The tricycle is named after Katherine "Kittie" Knox, a Black West End resident in the 1880s who confronted racial and gender stereotypes in Boston's bicycling community.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Environment Department, the Office of Women's Advancement, the Streets Cabinet, and the Office of New Urban Mechanics announced Aug. 20 the dedication of the city's first electric-assist cargo tricycle. The trike is intended to support city staff performing their daily tasks.
In a virtual naming ceremony, the tricycle was named after Katherine "Kittie" Knox, a Black West End resident in the 1880s who confronted racial and gender stereotypes in Boston's bicycling community. The new tricycle also supports Boston's work to reduce emissions from municipal sources, a critical goal of the 2019 Climate Action Plan Update.
In October 2019, Mayor Walsh released an updated Climate Action Plan to further strengthen the city's ongoing initiatives to mitigate and adapt to climate change, including immediate steps to significantly reduce Boston's carbon emissions and strengthen the strategies needed to achieve the City's long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The trike also supports Go Boston 2030, the City of Boston's long-range, equitable transportation plan, which aims to encourage a shift away from single-occupancy vehicle trips toward low-emission modes of walking, biking, and public transit. To do this, the plan calls for better bike lanes, bus priority corridors, walk-friendly street design, and easy access to transit, bike share, and carshare.
