Biking in Boston

It's good to see some of these plans separate the multi-use path from the 5' dirt walking/jogging path in some sections. Every new re-design should necessitate separating the two and removing car lanes (if necessary) to create the space. If we learn from the best bike cities in europe, reducing bike-ped conflict (though less life-threatening) is also important. Looking at any shared-use path at 5pm on any given day, it's clear the demand for a car-free space is absurdly high from dog-walkers, runners, bike-commuters, road cyclists, etc. Hell, the memorial dr. bike path probably carries more people than storrow and memorial drive combined at peak hours. I feel that squishing everyone onto a 10' mixed-use path is car-centric planning to save more width for car lanes. We're finally seeing some of this unwind but far too many parts of the path (storrow-allston throat, BU bridge area, western/river st bridges are still too narrow and need separation.
 
sneijder said:
It's good to see some of these plans separate the multi-use path from the 5' dirt walking/jogging path in some sections. Every new re-design should necessitate separating the two and removing car lanes (if necessary) to create the space. If we learn from the best bike cities in europe, reducing bike-ped conflict (though less life-threatening) is also important. Looking at any shared-use path at 5pm on any given day, it's clear the demand for a car-free space is absurdly high from dog-walkers, runners, bike-commuters, road cyclists, etc. Hell, the memorial dr. bike path probably carries more people than storrow and memorial drive combined at peak hours. I feel that squishing everyone onto a 10' mixed-use path is car-centric planning to save more width for car lanes. We're finally seeing some of this unwind but far too many parts of the path (storrow-allston throat, BU bridge area, western/river st bridges are still too narrow and need separation.
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While I 100% agree with everything you said here, even the basic standard of an 11' multi-use path (with no further seperation) would be a huge step in the right direction beyond what we have now.
 
There are many ways this BU Bridge area could be safer - there was even a community organized event less than a year ago that DCR and MassDOT attended - https://www.cambridgeday.com/2023/1...d-other-changes-in-groups-plan-to-add-safety/

You can email DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo Brian.Arrigo@mass.gov and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper Rebecca.L.Tepper@mass.gov and your State Senator and Rep. https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

You can also contact the Governor's Office at 617-725-4005 and https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office

This is what I wrote -

I am writing to share my disappointment and outrage about the dangerous conditions for people walking and biking along the Charles River and other DCR properties. There are so many projects that DCR has studied and promised and then seemingly abandoned that would make it safer to access and enjoy these parks and literally save lives. But what happens? Too often, not enough. There are so many ways these projects could be done quickly and with relatively low cost, and it shouldn't take a death to get some action.

Here are a few examples of projects studied and proposed by DCR that would make a big difference in safety and accessibility. I hope you will find a way to help them happen.

https://www.mass.gov/guides/dcr-master-plans#-herter-park-master-plan-(2022)-
https://www.mass.gov/guides/dcr-master-plans#-dcr-parkways-master-plan-(2020)-
https://mass.streetsblog.org/2022/01/18/dcr-announces-scaled-back-memorial-drive-road-diet-for-2024
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/10/10/soldiers-field-delays/
 
Texasian said:
A driver jumped the curb on Mem Drive near the BU bridge and killed a cyclist on the sidewalk. The traditional blood price has been paid. Perhaps we’ll get infrastructure improvements out of it… and maybe some DCR reforms
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Really absurd. DCR may have no money, but literally, they could use paint to make Mem Drive fork where the right lane gets you to the rotary, and only the left lane as a single lane proceeds inbound up the overpass... so then the BU Bridge enters with its own lane and that sidewalk has some breathing space. Unconscionable that the state departments let things sit and not progress the way they do.
 
Does anyone know if the Boston Parks department allows BlueBikes docks on their parks?
 
BOS2BON said:
Does anyone know if the Boston Parks department allows BlueBikes docks on their parks?
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Are we talking about in the park proper, or just happens to be on park land? I know there's a few docks on the edge of Franklin and Marine Parks for example that are definitely on Park property. Afaik, theres a strong preference that they're curbside - plus they need to be somewhere where they can get one of the vans to.
 
Stlin said:
Are we talking about in the park proper, or just happens to be on park land? I know there's a few docks on the edge of Franklin and Marine Parks for example that are definitely on Park property. Afaik, theres a strong preference that they're curbside - plus they need to be somewhere where they can get one of the vans to.
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Park proper. I was thinking about the Ringer Park improvements project, there's a meeting for it tonight. How close does the van need to get? There's a nice stone wall that borders the entire park so curbside isn't really an option.


www.boston.gov

Ringer Park Improvements

Ringer Park is an important open space in the densely populated Allston neighborhood.
www.boston.gov www.boston.gov
 
KCasiglio said:
Perhaps the Department of Conservation and Recreation shouldn't be responsible for major multimodal transportation corridors.
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Agreed, DCR has no business managing roads (outside of state parks, obviously. Minor roads should be the responsibility of the city/town, major ones should belong to MassDOT, and I would actually argue that Comm Ave, Beacon St, Huntington Ave, Columbus Ave, and Blue Hill Ave should be entirely managed by the MBTA.
 
BOS2BON said:
Park proper. I was thinking about the Ringer Park improvements project, there's a meeting for it tonight. How close does the van need to get? There's a nice stone wall that borders the entire park so curbside isn't really an option.


www.boston.gov

Ringer Park Improvements

Ringer Park is an important open space in the densely populated Allston neighborhood.
www.boston.gov www.boston.gov
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Bluebike dock site selection is a BTD thing, rather than Parks - I rather doubt the reconstruction is going to affect future blue bike installation. Their website says they're going to be looking for new sites in that neighborhood next year, and also provide a broad picture of what they consider to be a good site. I don't know that Ringer park would be considered a good one anyways, being off the main road - I'd expect them to drop one on Comm Ave. But the nice thing about bluebike docks are that they're designed to be easy to drop in; they require basically zero infrastructure, so if they choose to come back once the park is finished, they should still be able to drop a dock. Afaik, they want their van to be able to basically pull up next to; plus, they need to be able to get the dock in in the first place. I'm pretty sure they show up on a flatbed.
https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/bike-share-expansion-2024-2025
 
Stlin said:
Bluebike dock site selection is a BTD thing, rather than Parks - I rather doubt the reconstruction is going to affect future blue bike installation. Their website says they're going to be looking for new sites in that neighborhood next year, and also provide a broad picture of what they consider to be a good site. I don't know that Ringer park would be considered a good one anyways, being off the main road - I'd expect them to drop one on Comm Ave. But the nice thing about bluebike docks are that they're designed to be easy to drop in; they require basically zero infrastructure, so if they choose to come back once the park is finished, they should still be able to drop a dock. Afaik, they want their van to be able to basically pull up next to; plus, they need to be able to get the dock in in the first place. I'm pretty sure they show up on a flatbed.
https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/bike-share-expansion-2024-2025
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Thanks for this!
 
TheRatmeister said:
Agreed, DCR has no business managing roads (outside of state parks, obviously. Minor roads should be the responsibility of the city/town, major ones should belong to MassDOT, and I would actually argue that Comm Ave, Beacon St, Huntington Ave, Columbus Ave, and Blue Hill Ave should be entirely managed by the MBTA.
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Let's not give the MBTA more assets to maintain, especially in a category they have no expertise maintaining. Plus, I'm inclined to keep the DCR parkways with DCR, rather than MassDOT, as I do want them managed over the long term as a park asset first, not as a transportation asset. DCR has been getting better, they just don't get the money they need. Plus, it's complex assets like bridges *were* transfered to MassDOT in 2009 - to include the BU rotary overpass and the bridge over the Grand Junction, the segment where the fatality occurred. As I mentioned upthread, the stretch from Magazine to Dewolfe is currently in the middle of a major $51M MassDOT proposal to rebuild it all in 2027; DCR was left holding the bag there, but MassDOT is the one responsible for improving that stretch of road.
1000037473.jpg
 
Boston planning to add protected bike lanes on North Beacon Street in Brighton--much needed for the area! I believe a good chunk of that stretch has been repaved recently, and it's quite wide ROW for single-lane travel in each direction, so this is a much-needed improvement:

www.boston.gov

North Beacon Street

Construction UPDATE Construction will resume Sunday, October 13!
www.boston.gov www.boston.gov
 
Stlin said:
Let's not give the MBTA more assets to maintain, especially in a category they have no expertise maintaining. Plus, I'm inclined to keep the DCR parkways with DCR, rather than MassDOT, as I do want them managed over the long term as a park asset first, not as a transportation asset. DCR has been getting better, they just don't get the money they need. Plus, it's complex assets like bridges *were* transfered to MassDOT in 2009 - to include the BU rotary overpass and the bridge over the Grand Junction, the segment where the fatality occurred. As I mentioned upthread, the stretch from Magazine to Dewolfe is currently in the middle of a major $51M MassDOT proposal to rebuild it all in 2027; DCR was left holding the bag there, but MassDOT is the one responsible for improving that stretch of road.View attachment 56034
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Is that project "Project 611987 - CAMBRIDGE- BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, C-01-026, MEMORIAL DRIVE OVER BROOKLINE STREET"?
 
#bancars said:
Boston planning to add protected bike lanes on North Beacon Street in Brighton--much needed for the area! I believe a good chunk of that stretch has been repaved recently, and it's quite wide ROW for single-lane travel in each direction, so this is a much-needed improvement:

www.boston.gov

North Beacon Street

Construction UPDATE Construction will resume Sunday, October 13!
www.boston.gov www.boston.gov
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Great! This is already part of a heavily-travelled bicycle (and other micro-mobility) corridor through Brighton and Allston along N Beacon, Brighton Ave, and Comm Ave.

After this project, Brighton Ave will be the biggest gap. Separating the bus and bike lanes along Brighton Ave (ideally at the expense of automobile parking and really ideally with center-running bus lanes) would go a long way towards "completing" this corridor.
 
RandomWalk said:
The bike path extension along Galileo Galilei Way is almost complete. Might just be waiting for the pols to fit a ribbon cutting into their schedules.
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Only in Cambridge would we do a dog-and-pony-show ribbon cutting for a block-long segment of path (that is mostly redundant to an existing path) solely so that we can say "Progress!" on a much-delayed actually-important mega bike path project that is barely creeping forward despite a decade of planning/design. But, ah, progress.
 
THE BLOOD PRICE HAS BEEN PAID. But apparently between the death of Amanda Phillips and now, there’s been a lot of inflation and blood sacrifices don’t get you as much bang for the buck.

12’ feet of additional paths and associated accessibility work for a million bucks and a life.

EDIT: Unless of course they mean a 12’ wide path?
IMG_1684.jpeg
 
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Texasian said:
THE BLOOD PRICE HAS BEEN PAID. But apparently between the death of Amanda Phillips and now, there’s been a lot of inflation and blood sacrifices don’t get you as much bang for the buck.

12’ feet of additional paths and associated accessibility work for a million bucks and a life.

EDIT: Unless of course they mean a 12’ wide path?
View attachment 56388
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I think they mean 12’ wide. How on earth do they already have the design in one week and the funding??

EDIT: Crimson reporting it’s a 12’ wide path the entire length from the boathouse to the bridge https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/10/1/cambridge-bike-safety-policy-order/
 
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