Biking in Boston

Cambridge is kicking off it's Broadway bike lane project. No drawings available as yet, but it doesn't appear to have been too badly impacted / compromised by the city council vote - segment A to be completed in Winter 25, Segments B+C to begin in Early 26 - which is roughly in line with the original CSO timeline. Per the email, they'd be removing ~¾ of the extant parking spaces, which would be ~240/322.

View attachment 58000
  • Change the layout of the street with quick-build materials: new pavement markings, traffic signs, and flex posts.
  • Add separated bike lanes:
    • Move bike lanes to be next to the curb
    • Add white flex posts to physically separate them from moving vehicles
  • Reduce on-street parking
    • Most parking on Broadway will be removed. We expect to keep about one quarter of the existing parking spaces.
    • We will work with businesses and residents to identify the best use for the remaining parking and loading spaces
So how did the city council vote end up affecting this? They voted for an 18 month freeze on this project. This plan looks like they're getting everything ready so they can start building the minute the freeze is over. Is that right? Did anything else change?
 
Cambridge is kicking off it's Broadway bike lane project. No drawings available as yet, but it doesn't appear to have been too badly impacted / compromised by the city council vote - segment A to be completed in Winter 25, Segments B+C to begin in Early 26 - which is roughly in line with the original CSO timeline. Per the email, they'd be removing ~¾ of the extant parking spaces, which would be ~240/322.

View attachment 58000
  • Change the layout of the street with quick-build materials: new pavement markings, traffic signs, and flex posts.
  • Add separated bike lanes:
    • Move bike lanes to be next to the curb
    • Add white flex posts to physically separate them from moving vehicles
  • Reduce on-street parking
    • Most parking on Broadway will be removed. We expect to keep about one quarter of the existing parking spaces.
    • We will work with businesses and residents to identify the best use for the remaining parking and loading spaces

This is probably the boldest project in cambridge so far, as far as % of parking spaces lost. Main st/hampshire st/cambridge st preserved about half of the spots, but broadway is currently the predominant east-west boulevard for cars. I think this is going to face decent opposition and it's important that us supporters write pro-bike (and anti-parking) comments on the comment map and show up when the community meetings begin.
 
So how did the city council vote end up affecting this? They voted for an 18 month freeze on this project. This plan looks like they're getting everything ready so they can start building the minute the freeze is over. Is that right? Did anything else change?
They partially reversed in October, substituting a Nov 30 2026 deadline, which represents only a 7 month delay. That's apparently mostly caused by the pause in work between April 30 and today - they need a replacement construction season.

This is mostly because they've introduced new zoning language so that garage / lot owners can make their existing off street spaces available along "flexible parking corridors," to replace lost on street parking, it's apparently back to full steam ahead.
1000038383.jpg

1000038388.jpg

 
This is probably the boldest project in cambridge so far, as far as % of parking spaces lost. Main st/hampshire st/cambridge st preserved about half of the spots, but broadway is currently the predominant east-west boulevard for cars. I think this is going to face decent opposition and it's important that us supporters write pro-bike (and anti-parking) comments on the comment map and show up when the community meetings begin.
If businesses want to encourage people to drive in from out of town, maybe they ought to start lobbying Cambridge to not have every single side street be 100% resident parking only. If they only want local traffic, they will be fine.
 
Welp, that's going to suck for me. My guitar teacher is on Broadway, and while I usually don't have a problem finding a parking place (I use his guest permit), there's not a whole lot of margin. And riding a bike carrying an acoustic guitar is kind of difficult.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FK4
Welp, that's going to suck for me. My guitar teacher is on Broadway, and while I usually don't have a problem finding a parking place (I use his guest permit), there's not a whole lot of margin. And riding a bike carrying an acoustic guitar is kind of difficult.
Could you take a rideshare or taxi? The Red Line to Harvard, Central, or Kendall?
 
Welp, that's going to suck for me. My guitar teacher is on Broadway, and while I usually don't have a problem finding a parking place (I use his guest permit), there's not a whole lot of margin. And riding a bike carrying an acoustic guitar is kind of difficult.
I have no personal experience with such things, but maybe a hard case with a shoulder strap so that you can carry it on your back while riding? I've seen a guy biking around my neighborhood with a full stand-up base strapped to his back, and while I don't think I'd try that, I suspect a guitar might be feasible.
 
I have no personal experience with such things, but maybe a hard case with a shoulder strap so that you can carry it on your back while riding? I've seen a guy biking around my neighborhood with a full stand-up base strapped to his back, and while I don't think I'd try that, I suspect a guitar might be feasible.
I've seen some wild stuff in NL, I'm 100% certain it's possible.
 
I have no personal experience with such things, but maybe a hard case with a shoulder strap so that you can carry it on your back while riding? I've seen a guy biking around my neighborhood with a full stand-up base strapped to his back, and while I don't think I'd try that, I suspect a guitar might be feasible.
This got me thinking, I wonder if we'll ever see a cargo bike share as an option in a city. I doubt it would be feasible, but there are some wacky ideas out there. Maybe UHaul offering cargo bikes is the first step.
 
This got me thinking, I wonder if we'll ever see a cargo bike share as an option in a city. I doubt it would be feasible, but there are some wacky ideas out there. Maybe UHaul offering cargo bikes is the first step.
Meet CargoB, which is based around Camberville and is apparently first-in-the-nation for that. They launched around July this year. It doesn't have a spectacularly large network, but rates are $2.50 to unlock and 25¢/min, which is on-par with the blue ebikes.

 
Meet CargoB, which is based around Camberville and is apparently first-in-the-nation for that. They launched around July this year. It doesn't have a spectacularly large network, but rates are $2.50 to unlock and 25¢/min, which is on-par with the blue ebikes.

Woah that's awesome! Seems pretty cheap, and it's helpful that you can pause rentals Very nice, I'm a fan.

Has anyone here tried this out? @ceo, maybe this is your solution?
 
Last edited:
Meet CargoB, which is based around Camberville and is apparently first-in-the-nation for that. They launched around July this year. It doesn't have a spectacularly large network, but rates are $2.50 to unlock and 25¢/min, which is on-par with the blue ebikes.


Has anyone here tried this out? @ceo, maybe this is your solution?
They have a couple of bikes in my neighborhood. I haven't tried one yet, but a few friends have done so and found it quite useful.

[edit]I guess just one CargoB location, but there is another, less formal cargo bike share that also has a bike near me. Either way, it is a growing phenomenon.
 
Woah that's awesome! Seems pretty cheap, and it's helpful that you can pause rentals Very nice, I'm a fan.

Has anyone here tried this out? @ceo, maybe this is your solution?
Yes there is one in my neighborhood and I‘ve used it a few times to go to Home Depot. It was my first time riding a cargo bike so there is a bit of a learning curve but it’s extremely useful and the app is easy to use. Interestingly the one near me is just parked in a person’s driveway. I wonder if the company made a deal with the homeowner or if they just placed it at an employee’s house?
 
Interesting concept, but none of them are reasonable walking distance while carrying a guitar from me. And the nearest Red Line station is a 15-minute walk from both my teacher and I, which would make it at least a 45-minute commute in each direction. It is a 15-minute bike ride, however (and driving home takes longer than that due to traffic). If the parking situation becomes intolerable, I may have to look into getting one of these things, or maybe a small cargo trailer.
 

Back
Top