Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

I think we're getting caught up arguing about support structures that have currently been built and assuming that the path built atop them will look exactly like it. Grade metrics, railings, etc., all will be added. Fair to raise the concern, but to harp on it when there's no reason to think that these (legal) matters won't be addressed is kind of strident.
 
Norval Elliot said:
In any case, the new GLX high bridge could draw elevated traffic levels, so to speak, should it become a destination.
Click to expand...
Sure, but for people riding through, it would at worst be a brief gauntlet of gathered gawkers at the top, rather than the mile plus of it on the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm fairly capable of riding on crowded mixed use paths, but the one time I rode across the Brooklyn Bridge, I spent most of the ride thinking, "never again," to myself.
 
The real "answer" to the bike bridge isn't going to come now (we'll have to see how it "bikes in real life") and it isn't going to come from GLX (it was a freebie/afterthought here) but real bike routes are coming when McGrath Highway gets boulevardized (for Grounding The McGrath thread)

Either it will:
1) Be sparsely used due to hard grades
2) Be used in a self-limiting way (always a bypass for adventurous cyclists and a few picture takers)
3) Get widened in sections (and "overlook" at the top)
4) Be so heavily used that when the concrete decking is due for replacement, they'll swap in new wider sections on the same steel supports.

But really, I think the real answer is: be just another link in the network, where the network is the valuable thing, not any one link.
 
Arlington said:
The real "answer" to the bike bridge isn't going to come now (we'll have to see how it "bikes in real life") and it isn't going to come from GLX (it was a freebie/afterthought here) but real bike routes are coming when McGrath Highway gets boulevardized (for Grounding The McGrath thread)

Either it will:
1) Be sparsely used due to hard grades
2) Be used in a self-limiting way (always a bypass for adventurous cyclists and a few picture takers)
3) Get widened in sections (and "overlook" at the top)
4) Be so heavily used that when the concrete decking is due for replacement, they'll swap in new wider sections on the same steel supports.

But really, I think the real answer is: be just another link in the network, where the network is the valuable thing, not any one link.
Click to expand...
Even after the McGrath is grounded, the narrow crappy sidewalk on the McGrath Hwy bridge over the Fitchburg Division RR will still be there.
 
Charlie_mta said:
Even after the McGrath is grounded, the narrow crappy sidewalk on the McGrath Hwy bridge over the Fitchburg Division RR will still be there.
Click to expand...
I am hoping they do bus-bike or road diet (3 inbound, 2 outbound with bike lane) (the lanes on the bridge over the tracks are already 1~2' too wide and the side most are at least 3' too wide)
 
Last edited:
I’m curious about the OCS engineering. They’re going with bases on the edges of the right of way. Why not use a single set of posts down the middle of the right of way, except for stations?
 
I think I have seen both center bases and side brackets for OCS, so I think both are possible.
 
RandomWalk said:
I’m curious about the OCS engineering. They’re going with bases on the edges of the right of way. Why not use a single set of posts down the middle of the right of way, except for stations?
Click to expand...

Best 'minimalist' practice is alternating sides for bracket arms that hang over both tracks. Makes it easier to maintain a constant wire tension to not have one track perpetually hung off the furthest/weakest end of the bracket.

Because of the density of Green Line signal plant, however, also expect a lot of these to have to be dual-mast. Maybe not as much overall overkill as the D Line, but similar in spots.
 
It appears that the stretch between Cedar St and Magoun Square station may be getting tracks soon.
 
On a quick tour today it seemed like several stations had their OCS poles up (on alternating sides).
 
shmessy said:
OK, I'm taking bets on the over/under for how long will it be before that ramp is closed to the public for safety concerns after the first several "I lost the grip on my baby's stroller" accidents.
Click to expand...
Or how long before the "walk bikes" signs go up, as they have recently on the North Bank Bridge (which was designed to its width to accommodate bicycling).
 
Roxxma said:
Or how long before the "walk bikes" signs go up, as they have recently on the North Bank Bridge (which was designed to its width to accommodate bicycling).
Click to expand...
As a pedestrian and a bicyclist, I'm more worried about the various high-speed devices people are zipping around on, such as the Segway, powered bikes, powered skateboards, etc. I'd rather have a sign that bans these than one requiring walking of un-powered bicycles. As a bicyclist I've almost been run over by powered devices speeding around.
 
Charlie_mta said:
As a pedestrian and a bicyclist, I'm more worried about the various high-speed devices people are zipping around on, such as the Segway, powered bikes, powered skateboards, etc. I'd rather have a sign that bans these than one requiring walking of un-powered bicycles. As a bicyclist I've almost been run over by powered devices speeding around.
Click to expand...

This is a fair point. Totally agreed and I would support those sorts of restrictions, as opposed to the ridiculous ban on cycling on a bridge *designed for cycling*
 
It definitely makes more sense to regulate based on vehicle speed (or power class) than vehicle aesthetics. An e-bike may look like a bike, but it has a very different performance profile. I absolutely favor powered personal mobility devices, and am generally okay with sharing the lane on my self-powered bike. But if there is a concern about pedestrian safety, it's possible to be less blunt than simply banning wheeled vehicles.
 
What's interesting is that there's a few long tunnels in the Netherlands which require you to ride a bike rather than you to walk your bike.
 
Looks like they are getting ready to install some new tracks. So looking forward to this project being finished. Really miss my T station since it closed.
BCB10952-C686-4A6D-A510-E8DC3A86EE32.jpeg
 
It looks like they're tucking the Gilman platform slab in for the winter. An interesting mix of temperature blankets and it looks like a water-shedding tent?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top