Bicycle fail along Comm. Ave. in Newton
2011 December 13
Just weeks after Mayor Setti Warren announced a new city commitment to bicycle accommodations in Newton, the reconstruction project on Commonwealth Ave. (between Grant Ave. and the Boston city line) comes to a completion … without bicycle accommodations. They are doing the final striping as I type, and there are no accommodations. No dedicated bicycle lane westbound (where there is no parking to compete with). No extra wide parking shoulder eastbound.
Business as usual. A squandered opportunity.
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Apparently, it’s the fault of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A recent email from Newton’s Commissioner of Public Works to a Bike Newton Steering Committee member said the City of Newton pushed for bike lanes on the project, but the Commonwealth rejected the idea because of their requirements for bicycle and auto lane widths. The Commonwealth did paint the center line in a position such that bike lanes will be possible. The Commissioner intends to paint bike lanes after the Commonwealth cedes control of the project (next year) to Newton.