Fenway Center (One Kenmore) | Turnpike Parcel 7, Beacon Street | Fenway

dshoost88 said:
stick n move said:
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My takeaway from this photo: We need #ProtectedBikeLanes
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Agreed 100%. Also since its just a fact of life that were not going to get legit protected bike lanes all over the city, at the bare minimum, the minimum that should be allowed to be done, is putting the bike lanes on the other side of the parked cars, between the sidewalk and the parked cars.

Instead of sidewalk, parked cars, bike lane, traffic... like above, it should be sidewalk, bike lane, parked cars, traffic. This protects bikers from traffic but on top of that cars that double park would be parking in a traffic lane vs a bike lane. It drives me crazy how much people double park here, but they do, so we shouldnt be building a big wide bike lane for them to park in, because people will. It actually encourages double parking even more when people dont have to stop in a traffic lane and instead they have a bike lane to park in.

Thats why at the very least we should put bike lanes on the other side of the parked cars in that pic. Of course ideally we need to build as many true protected bike lanes as we can, but this should be the minimum where they dont. Cops also need to start ticketing people who double park or park in bike lanes, but not even giving them the option is the best prevention method.
 
I like to bikes but have never seen them as a viable/major form of transport in Boston. It's too cold, snowy and windy with very dark evening commutes for almost half the year. In the picture above there isn't a single bike, just lots of cars and a few pedestrians.

If we are going to commit a large amount of valuable roadway to something other than cars, why not create dedicated bus lanes. Far more people would benefit, especially older folks, those with kids, people who are out of shape, and people with packages to name a few groups who don't benefit from bike lanes.
 
stick n move said:
This protects bikers from traffic but on top of that cars that double park would be parking in a traffic lane vs a bike lane.
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I agree with your post completely, but I think you've just explained why we aren't getting enough parking protected lanes. Double parking, especially for delivery vehicles, is seen as a cherished right for drivers in Boston. I won't believe this is changing unless the protected bike lane option is selected for the Tremont St. road diet.
 
tocoto said:
I like to bikes but have never seen them as a viable/major form of transport in Boston. It's too cold, snowy and windy with very dark evening commutes for almost half the year. In the picture above there isn't a single bike, just lots of cars and a few pedestrians.
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Every year I see more people commuting by bike. I am fortunate to have a route that is 95% on bike lane, 2/3 of that being off street paths. If the infrastructure is built correctly, people will use it. Last fall I made the decision not to take my usual cold season hiatus. I bought some protective (and reflective) clothing, some good lights, and discovered that it is actually quite comfortable (and a lot of fun) to ride in the conditions you've described.

If we are going to commit a large amount of valuable roadway to something other than cars, why not create dedicated bus lanes. Far more people would benefit, especially older folks, those with kids, people who are out of shape, and people with packages to name a few groups who don't benefit from bike lanes.
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Definitely agree with this. Shared bus/bike priority lanes make the street work better for all uses.
 
HenryAlan said:
Every year I see more people commuting by bike. I am fortunate to have a route that is 95% on bike lane, 2/3 of that being off street paths. If the infrastructure is built correctly, people will use it. Last fall I made the decision not to take my usual cold season hiatus. I bought some protective (and reflective) clothing, some good lights, and discovered that it is actually quite comfortable (and a lot of fun) to ride in the conditions you've described.



Definitely agree with this. Shared bus/bike priority lanes make the street work better for all uses.
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It's complicated. I think biking can and will be a viable alternative for many people, and I think it's worth making the investment for safe infrastructure. Moreover, reducing road sizes does inevitably work to encourage the critically needed cultural shift away from 1:1 person:car trips that has wrought so much damage to health and to community. So we should do this.

But, I think the bike community could at times be a little more tempered in their enthusiastic suggestion that just about everyone could and would bike though snow and ice if only it were safer to do so. Some would, but many won't, and shouldn't have to. There should be warm and dry transportation alternatives. And there are, or could be, if we invested in those, too.
 
tocoto said:
It's too cold, snowy and windy with very dark evening commutes for almost half the year.
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Are you trying to suggest that people dont walk in the winter? That everyone drives?


tocoto said:
In the picture above there isn't a single bike, just lots of cars and a few pedestrians.
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In the world of transportation, an empty lane is more efficient than a full one.

I can take a photo of a block with 15 cars and it will look packed. Great, 15 people are moving.

I can take a photo of the NEC in NJ with not a train in sight. Except 2,000 people just passed in the same time period it took 15 cars to move down a crowded block.
 
FK4 said:
But, I think the bike community could at times be a little more tempered in their enthusiastic suggestion that just about everyone could and would bike though snow and ice if only it were safer to do so. Some would, but many won't, and shouldn't have to. There should be warm and dry transportation alternatives. And there are, or could be, if we invested in those, too.
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No argument from me on that. Cycling for transport, even in places like Amsterdam remains bellow 50%. I think a reasonable target for Boston, given our hills and weather would be somewhere between 10%-15%. And a good chunk of that would be people like me, who never drove in the first place. We need to invest in all non SOV options to make them more attractive, understanding that for some people it means walking, some cycling, and for a large majority, better transit.
 
HenryAlan said:
No argument from me on that. Cycling for transport, even in places like Amsterdam remains bellow 50%. I think a reasonable target for Boston, given our hills and weather would be somewhere between 10%-15%. And a good chunk of that would be people like me, who never drove in the first place. We need to invest in all non SOV options to make them more attractive, understanding that for some people it means walking, some cycling, and for a large majority, better transit.
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Totally. I didn't mean to implicate you as the target of my comment, either, Henry... but I am sure you know what I mean in re: to over-enthusiastic bike advocates. The goal is correct, but my personal reasons for supporting it are a few tweaks away from just straight hoping for more bikers. We need more of everything.

As a complete tangent that I guess I can justify by noting the presence of pedestrian only connection paths within this Fenway project, I walked through DTX today for the first time in a while and it's just amazing how many people fill the streets — when you let them. Once the pedestrian (admittedly, the ped-shopping) district ended, it immediately quieted down. The desire for this stuff is obvious.
 
i don't think Boston is ever going to reduce the size of any roads. Not saying it's a terrible idea. i advocate drastically reducing parking space ratios at public meetings, loudly. Just saying i don't think it's going to happen. The costs of driving a car. Now that's something with a very uncertain future.
 
odurandina said:
i don't think Boston is ever going to reduce the size of any roads. Not saying it's a terrible idea. i advocate drastically reducing parking space ratios at public meetings, loudly. Just saying i don't think it's going to happen. The costs of driving a car. Now that's something with a very uncertain future.
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They have before/already...
 
Is the financing in place for Phase 2? Couldn't find an answer on the net.
 
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