Harris Cyclery closes its doors
This slipped by me, but apparently, a staple of West Newton Square has closed its doors. Harris Cyclery’s website says that it closed this past weekend. From the website Dear friends – We, Harris Cyclery of West Newton, Mass., have come to the moment of saying...
Big transportation changes near the Waltham line
A number of changes have taken place in the northern portion of the city, all for the better as far as I’m concerned. First and foremost is the paving work that the city completed on Crafts Street between North Street and Waltham Street. This fresh, smooth...
MAPC to Newton: Here’s where you need to build bike lanes
Massachusetts Area Planning Council recently completed a report that looks at ridership of Lime bikes since they came into the market in 2018. There is a lot here and I’m not going to unpack all of it. I suggest reading it not only for the facts, but for how...Darkness descends: safety and the return of standard time
A quick public service announcement from Newton’s Transportation Advisory Group! Sunday November 3 marks the end of Daylight Saving Time. This change means that sunset, which is already sadly early, will now take place at 4:37PM. The earliest sunset happens on...
Lime Bikes or Blue?
Newtonians may be seeing blue shared bikes around the city, StreetsBlog reports. The bike share program, run by Lyft, already provides dock-based service in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville and is negotiating to add service in a number of nearby suburbs, including Newton.
Covered bike parking at NNHS!
Some lucky Newton North bike commuters are about to get the best bike parking: covered spaces! As the father of a son who bikes there regularly, this is welcome news. It’s the result of a lot of hard work by Alicia Bowman in her role as President of Bike...Meet the WYMPS!
Here’s a nice Newton-based story that aired on WBZ recently.
Newton drivers flunk Bike Newton’s red cup test
From today’s Boston Globe:
At around 6:30 a.m. last Friday, members of Bike Newton placed a line of red Solo cups along the buffer zone separating the bike lane on Beacon Street from the cars driving by on the left.
By 7:30 a.m., many of those cups had been crushed by passing vehicles.
Sadly the scene at 7:30 am. There is no reason cups should have been knocked over. No vehicle should have been driving in the buffer. This is the most direct route for people biking into downtown. It needs protection. (Yes we have picked up all the cups and will recycle) pic.twitter.com/dhj97cad7g
— Bike Newton 🚲 #mobilitylanes #2019Goals (@BikeNewton) April 26, 2019
Lime Bikes ditches traditional pedals for ebikes
Lime Bikes is now only renting electric-powered models ebikes, which use a small motor to give riders a boost as they accelerate or go up a hill, the Boston Globe reports.
But the switch will come with one big drawback for riders: the electric bikes are more expensive. According to the company’s app, they cost $1 at the start and 15 cents a minute, compared to $1 for 30 minutes on a traditional bike.
Eric Bourassa, transportation director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional agency that organized the bike-rental system, said the
What should be Newton’s transportation priorities?
Back in 2014 Mexico City’s mayor announced a new mobility law that dramatically revamped its transportation priorities and, in turn, future policies. The law — illustrated by the diagram here — established a mobility hierarchy that shaped the...
Laredo on traffic and parking
City Council President Marc Laredo shared some thoughts about traffic and parking in an email to campaign supporters (and also let them know that he will be seeking reelection). Here’s the portion of his email about traffic and parking.
Dear Friends:
I hope that you and your families are doing well and looking forward to spring!
In this update, I will focus on two interrelated issues that are a source of continued frustration for Newton residents – traffic and parking.
As I travel through the city, whether walking, running, biking or driving, it is readily apparent that we have a lot of automobile traffic. At times, it is difficult to walk or bike safely, and parking can be limited. So what should we do?
We need to promote safe walking and bicycling and the use of mass transit. Yet, at the same time, we should acknowledge that
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
drivers man be like