she approached the work. Joan worked to ensure that our finance discussions would be inclusive, respectful and honest,” Nolan wrote in a statement.

“She filled an important role and will be missed,” Nolan added.

Councilor Burhan Azeem — a staunch progressive who often found himself at odds with Pickett over bike lane expansion — wrote on X that Pickett “always approached the issues with rigor, thought, and great professionalism.”

Simmons similarly praised Pickett’s “rare ability to disagree without being disagreeable” in an email to The Crimson.

“There were times that we came down on the same side of the issues, and some times where we were on opposing sides,” Simmons wrote, “but we were always able to communicate our thinking to one another and share a friendly aside, no matter the issue.”

“Cambridge was truly fortunate to have her serving in office, and I was truly fortunate to consider her as a friend,” she added.

Pickett was “such a warm colleague,” Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui wrote in a statement.

“I enjoyed getting to know her and witnessing her dedication to the community,” Siddiqui added. “My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern wrote in a statement that he was “sad and surprised” to learn of Pickett’s death.

“I met Joan over 20 years ago. We got to know each other better this year, and I’ll miss sharing candy with her during meetings,” McGovern wrote. “Joan was always able to have respectful conversations, even if there was disagreement. Her passing is a loss to the Council.”

Councillor Paul F. Toner, who first met Pickett when she supported his first campaign for City Council, wrote that Pickett was “a caring and thoughtful colleague.”

“She will be sorely missed on the council, and I want to extend my deepest sympathies to her family, friends and supporters,” Toner wrote. “We will all feel her loss.”

—Staff writer Avani B. Rai can be reached at avani.rai@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avaniiiirai.