Biking in Boston

City really needs to work with DCR to redesign the crossings along the southwest corridor. That path is overdue for maintenance and it would be nice to fold it in to some upgrades
 
RE SWCP, the crossings are being redone by Boston Public Works to meet current ADA standards for MUPs (5' minimum width ramps)- no input, so far as I can tell, from anyone in the biking community or the PMAC and no design input from anything other that ADA - no considerations for sightlines for cyclists on a MUP. Also, it appears that they do quite a bit of "engineering in the field" for better or worse when rebuilding ADA ramps.

They met with the PMAC paths sub-committee last summer after doing a piss poor job at the Gordon Street Crossing - no promises to fix anything and no assurances that future crossings wouldn't get messed up either. Public Works says their biggest issues with widening are not running into catchbasins or manholes when adjusting the curbing for the ramps and since raised crossings are, apparently allowed (shown at least on the Comm Ave Phase 2A plans) making sure that drainage isn't adversely affected.

I believe that Public Works has redone nearly all of the crossings south of Jackson Square plus the Prentiss St crossing. Budget allowing, the remainder are supposed to be widened this construction season.

The path is overseen by the PMAC, Parkland Management Advisory Committee, they had their monthly meeting yesterday evening - I didn't think to attend. Next meeting is at Schroeder Plaza on 1 June 7pm-9pm - with police updates from 7:00-7:45. http://www.swcpc.org/pmac.htm
 
Randomgear said:
RE SWCP, the crossings are being redone by Boston Public Works to meet current ADA standards for MUPs (5' minimum width ramps)- no input, so far as I can tell, from anyone in the biking community or the PMAC and no design input from anything other that ADA - no considerations for sightlines for cyclists on a MUP. Also, it appears that they do quite a bit of "engineering in the field" for better or worse when rebuilding ADA ramps.

They met with the PMAC paths sub-committee last summer after doing a piss poor job at the Gordon Street Crossing - no promises to fix anything and no assurances that future crossings wouldn't get messed up either. Public Works says their biggest issues with widening are not running into catchbasins or manholes when adjusting the curbing for the ramps and since raised crossings are, apparently allowed (shown at least on the Comm Ave Phase 2A plans) making sure that drainage isn't adversely affected.

I believe that Public Works has redone nearly all of the crossings south of Jackson Square plus the Prentiss St crossing. Budget allowing, the remainder are supposed to be widened this construction season.

The path is overseen by the PMAC, Parkland Management Advisory Committee, they had their monthly meeting yesterday evening - I didn't think to attend. Next meeting is at Schroeder Plaza on 1 June 7pm-9pm - with police updates from 7:00-7:45. http://www.swcpc.org/pmac.htm
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so - is the boston cyclist union or reps from the city's "active transportation" department showing up to these meetings? This is really frustrating. DPW has been causing a lot of trouble lately, and I really wish there was greater scrutiny over their engineering.
 
Generally not, but the people involved do forward info to BCU, LivableStreets and Boston Bikes from time to time. I've been to two or three meetings over the years, most of them are not very bike related at all: lotsa talk with police, talk with DCR about never ending ongoing maintenance (lights, graffiti removal) and use by whatever festival is coming up such as the Wake Up the Earth fest or the Dominican fest.

I don't really know if BCU, LivableStreets or Boston Bikes has the people power to do these meetings with their own staff or with the few very dedicated volunteers that they do have. Many advocates are overstretched these days - I know I am. I'm sure that the PMAC would like to have reps of other organizations join and attend meetings.

All Boston city projects involving the public "right of way" are reviewed by the Public Improvement Commission, the head of Public Works (note that the city's webiste is out of date: http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/engineering/pic.asp and http://www.cityofboston.gov/boardsandcommissions/default.aspx?boardid=56), Michael Dennehy, head of Public Works, is the Commissioner and two of the three other members I believe are public Works employees and the last member is Gina Fiandaca head of BTD - so essentially BPW get to overrule anything that BTD does. The PIC does not, however, review roadway striping plans. They will be voting on the South End Washington/Traveler/Harrison/Mullins Way project on Thursday May 12 at 10am City Hall Room 803. I will try to attend this one.
While it is a public hearing, I tend to think that the projects have been reviewed, revised and vetted by Public Works before these meetings start - but that may be my own very biased viewpoint.
 
Randomgear said:
All Boston city projects involving the public "right of way" are reviewed by the Public Improvement Commission, the head of Public Works (note that the city's webiste is out of date: http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/engineering/pic.asp and http://www.cityofboston.gov/boardsandcommissions/default.aspx?boardid=56), Michael Dennehy, head of Public Works, is the Commissioner and two of the three other members I believe are public Works employees and the last member is Gina Fiandaca head of BTD - so essentially BPW get to overrule anything that BTD does. The PIC does not, however, review roadway striping plans. They will be voting on the South End Washington/Traveler/Harrison/Mullins Way project on Thursday May 12 at 10am City Hall Room 803. I will try to attend this one.
While it is a public hearing, I tend to think that the projects have been reviewed, revised and vetted by Public Works before these meetings start - but that may be my own very biased viewpoint.
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Most departments are represented by underlings, not the commissioners themselves.
 
Balerion said:
I stopped by the Fresh Pond Mall on my way home today and noticed that Cambridge fixed this shitty curb on the northbound side of the Alewife Brook Parkway just north of the intersection with Rindge. Previously, one had to dismount for a few yards or swerve into traffic to get onto that weird, narrow connector to the Alewife Linear Park.

But please, fix the whole corridor.
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So much nicer! They also put up a bigger "Bikeway this way" sign. However, the rest of the path adjacent to and passing under the parkway is too narrow and could use some resurfacing.
 
autonomy said:
So much nicer! They also put up a bigger "Bikeway this way" sign. However, the rest of the path adjacent to and passing under the parkway is too narrow and could use some resurfacing.
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Per Historic Aerials that curb cut is leftover from some sort of building that was there on the corner of the Parkway & Rindge abutting the old swimming hole prior to the great early-80's nuking of Alewife for the T's arrival. It's there on the 1978 satellite and topo map. Two buildings, in fact...there was a bigger one next door on what's now the ramp path. Looked shabbily industrial, like everything that used to be there.


35 years to close up a long-disused and fenced-off curb cut? Really, now?:confused:
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Per Historic Aerials that curb cut is leftover from some sort of building that was there on the corner of the Parkway & Rindge abutting the old swimming hole prior to the great early-80's nuking of Alewife for the T's arrival. It's there on the 1978 satellite and topo map. Two buildings, in fact...there was a bigger one next door on what's now the ramp path. Looked shabbily industrial, like everything that used to be there.


35 years to close up a long-disused and fenced-off curb cut? Really, now?:confused:
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For some reason I'm thinking it's an ADA compliance measure... maybe?

Here's what it looks like now
MKqyEwO.jpg


And here's the narrow connector - with uneven, rutted concrete slabs, full of trash and old leaves
c7tUgax.jpg
 
autonomy said:
For some reason I'm thinking it's an ADA compliance measure... maybe?

Here's what it looks like now
MKqyEwO.jpg


And here's the narrow connector - with uneven, rutted concrete slabs, full of trash and old leaves
c7tUgax.jpg
Click to expand...

For all 20 years I've been living in Boston that's just been the curb cut to nowhere and chain link fence holding back the overgrowth, with not a hint of any official access purpose. And it doesn't seem like the property is private anymore; it's either the T's grouped with the station or DCR's grouped with the swimming hole remediation area. In absence of any other telltale info, I'd say...yes, they probably just forgot for 3-1/2 decades to close the curb cut and it took somebody barking an ADA complaint up the chain to finally get it done.


The whole presence of the chain link fence the length of the path is the result of those 2 ex-industrial properties and whatever environmental remediation they were doing behind the fences after the buildings got razed in the 80's. I know that's why the swimming hole is fenced off with such a wide buffer from the path and not given any sort of showcase treatment in the landscaping. It's clean, but they don't want any fence-hoppers to disturb the lowest layers of silt at the bottom which may still contain some ancient industrial runoff.

But it does mean that 3 decades later the perimeter doesn't have to be so incredibly restrictive around the remediation area. They can widen out that narrow ramp path considerably, landscape it, and put a little more tasteful a barrier than the chain-link construction fence that's now barely holding back the exploding overgrowth. That's a containment structure from a time long past, never intended to be a permanent feature on a permanently width-restricted ramp.

Maybe it was interagency politics that kept it that way for so long. The MDC never played nice with anyone, so I can understand why the T and City of Cambridge left it be as late as 10 years ago, even with all the Alewife redev being in the oven by that point. But it's high time they all got on with some access upgrades here. I've lost count of how many times I've had to go down that path with my back sliding against the concrete retaining wall so I could pass a guy on a bike who's grabbing and sliding against the chain link fence to pass me. Those kinds of awkward meets happen all day every day on that ramp.
 
Brookline, Gateway East: the Town of Brookline authorized the Town's engineer VHB to complete their 25% design and submit it to the MassDOT 25% review process. Expected submission in June, with a 25% MassDOT design hearing in August at the earliest but more likely in the early fall. They expect the project to go out to bid in August 2017 with likely completion in fall 2019.
 
Charles River paths:

  • Boston-side, between Allston and the Hatch Shell opened a couple months ago and is a really good surface right now.
  • Cambridge-side, between Harvard Bridge and BU Bridge, construction is in full swing.
  • Greenough Greenway: expected to open this month.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
For all 20 years I've been living in Boston that's just been the curb cut to nowhere and chain link fence holding back the overgrowth, with not a hint of any official access purpose. And it doesn't seem like the property is private anymore; it's either the T's grouped with the station or DCR's grouped with the swimming hole remediation area. In absence of any other telltale info, I'd say...yes, they probably just forgot for 3-1/2 decades to close the curb cut and it took somebody barking an ADA complaint up the chain to finally get it done.


The whole presence of the chain link fence the length of the path is the result of those 2 ex-industrial properties and whatever environmental remediation they were doing behind the fences after the buildings got razed in the 80's. I know that's why the swimming hole is fenced off with such a wide buffer from the path and not given any sort of showcase treatment in the landscaping. It's clean, but they don't want any fence-hoppers to disturb the lowest layers of silt at the bottom which may still contain some ancient industrial runoff.

But it does mean that 3 decades later the perimeter doesn't have to be so incredibly restrictive around the remediation area. They can widen out that narrow ramp path considerably, landscape it, and put a little more tasteful a barrier than the chain-link construction fence that's now barely holding back the exploding overgrowth. That's a containment structure from a time long past, never intended to be a permanent feature on a permanently width-restricted ramp.

Maybe it was interagency politics that kept it that way for so long. The MDC never played nice with anyone, so I can understand why the T and City of Cambridge left it be as late as 10 years ago, even with all the Alewife redev being in the oven by that point. But it's high time they all got on with some access upgrades here. I've lost count of how many times I've had to go down that path with my back sliding against the concrete retaining wall so I could pass a guy on a bike who's grabbing and sliding against the chain link fence to pass me. Those kinds of awkward meets happen all day every day on that ramp.
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That's fascinating! I've been bike-commuting through there on & off for the past two years and had no idea there was a pond there. I just assumed it was some MBTA storage yard. Would be so great if they could go Alewife Reservation on it and make it into a nature habitat with maybe a walking path around it. I saw a swan chase a goose today and sometimes see a blue heron in the little puddle right across the Alewife station where the new-ish bike bridge is. It's hardly clean, but nature has returned.
 
bigeman312 said:
Charles River paths:

  • Boston-side, between Allston and the Hatch Shell opened a couple months ago and is a really good surface right now.
  • Cambridge-side, between Harvard Bridge and BU Bridge, construction is in full swing.
  • Greenough Greenway: expected to open this month.
Click to expand...


I can't find the plans and can't remember the whole scope of the project, but work is underway at the River/Cambridge Street intersection with the PDW path. There is going to be a short protected bike lane from the path to the Cambridge Street bike lane, and a signalized crosswalk at the infamous PDW crossing where you currently have to sprint across whenever there is a gap in traffic.
 
Scipio said:
I can't find the plans and can't remember the whole scope of the project, but work is underway at the River/Cambridge Street intersection with the PDW path. There is going to be a short protected bike lane from the path to the Cambridge Street bike lane, and a signalized crosswalk at the infamous PDW crossing where you currently have to sprint across whenever there is a gap in traffic.
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I bike through there often, including yesterday, and I didn't notice any construction. Do you know what/where they are working on now? Is it obvious and I just was too distracted by not dying?
 
autonomy said:
That's fascinating! I've been bike-commuting through there on & off for the past two years and had no idea there was a pond there. I just assumed it was some MBTA storage yard. Would be so great if they could go Alewife Reservation on it and make it into a nature habitat with maybe a walking path around it. I saw a swan chase a goose today and sometimes see a blue heron in the little puddle right across the Alewife station where the new-ish bike bridge is. It's hardly clean, but nature has returned.
Click to expand...

The pond is called "Jerry's Pit", and it was one of several former clay pits around Alewife dug out by the adjacent factories who pressed construction bricks out of the mined clay. Because of the high water table in the area, the pits would flood at the drop of a hat and become makeshift swimming holes. There used to be dozens of them all around Alewife dug up for the clay, then backfilled when they were tapped out. Most are long gone, but there's still some telltale signs around Acorn Park and the Cutoff Path of 'moats' or strangely circular areas of extra-swampy mush that betray manmade origin.

Jerry's Pit, because of the location at the corner of Rindge, became so popular a neighborhood attraction that North Cambridge residents protested all attempts to fill it back in. So it became a de facto permanent feature, even though they were basically squatting on some bricklayer's private industrial property. Eventually they successfully petitioned the legislature to have the MDC eminent domain it as an official part of Alewife Reservation. Russell Field got built as an official accessory to the beachgoers who were already going there in droves for generations to swim.

Usage fell off postwar after they found absolutely terrifying amounts of industrial contamination in the surrounding soil (I'm guessing that was the impetus for building the MDC swimming pool). I don't know when it was formally blocked off as too hazardous for humans...probably late-60's/early-70's, well after most people were too afraid to go in the water. Technically it's fully remediated "open space" today, but the Russell Field renovation came and went 10 years ago with zero advocacy to try to re-landscape it as part of the presentation. So...forgotten in more ways than one.


There's a historical info placard up on the fence somewhere between the Russell Field-side station exit and the parking lot where the 83 picks up that describes the history of the swimming hole and has a postcard view of it. Go cruising by that sign next time you're out there; it's pretty easy to find.
 
bigeman312 said:
I bike through there often, including yesterday, and I didn't notice any construction. Do you know what/where they are working on now? Is it obvious and I just was too distracted by not dying?
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Not sure what they're doing now, but the last few times I've ridden by I've seen construction vehicles over near the I-90 ramps. Because I'm only on that path on weekends and occasional evenings I haven't actually seen any construction happening. There are some other parts of the project like resignalizing the intersection and striping the lanes that aren't bike related. Plans here: https://www.bidx.com/ma/attachment?_id=557b477c59df68833400000a
 
It appears that the Alewife parcel in question (Jerry's Pit / Jerry's Pond), is ~21 acres and known as 1R-3R Alewife Brook Parkway and is still owned by WR Grace (via "Alewife Land Corporation")

The WR Grace asbestos bankruptcy was famously long (2002-2014), so that probably accounts for half of the 20 years it's sat as you watched. Hard to say who'd still have Superfund liability at this point, but I suspect that's why not a hair of it has been touched.

It appears that the curb cut that was just erased was for the gate/drive to access 1R Alewife Brook Parkway (presumably 3R is the mail address of north end of the parcel)
 
Grand Junction path segment between Main St and Broadway looks close to opening - anyone have the details?

Ft59FzW.jpg


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