Biking in Boston

The City of Cambridge is leading some group commuter bike rides during the upcoming Red Line closure:

www.cambridgema.gov

Community-Led Commuter Bike Rides During Red Line Closure

The MBTA will close sections of the Red Line in Cambridge between Friday, July 12 (starting 8:15 p.m.) and Sunday, July 28, 2024. FREE shuttle buses will replace regular Red Line trains. A community-led commuter bike ride will be held during the first week of the Red Line closures.
www.cambridgema.gov www.cambridgema.gov
 

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For a column that is allegedly about bike lanes on Boylston Street, McGrory sure spends a lot of time talking about everything one could possibly discuss in relation to Boylston St., except bike lanes, doesn't he?

(And so, a guy gets to wondering: maybe, just maybe, that's because he has zero of practical value to add to the discourse?)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/05/metro/bike-lanes-boylston-amazon-uber/
 
DBM said:
For a column that is allegedly about bike lanes on Boylston Street, McGrory sure spends a lot of time talking about everything one could possibly discuss in relation to Boylston St., except bike lanes, doesn't he?

(And so, a guy gets to wondering: maybe, just maybe, that's because he has zero of practical value to add to the discourse?)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/05/metro/bike-lanes-boylston-amazon-uber/
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Yeah, he completely misses the point, even though he does identify midway through that the real issue is Uber/Amazon/Food delivery services.
 
HenryAlan said:
Yeah, he completely misses the point, even though he does identify midway through that the real issue is Uber/Amazon/Food delivery services.
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Boylston street is filled with grand architecture, amazing destinations, amazing history, and that's why we need to have 3 highway sized lanes of cars going down the middle of it!!
 
DBM said:
For a column that is allegedly about bike lanes on Boylston Street, McGrory sure spends a lot of time talking about everything one could possibly discuss in relation to Boylston St., except bike lanes, doesn't he?

(And so, a guy gets to wondering: maybe, just maybe, that's because he has zero of practical value to add to the discourse?)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/05/metro/bike-lanes-boylston-amazon-uber/
Click to expand...

the carbrain / windshield view is strong with this one. 100% vibes and a dislike of change. love the suggestion that people cycling just use Comm Ave 2 blocks over--clearly he has never ridden there, and it would be absurd to suggest drivers go 2 blocks out of their way!
 
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#bancars said:
the carbrain / windshield view is strong with this one. 100% vibes and a dislike of change. love the suggestion that people cycling just use Comm Ave 2 blocks over--clearly he has never ridden there, and it would be absurd to suggest drivers go 2 blocks out of their way!
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I have the perfect solution -- permanently ban cars from Newbury St. I bet Brian McGrory would love that idea.
 
HenryAlan said:
I have the perfect solution -- permanently ban cars from Newbury St. I bet Brian McGrory would love that idea.
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But really, is there any reason this can't be done? Are any commercial deliveries handled on the street and not the alleys? Parking is similar, how many residents have alley parking vs street parking?
 
HenryAlan said:
I have the perfect solution -- permanently ban cars from Newbury St. I bet Brian McGrory would love that idea.
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Open Newbury has been a great proof-of-concept.

I like the idea of expanding it gradually each year to demonstrate the world doesn’t end and so that it’s primarily car-free in a decade:
  1. This year it’s 10 Sundays, 10-8.
  2. Next year, 15 Sundays (10-8) starting Memorial Day weekend instead of the end of June.
  3. The following year, all Sundays (10-8) from May through September.
  4. All Sundays (10-8) from April through November.
  5. All Sundays (10-8) year round.
  6. All Sundays (10-8) year round and Saturdays (10-8) May through October.
  7. All weekend days, 7am-8pm, year round.
  8. Friday through Sunday, 7am-8pm, year round.
  9. M-Th, 3pm-8pm and F-Su, 7am-8pm.
  10. Car-free 7am-8pm, every day of the year, still allowing for deliveries from 8pm to 7am overnight.
 
bigeman312 said:
Open Newbury has been a great proof-of-concept.

I like the idea of expanding it gradually each year to demonstrate the world doesn’t end and so that it’s primarily car-free in a decade:
  1. This year it’s 10 Sundays, 10-8.
  2. Next year, 15 Sundays (10-8) starting Memorial Day weekend instead of the end of June.
  3. The following year, all Sundays (10-8) from May through September.
  4. All Sundays (10-8) from April through November.
  5. All Sundays (10-8) year round.
  6. All Sundays (10-8) year round and Saturdays (10-8) May through October.
  7. All weekend days, 7am-8pm, year round.
  8. Friday through Sunday, 7am-8pm, year round.
  9. M-Th, 3pm-8pm and F-Su, 7am-8pm.
  10. Car-free 7am-8pm, every day of the year, still allowing for deliveries from 8pm to 7am overnight.
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We should also have one or two in December earlier in that list. I feel like a holiday-market one would be popular.
 
737900er said:
At least in the current implementation, Open Newbury is far too popular to be considered for biking.
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Yes, that's a concern, although it could very well be that the crowding would be a bit less intense if it's open every day, all year. Right now, people view Sundays on Newbury as a special treat, but if you spread that out across the entire week, the crowd will spread out, too. The other possibility is carving out some space specifically for bikes, leaving the rest of it specifically for pedestrians. Personally, I'd still bike on Comm Ave, Beacon, Boylston, etc., as needed, but many people might find a leisurely Newbury St. bike corridor as just the enticement to try biking.

But really, the main point of the suggestion is that if only certain streets should allow for bike traffic, then people making such arguments need to accept losing some other street. They want Boylston, fine, then give us Newbury St.
 
At the risk of being crucified for even suggesting it in a Biking in Boston thread, would it make sense to convert one entire side of Boylston's street parking spaces - for the entire length between Mass. Ave. and Arlington - to a continuous delivery/taxi/rideshare lane? I noticed the column casually mentioned these on the Champs-Élysées, and it's accurate - large lengths of the famous avenue are dedicated to this purpose.

The idealist in me hates the idea of giving real estate to things that have had such adverse impact on the urban experience. But the practical side of me acknowledges that rideshares aren't going anywhere, and deliveries of all kinds are only going to continue to grow. Our "loading zone" spaces are clearly inadequate for today's demand and the handful of "rideshare zones" that exist are underutilized (or ignored). The misguided column mentioned "increased double parking" as being a symptom of the bike lane addition (which is a perfectly reasonable addition to one of the city's major thoroughfares). That's clear/obvious misplaced blame, but that doesn't mean double parking isn't a problem impacting everyone in the vicinity. And considering the large and growing volume of delivery and rideshare vehicles out there, isn't dedicating that space to them a potentially better use of the limited street real estate than street parking? Especially when you factor in the sheer volume of garage parking available in the immediate area which can be used by people currently parking on the street?
 
Lrfox said:
The idealist in me hates the idea of giving real estate to things that have had such adverse impact on the urban experience. But the practical side of me acknowledges that rideshares aren't going anywhere, and deliveries of all kinds are only going to continue to grow.
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There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that roads are useful for moving goods, and that some amount of small personal vehicles make sense either as a necessity or a luxury. (Although we also shouldn't forget that we really need to be investing in smaller vehicles for deliveries, not literally banning them.) Given the location I think Boylston St would indeed be a good candidate for such a conversion.
 
TheRatmeister said:
There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that roads are useful for moving goods, and that some amount of small personal vehicles make sense either as a necessity or a luxury. (Although we also shouldn't forget that we really need to be investing in smaller vehicles for deliveries, not literally banning them.) Given the location I think Boylston St would indeed be a good candidate for such a conversion.
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I mean... realistically an electric moped is the best possible delivery vehicle for small deliveries in urban areas, but as we've seen mopeds have made themselves incredibly unpopular though bad behavior in Boston and particularly on Boylston with a wide swath of the population - cyclists, residents, officials leading to the ongoing crackdowns. I would love to know how other cities have managed to regulate this, though I'm inclined to say that company liveried mopeds/jackets/helmets would probably incentivise oversight - but would likely fly in the face of 1099 gig work / multi-apping.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know the average delivery distance these days, compared to say Europe? I live in Cambridge. It's entirely possible for me to order delivery from a place in South End - looking at my doordash app it gives me places that are as far as 7 miles away, with most in a 1-5 mile range. I'd argue that a 4.5mi delivery is likely too far for bike delivery to be actually viable. Perhaps the solution is to shrink that radius of available options to make bike delivery more feasible?
 
Stlin said:
I would love to know how other cities have managed to regulate this, though I'm inclined to say that company liveried mopeds/jackets/helmets would probably incentivise oversight - but would likely fly in the face of 1099 gig work / multi-apping.
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Making the delivery drivers employees helps a lot, although I still encounter Flink or Thuisbezorgd delivery bikes and e-bikes being reckless fairly often. Not as bad as mopeds though.
Stlin said:
I mean... realistically an electric moped is the best possible delivery vehicle for small deliveries in urban areas,
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For food maybe, not for parcels though. Depending on the size and number you need to deliver somewhere between cargo bike, adorable mini truck, and just a regular van is probably best. Reserving large box trucks for large/B2B loads would go a long ways towards safer streets.
 
HenryAlan said:
Yes, that's a concern, although it could very well be that the crowding would be a bit less intense if it's open every day, all year. Right now, people view Sundays on Newbury as a special treat, but if you spread that out across the entire week, the crowd will spread out, too. The other possibility is carving out some space specifically for bikes, leaving the rest of it specifically for pedestrians. Personally, I'd still bike on Comm Ave, Beacon, Boylston, etc., as needed, but many people might find a leisurely Newbury St. bike corridor as just the enticement to try biking.

But really, the main point of the suggestion is that if only certain streets should allow for bike traffic, then people making such arguments need to accept losing some other street. They want Boylston, fine, then give us Newbury St.
Click to expand...

Just got back from a trip to Montreal (among other places), and bikes seemed to be welcome on most of their open streets, and the riders were generally respectful and rode slowly. Seemed like peds and bikes mixed fine and I think that approach should work fine for Newbury as well!
 
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