Biking in Boston

coUrbanize is controlling the public input for Hubway expansion this summer. Apparently, according to the following:

http://courbanize.com/map/

It appears that Hubway is trying to add 3 locations in South Boston, (Innovation District, Castle Island and Walter Hannigan Square), 7 locations in Jamaica Plain/Roxbury (Mission Hill, Jamaica Pond, South-West JP, Green St, Uphams Corner, Columbus Ave/Washington St and St. Joseph's Garden) and 3 locations in Charlestown (Bunker Hill, Charlestown Community Center and Sullivan Square / Main St.).

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I'm glad they are expanding into these neighborhoods, but much more density and redundancy is necessary. I would honestly rather see them say "We're focusing expansion on South Boston and adding 13 more stations to that neighborhood this summer for complete coverage" than that they are trying to expand their footprint geographically and stretch themselves thin.

In my estimation (based on population, density and area), South Boston needs 20-25 total stations (has 6) for full coverage, Charlestown needs 10 (has 3), Roxbury needs 30-35 (has 5) and JP needs 20-25.

I just hope Hubway continues to add density. As much as I'd love to see Hubway in places like Newton or West Roxbury eventually, it would work much better if stations were close together like other cities' bike share systems.
 
Ron Newman said:
Unless it's pouring rain at 8 am, I'll be there again this Sunday.
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It was great to see you! :)

I'll post a few random pictures in a bit.

It's great to see things progressing. I was surprised to see Boston from Lynn Harbor -- I didn't know the sight lines allowed for it. The other rides I've done, it's always been foggy and rainy, so I never knew.
 
It appears that Hubway is trying to add 3 locations in South Boston, (Innovation District, Castle Island and Walter Hannigan Square)
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Just don't try to actually ride your rented bike on Castle Island. Ist Verboten.
 
bigeman312 said:
coUrbanize is controlling the public input for Hubway expansion this summer. Apparently, according to the following:

http://courbanize.com/map/

It appears that Hubway is trying to add 3 locations in South Boston, (Innovation District, Castle Island and Walter Hannigan Square), 7 locations in Jamaica Plain/Roxbury (Mission Hill, Jamaica Pond, South-West JP, Green St, Uphams Corner, Columbus Ave/Washington St and St. Joseph's Garden) and 3 locations in Charlestown (Bunker Hill, Charlestown Community Center and Sullivan Square / Main St.).

2qv4fur.png


I'm glad they are expanding into these neighborhoods, but much more density and redundancy is necessary. I would honestly rather see them say "We're focusing expansion on South Boston and adding 13 more stations to that neighborhood this summer for complete coverage" than that they are trying to expand their footprint geographically and stretch themselves thin.

In my estimation (based on population, density and area), South Boston needs 20-25 total stations (has 6) for full coverage, Charlestown needs 10 (has 3), Roxbury needs 30-35 (has 5) and JP needs 20-25.

I just hope Hubway continues to add density. As much as I'd love to see Hubway in places like Newton or West Roxbury eventually, it would work much better if stations were close together like other cities' bike share systems.
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All that does is lose riders. If the stations are too far apart, and you get there and the dock is full...youre royally fucked over. Makes you never want to use the system again.
 
bigeman312 said:
coUrbanize is controlling the public input for Hubway expansion this summer. Apparently, according to the following:

http://courbanize.com/map/

It appears that Hubway is trying to add 3 locations in South Boston, (Innovation District, Castle Island and Walter Hannigan Square), 7 locations in Jamaica Plain/Roxbury (Mission Hill, Jamaica Pond, South-West JP, Green St, Uphams Corner, Columbus Ave/Washington St and St. Joseph's Garden) and 3 locations in Charlestown (Bunker Hill, Charlestown Community Center and Sullivan Square / Main St.).

2qv4fur.png


I'm glad they are expanding into these neighborhoods, but much more density and redundancy is necessary. I would honestly rather see them say "We're focusing expansion on South Boston and adding 13 more stations to that neighborhood this summer for complete coverage" than that they are trying to expand their footprint geographically and stretch themselves thin.

In my estimation (based on population, density and area), South Boston needs 20-25 total stations (has 6) for full coverage, Charlestown needs 10 (has 3), Roxbury needs 30-35 (has 5) and JP needs 20-25.

I just hope Hubway continues to add density. As much as I'd love to see Hubway in places like Newton or West Roxbury eventually, it would work much better if stations were close together like other cities' bike share systems.
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Strange, and after Nicole Freedman has spent so much time talking up the importance of density over coverage.

I hope they expect these locations to attract a lot of commuters to and from the city center because nobody else is going to be using these stations for any other purpose.
 
Balerion said:
Strange, and after Nicole Freedman has spent so much time talking up the importance of density over coverage.

I hope they expect these locations to attract a lot of commuters to and from the city center because nobody else is going to be using these stations for any other purpose.
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I predict in the southern areas of the city hubway is mostly going to be used to get between areas that can only be reached by cobbling together bus and subway service - for example - jackson square and coolidge corner are only 15 minutes apart by bike - but 30 minutes to an hour apart by public transit. I know many people would probably use it late at night when they're at a terminal subway station and the buses run infrequently.

I use hubway as a substitute for the #1 bus when there is heavy traffic on mass ave.
 
I just returned from a trip to Copenhagen. It was my first time there and I was blown away by just how extensive the cycling culture and infrastructure is. It is one thing to see a few pictures of bike-lined streets and it is another to sit on a bridge and watch literally thousands of cyclists of all ages ride by all day and night.

I even rented a bike for an afternoon to see what it was like to join those throngs of bikers. I discovered something surprising - traffic flows at a slow, smooth, and steady pace. There is very little passing and no one is jostling to be first through the stop light. There are simply too many bikes on the road to allow for misbehavior. Just like cars typically do in traffic, the cyclists in Copenhagen follow the flow.

Contrary to what so many cycle-phobes seem to think, I now believe that more bicycles on the streets of Boston will have a calming effect on bike traffic. I don't know how many it takes, but at some critical mass the speed demon cyclists that give the rest of us a bad name will have to fall in line with the average girl on a big cruiser.

Also, bicycles aren't allowed to turn left. Every street (seriously, every single street) has cycle tracks and bikes aren't allowed to pull out into car traffic. The way to make a left is to dismount at the intersection, cross with the pedestrians, and then get back on your bike. This felt like a PAIN to me because I'm perfectly comfortable pulling out into car traffic to make a left, but it ultimately had a very calming effect on the bike traffic. No use hurrying up to beat that red light - you have to stop an wait to make your left anyway. I can't decide if the left turn thing would be a boon or a bust if attempted in Boston (or any place in the US).
 
fattony said:
Contrary to what so many cycle-phobes seem to think, I now believe that more bicycles on the streets of Boston will have a calming effect on bike traffic. I don't know how many it takes, but at some critical mass the speed demon cyclists that give the rest of us a bad name will have to fall in line with the average girl on a big cruiser.
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I'd pay good money to know what that critical mass is. Should it be measured in mode share? Bikers/hour? I feel like if we knew there was a standard to shoot toward, it'd be easier to push for the investment to reach it, getting around the chicken and egg problem of needing more/better infrastructure to attract more riders.
 
MBTAddict said:
I'd pay good money to know what that critical mass is. Should it be measured in mode share? Bikers/hour? I feel like if we knew there was a standard to shoot toward, it'd be easier to push for the investment to reach it, getting around the chicken and egg problem of needing more/better infrastructure to attract more riders.
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This is purely pulled out of my arse, but I'd guess that changes come when there is "usually" more than 2 cyclists stopped at a light together. While 2 can stand side-by-side and the faster one can take off like a bat outta hell when the light turns green, more than 2 requires queueing at the light and makes passing considerably more difficult. You literally have to fall in line. Perhaps there is a way to translate that into bikes/hour if you know the light cycle time.

You can see this on Beacon/Hampshire in Somerville/Cambridge during the commuting hours. There are always a couple hotheads, but more or less people follow the pack because they have to. You pass one slow-poke and the is just another slow-poke in front of them.
 
Seems to dovetail with the opposition that vehicular cyclists have towards better infrastructure. More numbers, calmer riding, more accessible, less stress. But not as fast. Works for me.

How did you feel on foot?
 
Matthew said:
How did you feel on foot?
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The pedestrian experience was mostly no different from any other city. Intersections could be a little crowded with pedestrians and cyclists crossing together, but there is more room than we usually have on corners because of the cycle tracks. Things sort of balanced out.

On some smaller streets or where cars aren't allowed the bike lane and pedestrian "lane" are on the same level, same pavement, separated only by a stripe and marking for which was the bike area. THAT was uncomfortable if you accidentally strayed over the line you would get an angry "ding!" from a passing cyclist.

EDIT: ^Come to think of it, I'm remembering this poor bike-ped arrangement from Stockholm rather than Copenhagen. Biking infrastructure in Stockholm was about on par with Cambridge/Somerville and had about the same ridership.
 
I think in many places around Boston we are reaching critical mass now. There are times (including at rush hour) where there are more bikes than cars waiting at an intersection. On roads without bike lanes but multiple lanes in each direction, large numbers of cyclists are filling the right most lane. It's quite amazing to see actually.
 
Does anyone know a full list of existing and planned MBTA pedal park and rides?

Also, I thought one was due to be installed in Jackson Sq, but there isn't one, nor can I find plans for one. I'd love to leave a bike there, but I see bikes with their wheels stolen all the time. I feel like mine would disapear entirely in one weekend.
 
Here's a cool website that uses real-time data for bike-share systems around the world. Click on the city and it will show you how many bikes are at any given station and how many empty spots there are.

http://bikes.oobrien.com/global.php
 
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