Biking in Boston

armpitsOFmight said:
Is it just me or are more people (non tourists) this summer riding their bikes in Boston and Northern Brookline?
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Yes, because over the past few years, the city has been taking steps to become more bike-friendly (Menino's obsession with making Boston a "World-class biking city").
 
HenryAlan said:
I noticed that last Summer, seemed like about 2-2.5 times as many riders. It is definitely increasing quickly, which is a big deal. At a certain point, we will reach that critical mass and cycling becomes one of the major transportation modes.
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The reason for an increase is basically the cycle of life (ie, death spiral in reverse).

The "risk" crowd bikes. Messengers, spandex etc. Nothing will increase/decrease this number.

A trigger happens which gets more people to bike. Gas goes up. Bike lanes are painted on comm ave. Doesnt matter what.

So you have the next group of people try riding. They realize that not only is it not hard* but they can save time (especially if they were relying on the bus).

*If biking IS hard or unpleasant, then we go back to just the risk crowd.

As this new group bikes, other people notice it. Instead of biking JUST being the realm of the odd (deliveries and spandex), its seen as more normal.

People are sheep. They dont want to be the first. They dont want to be odd. They dont want to be the only one in the office that bikes. But if Gary in accounting is biking...then it cant be that hard.

So now the amount of people biking goes up...as does demand for infrastructure. So we get more bike lanes.

Bike lanes not only normalize the activity (ie, if the lanes exist, it must be because people use them), but they make people feel safer.

Again, more people bike.

And the majority of these new bike additions arent stopping, because they realize it's safe, comfortable and fast.

I think this is where we are now. 5 years ago, biking wasnt as accepted. Yes, you saw bikes on campuses...but they were usually parked. Now you see LOTS of cyclists every single day.

And the more normal the activity is seen, the more people willing to try it.

And bike share is the perfect way to get people to try it. $5 is very low risk. No need to buy a bike and such.

So by next summer, we'll be seeing cycling everywhere in the urban area. And thats important because once you get to such a point, it's very hard to go back to where it was before. That is, if we get a new mayor, it'll be very hard to erase bike lanes and such.


Also, Boston has been an excellent exhibit into why "vehicular cyclists" are flat out wrong. Anybody who lives near a new bike lane and passes it every day can see how bike use has exploded on that corridor.

Vehicular cyclists argue that bike lanes arent safe and dont encourage cycling...and theyre obviously wrong. BU saw a huge transformation, btw. After the bike lanes were painted, bike use grew so much that BU had to open 5 new dedicated bike storage rooms (for dorms) and put more bike racks everywhere on campus.
 
Biking is SO MUCH FASTER. I have biked in the past in many busy areas and it is extremely efficient. Faster than driving, and yet you can still travel miles easily and efficiently. A good example is Marthas Vinyard how so many people choose to bike vs. bring their car.

I look forward to seeing more on how the bike share works in Boston and hope it spreads to all the major cities and smaller cities too.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/201...e-mn-bike-sharing-expanding-1200-bicycles.php
 
I took the hubway yesterday in the morning, kind of early 8 am. I went from the north end to newbury/mass ave drop off. did a nice cruise took about 20 minutes. Considering where i live on the far side of the north end it takes about 10 minutes to walk to gov't center, i think it was well worth it. the bikes are really nice. solid, easy to ride, and seem pretty durable. I try to avoid it during the rush hours because i am a little weary of getting nailed, but its just getting more accustomed to riding.
 
Question for Ron.

How long have you been without a car? Do you ever regret the decision? How often do you find yourself thinking "Damnit! This would be so much easier with a car!"
 
jass said:
Vehicular cyclists argue that bike lanes arent safe and dont encourage cycling...and theyre obviously wrong. BU saw a huge transformation, btw. After the bike lanes were painted, bike use grew so much that BU had to open 5 new dedicated bike storage rooms (for dorms) and put more bike racks everywhere on campus.
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I'm not sure that is exactly what vehicular cyclists are arguing. I agree that they see bike lanes as dangerous, but I suspect many would also admit that bike lanes bring out more cyclists. My view on this is that they are in theory correct about the danger (doorings, and such), but that it is mitigated by the higher visibility yielded by all the new bikes out on the road.
 
^ Also, this is personal observation but also dovetails with others who I've spoken with about this: the more cyclists on the road, the more likely they will obey traffic laws, stop lights, etc. When several cyclists approach a red light in a bike line they are all more likely to stop than any one of them individually might if they were alone. I think there are two things at play. First, the stigma of being "that person" who breaks laws amongst other cyclists; and second, not wanting to lead others behind you into a potentially unsafe situation (you can take the risk for yourself, but you don't want three people behind you to take unnecessary risk just because you are).
 
statler, you didn't ask me but I have an opinion on that (natch).

We haven't had a car for over five years. At times it can be difficult since I'm a real estate agent who needs to drive clients around to appointments, but beyond that, it's been a breeze to live without a car. And, since the past two years have been so slow I haven't driven anyone around to appointments, I don't have to worry about that at all.

On rare occasions I wish I had a car. Just the other day I was thinking it would be nice to go for a long drive with the radio blaring, maybe up to NH and back, or out to Kelly's.

When I do need a car, I use Zipcar. There are probably 20 cars within a half-mile of my condo. I'll start using the Hubway once I have more than $5 in my bank account and can pay for it.

For long weekends away, we rent from Avis, which has an office behind the Back Bay / South End Orange Line station. We can usually do three days for under $150. Probably do it about every three months. This past time it was $220 or something, but still cheaper than a month's payment on a car loan. The gas is extra.

I can't say enough good things about Zipcar. The hourly fee includes insurance and gasoline. Sometimes, it's cheaper than Avis although for long trips overnight, Avis usually wins out.

Two weeks ago we had a rental car and I backed up into a trailer. Caused a ridiculous amount of damage to the bumper. I'm not looking forward to the hassle with Avis / credit card company. I'm sure there's a big deductible I didn't read about.

We don't buy too many things so don't need transportation. Groceries we get at Shaws' at Prudential. A bit of a haul (3/4's of a mile maybe?) when we have multiple bags, but it's gotten to be a regular habit, we're used to it. We always have the option of Peapods, of course. There are several convenience stores within a 1 minute walk. We steer away from them due to the higher costs, but there are also two CVS's within a 1/4 mile, so we can get stuff there and pay less.

The #1 reason to give up a car in the city is because it's so damn hard to find street parking. The #2 reason, close behind, is what a pain in the ass it is to shovel out after a winter storm. #3 is parking tickets / towing.
 
I know a good deal of people who live in neighborhoods like Beacon Hill, SoWa, North End and Chinatown who own cars - and this always surprises me. As a ratio, more people I know in Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville are car-free. (I don't know too many people who live in Back Bay or Fenway - I somehow expect car ownership to be lower there too given the supermarkets.)
 
Unfortunately I live in an area where it is technically possible to live without a car, but still much more of a burden. I'm about a 10-15 min walk from Oak Grove. Not too much of trek, but there are no real grocery stores or resturants within a twenty minute walk, so I'd need to walk 10+ min to OG, wait, take the T one stop to Malden Center, walk (across Rt 60) to S&S and then the reverse*. Or...hop in my car and drive five-ten minutes to a choice of about 3 stores and be back within a half hour.
So it's not really an effort/ability thing for me, more of a 'best use of my time' thing.
But I guess it's a lot different living in an actual downtown area.

*Of course, I could ride a bike and cut down some of that time if I wasn't a giant pussy about the possibility of getting mowed down, clipped or doored while riding in the street.
 
JohnAKeith said:
The #1 reason to give up a car in the city is because it's so damn hard to find street parking. The #2 reason, close behind, is what a pain in the ass it is to shovel out after a winter storm. #3 is parking tickets / towing.
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And let's not forget #4, you save money on payments and insurance.

My wife's commute is really only feasible with a car, but aside from that, we do very little driving. We have two cars only because we have lots of kids and complicated schedules, but as soon as the kids are older, we'll drop down to one, and I am already looking forward to that. I drive less than 10 miles a week, and it's all child transportation. Other than that, I walk, bike, or 'T, and that suits me just fine.
 
"You're sitting at your computer now, so you're probably pretty bored. You would rather be out there, in the forest, riding your bike over dirt and rocks. You're not though, because your bike probably sucks. Maybe you don't even own a bike. But you wish you had an awesome bike. I have good news for you. You will soon possess the only object in the known universe that can bestow upon you the solution to all your bike-related problems. A full-suspension ticket to Nirvana.

When you own this bike, you won't even remember what a problem is. You'll be going too fast to care. If there's something in the way, you'll fly right over it. Rocks, logs, dogs, lawyers, anything. If you go the wrong way and ride off a cliff, that's okay. Have no fear, because your bike can take the hit and you won't even feel it. And if you think you might loose your balance, or your foot might slip off a pedal, I've got news for you. As soon as you own this fine machine, your bike-handling skills will skyrocket into the stratosphere. Once you clip in your feet will never leave the pedals and nothing but rubber will touch the ground until the end of time. Can't clip in because you don't have cycling shoes? Turn off your computer right now and go buy a pair. You think you need that money to buy food? Food is useless without cycling shoes.

There is no way to exaggerate the utility and awesomeness of this bike. You think a mountain bike is just for goofing off in your spare time? I used this bike to hunt for food. The drive train is so smooth that the sweet soothing whir puts animals right to sleep so you just pick them up and throw them right in the frying pan. Maybe you are a hipster always pretending to be in a hurry with your messenger bag? That fixed gear death trap you ride will put you in the hospital because every car on the road is trying to kill you. With this bike, you will bunny hop right over that Chevy Tahoe coming straight at you and not even displace a single strand of your hairdo. Did you get your fixie so that a cute girl will notice you? Forget her. The sonic booms you make flying around on this screaming fast banshee will blow the clothes right off every woman in a 2 mile radius, and then they will come running after the sound of your giant brass balls clanking in the wind. If you have problems with the IRS, this bike does your taxes. If you have any regrets about anything in your life, or if you wish you could kill Hitler, then you are in luck because on this bike you can travel back and forth through time so you can tell your teenage self to stay off drugs.

Now, you're probably already writing me to ask whether I still have the bike and when you can have it, and trying to bid up the price. If you're still not convinced and you are still reading this, what part of "does your taxes" do you not get? You must be really specific about components and name brands. Well, the frame has "Gary Fisher" written on it in big yellow letters, the fork is called "Rockshox", and the damper has a decal that says "Fox". The color of the frame is red and green, and it is the exact same frame that Santa uses for his bike. All that stuff was made in the USA, so if you don't buy it right now then you are dissing America. Some of the parts next to the chain have "Shimano Deore XT" on them. If you care about which company manufactured the hubs and seat post, you are probably reading this on your iPad while in line to buy the latest Apple iProduct. That's no way to go through life son. The whole thing looks shiny and new, and everything that moves has just been replaced, including the cables, chain, and tires. I added new brakes and a seat, because most people use those, even though I don't know what for.

Do you want to know more? I posted an ad for the bike before, but most people probably don't realize what a great deal it is because they are probably too busy watching TMZ and smoking goat turds. I'm sure you'd never do that, and a determined and clever person like you can easily find my previous post that contains stuff like boring facts and how much money I want for my bike. Don't care about that crap? Neither do I! Make me an offer right now, but don't hesitate a moment, because you have never been closer to attaining real ultimate power. So don't let this once in a lifetime chance slip away forever because the golden window of opportunity is closing right now."

-Now that's a FOR SALE posting.
 
I've been without a car since 1999, when my 1981 Tercel (bought new in Los Angeles) was pronounced dead by a repair shop. Occasionally I regret not having one, but usually I get along just fine. I've rented cars from time to time, and considered Zipcar but haven't joined it (yet, anyway).
 
If you live in the right kind of location and have the right sorr of job in the right place -- then you can be car-free

However, while Boston has one if not the highest percentage of people who commute on-foot, and the T covers much of the inner core fairly well --there are places even within Boston-Cambridge-Sommerville that you just can't reliably and esily access without having a car -- hence Zipcar

Once you step down in density in the suburbs within / straddeling Rt-128 -- you either need to be a dedicated (to the point of obsession) bike rider or your lifestyle will be very local -- the T just can't cover the area with enough frequency to enable anything other than rush-hour service in-bound

Moral of the story -- cars or possibly smaller mototized vehichles are here to stay
 
While I agree with your last statement, I still think we (as a society) should work toward regulations and building codes that make a pedestrian-oriented lifestyle easier to achieve with each passing generation.

Right now we a working in the opposite direction.
 
One billion cars in the world. And if you look at US cities, the number of cars to the number of people is quite astonishing.

However, just because one owns a car doesn't mean they drive it every day, or even every week.

But our towns, cities, streets, shopping centers, way of life, schools, restaurants, libraries, and everything else here is the US is tailored towards cars, not bikes and walking. If the walking and biking amenities were there, people would not use the car as much. But it is the chicken or the egg right now. Invest money into non car oriented design when everyone uses the car to promote non car use, or wait until people stop using the car (will not happen without other change IMO)
 
I live in the north end and carless by choice. I am patiently waiting for a grocery store at north station so i can some some on basics ($11 for english muffins and OJ!!) from the local store. A good idea that i havent used but know people that have is for taking a car for weekend trips use hotwire.com and get cheap cars from the airport. Not something to do for a grocery store run, but if your going to have it for a couple days it could be worth the airport trip, which from the north end is a quick blue line ride.
 
statler said:
While I agree with your last statement, I still think we (as a society) should work toward regulations and building codes that make a pedestrian-oriented lifestyle easier to achieve with each passing generation.
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As of one of the (probably) younger people on this board, I think that people in newer generations are much less likely to be interested in an automobile-based lifestyle just due to awareness of certain issues (peak oil, sustainability, etc.). However, not only is infrastructure still lacking but there are still a significant number of people who will look at you funny for being car-free.

On the other hand, it's definitely possible. I have a driver's license but I've never owned a car in my life. Zipcar definitely helps. I'm lucky though because I've always lived in small cities where I could get anywhere by bicycle or in large cities with adequate public transportation.
 
I own a car but use it less than once a week. I mostly walk, bike, and take the T. If I didn't have off-street parking, I would DEFINITELY get rid of my car. Dealing with on-street parking if I don't need the car everyday is way more work than it's worth. I do know many people with ZipCar and they say it works pretty well, although sometimes it can be tough to find a car, especially on weekends.

Personally, it's not so much the environmental effects of driving (peak oil, global warming, local emissions, etc) that make it unappealing to me. It's the hassle and expense of owning, maintaining, and parking the car. On top of that, I find driving in traffic to be way more stressful than the alternatives. I think many other younger people feel the same way.
 
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