Biking in Boston

Several bike lane-related updates in Back Bay from a public meeting earlier this week:
  • Boylston St separated bike lane between Mass Ave and Arlington St starting construction soon
  • Berkeley St separated bike lane between Columbus Ave and Comm Ave happening sometime this year
  • Starting design on closing the gap with a separated bike lane project on Beacon St and Arlington St
  • Starting design on a two-way separated bike lane on Dartmouth St between Boylston St and Back St (connects to Esplanade footbridge)
Solid, safe, connected bike network taking shape in Back Bay that makes it easier for people outside the neighborhood to access it too.

Screenshot 2024-05-04 at 12.45.49 PM.png
 
lainpimicaja said:
Several bike lane-related updates in Back Bay from a public meeting earlier this week:
  • Boylston St separated bike lane between Mass Ave and Arlington St starting construction soon
  • Berkeley St separated bike lane between Columbus Ave and Comm Ave happening sometime this year
  • Starting design on closing the gap with a separated bike lane project on Beacon St and Arlington St
  • Starting design on a two-way separated bike lane on Dartmouth St between Boylston St and Back St (connects to Esplanade footbridge)
Solid, safe, connected bike network taking shape in Back Bay that makes it easier for people outside the neighborhood to access it too.

View attachment 50219
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What's the timeline on the Boylston St lane? I thought it was one of the 2023 mayoral commitments.

The one major missing link is southbound from Back Bay to South End:
  • Exeter-Stuart-Dartmouth: fine on Exetero, Exeter-Stuart movement is not good at all then Dartmouth it self is no good.
  • Clarendon not shown for anything
  • Arlington is scary with all the folks racing to be first in line on the pike or the expressway.
 
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as02143 said:
What's the timeline on the Boylston St lane? I thought it was one of the 2023 mayoral commitments.

The one major missing link is southbound from Back Bay to South End:
  • Exeter-Stuart-Dartmouth: fine on Exetero, Exeter-Stuart movement is not good at all then Dartmouth it self is no good.
  • Clarendon not shown for anything
  • Arlington is scary with all the folks racing to be first in line on the pike or the expressway.
Click to expand...
lainpimicaja said:
Several bike lane-related updates in Back Bay from a public meeting earlier this week:
  • Boylston St separated bike lane between Mass Ave and Arlington St starting construction soon
  • Berkeley St separated bike lane between Columbus Ave and Comm Ave happening sometime this year
  • Starting design on closing the gap with a separated bike lane project on Beacon St and Arlington St
  • Starting design on a two-way separated bike lane on Dartmouth St between Boylston St and Back St (connects to Esplanade footbridge)
Solid, safe, connected bike network taking shape in Back Bay that makes it easier for people outside the neighborhood to access it too.

View attachment 50219
Click to expand...
For the love of all that is holy, we need repaving before any lanes are installed. There is some attrocious pavement on Boylston and Dartmouth St (and Beacon) which is unrideable without a full-suspension mountain bike.
 
sneijder said:
For the love of all that is holy, we need repaving before any lanes are installed. There is some attrocious pavement on Boylston and Dartmouth St (and Beacon) which is unrideable without a full-suspension mountain bike.
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I hope they find a way to do some thing between Beacon Street (2018) with the majorly rough moon-like surface and Tremont Street (2023?) with the complete resurface and islands.
 
Koopzilla24 said:
View attachment 50274
The Carlton Bridge bike channels have still not been fixed
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Interesting. I always bike up and down the ramps, but I was there last week with a group of other riders, some of whom chose to use the bike channels. They seemed to work for these riders, but I really wasn't directly watching their activity. I didn't get a good look at this side of the bridge, but I agree that the pictured channel doesn't look to be correctly positioned. The other side looked right to me, though. At any rate, I'll have to actually try using them next time, because I had assumed it was all set.
 
Koopzilla24 said:
The Carlton Bridge bike channels have still not been fixed
Click to expand...

They did make some modifications after people complained - the poles supporting the handrails used to go straight down, but as you can see in the photo, they are now offset to the side, which helps with pedal clearance. Doesn't help handlebar clearance though. If by "fix" you mean moving the runnels away from the edges, my understanding is that would create a trip hazard for people who need to use the handrail for support.

I personally haven't had an issue using the runnels (even before the handrail modifications), I just tilt my bike/hold it at an angle as I roll, and sometimes also rotate my pedals so the side near the wall is higher up and therefore gains more clearance from the tilt, if that makes sense. But maybe that's just my bike.
 
pfd12 said:
They did make some modifications after people complained - the poles supporting the handrails used to go straight down, but as you can see in the photo, they are now offset to the side, which helps with pedal clearance. Doesn't help handlebar clearance though. If by "fix" you mean moving the runnels away from the edges, my understanding is that would create a trip hazard for people who need to use the handrail for support.

I personally haven't had an issue using the runnels (even before the handrail modifications), I just tilt my bike/hold it at an angle as I roll, and sometimes also rotate my pedals so the side near the wall is higher up and therefore gains more clearance from the tilt, if that makes sense. But maybe that's just my bike.
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Not had a problem with them too.
 
StreetsblogMASS said:
Hammond Pond Parkway road diet progress:

mass.streetsblog.org

Eyes On the Street: Less Pavement, More Park On Hammond Pond Parkway - Streetsblog Massachusetts

Earlier this week, StreetsblogMASS reader Aaron Lu shared some photos of the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Hammond Pond Parkway road diet, which is converting a a four-lane highway without any sidewalks into a calmer two-lane street with a separated 12-foot-wide shared-use path and...
mass.streetsblog.org mass.streetsblog.org
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Not gonna lie, I will miss the way it was from a driver's standpoint, but it's the right thing to do, no question.
 
FK4 said:
Not gonna lie, I will miss the way it was from a driver's standpoint, but it's the right thing to do, no question.
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AFAIK they're keeping the double left turn lane at the north end, and leaving a generous amount of 4-lane each way at the south end before it tapers to 2, so I expect the practical throughput won't really change at all.

There's a lot of road diets I'm not all that thrilled about, but this one seems pretty much like it has about zero drawbacks for car users either - actually looks like the throughput in the modeling is expected to marginally improve for cars on the northern end, so this may actually represent a very slight capacity increase.
 
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millerm277 said:
AFAIK they're keeping the double left turn lane at the north end, and leaving a generous amount of 4-lane each way at the south end before it tapers to 2, so I expect the practical throughput won't really change at all.

There's a lot of road diets I'm not all that thrilled about, but this one seems pretty much like it has about zero drawbacks for car users either - actually looks like the throughput in the modeling is expected to marginally improve for cars on the northern end, so this may actually represent a very slight capacity increase.
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Yeah, I don’t think it will impact traffic much, either. It’s just a driver, it’s always nice to have another lane. That’s just the way it is. On the other hand, there is a sort of specific pleasantness to driving on capacious, one lane greenways.

I think dealing with HPP south of here will be harder, but the low hanging fruit is Newton Street in Brookline… I’m surprised this hasn’t been lane dropped by this point, and it’s a segment that actually has houses on it, so it would make a meaningful difference to residents. Also, West Rox Pkwy between Newton St and South St could very easily be tightened up to accommodate fully protected bike lanes and then some.
 
FK4 said:
Yeah, I don’t think it will impact traffic much, either. It’s just a driver, it’s always nice to have another lane. That’s just the way it is. On the other hand, there is a sort of specific pleasantness to driving on capacious, one lane greenways.

I think dealing with HPP south of here will be harder, but the low hanging fruit is Newton Street in Brookline… I’m surprised this hasn’t been lane dropped by this point, and it’s a segment that actually has houses on it, so it would make a meaningful difference to residents. Also, West Rox Pkwy between Newton St and South St could very easily be tightened up to accommodate fully protected bike lanes and then some.
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I feel the same way about Clyde/Lee St in Brookline. The inconsistent sidewalk is a pain in the butt and there's a lot of opportunity there for improvements.
 
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