If you had one suggestion to improve the cycling environment in Newton, what would it be?
Your chance to share comes Monday, Sept. 15, 6:30 pm at the War Memorial!
The third-annual Newton Bicycle Update will feature presentations from Transportation Director Bill Paille, Traffic Sgt. Jay Babcock, and others actively involved in improving bicycle safety in the city.
Learn about new and planned bike lanes and other street improvements, two-wheeled events like the Tour de Newton,bikes at schools, counts and crash numbers, enforcement of the bicycle laws, and more.
Do you ride? Would you like to? How are the roads? What would make you feel safe on two wheels?
After getting back from a week of happily and peacefully riding around Paris on a tandem bicycle with my wife, preceded by a week in Montreal earlier this summer, I have to say that riding a bike in the Boston metropolitan area has got to be one of the most depressing exercises in stress inducement ever conceived.
Every single trip revolves around trying to decide which path will incur the least risk to life.
If I want to get into Boston, do I contend with the lunatic Beacon St. drivers trying to race me when the bike lane cuts out (multiple times) in Brookline? Or do I risk life and limb by trying to cut over Vine St. to the “bike lanes” of VFW Parkway (modestly upgraded from their previous incarnation as breakdown lanes along a high-speed highway)? Or maybe Hammond St. to…Route 9? (I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a cyclist on Route 9.) Or maybe Comm. Av. with its delightful but only one-way (outbound) carriage lane…
Changing things for the better will be an uphill battle against people with very little common sense. Kind of like my bike ride this evening into Needham, up hill to the Kendrick St. bridge where every motorist feels the need to jockey for position at 50 mph coming into the lane drop.
Oh, Lachine Canal bike path, far from the traffic jams, and rue de Rennes, with your wide bike lane and genuinely sensible Parisian drivers, how I miss you.
Michael, the Newton Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force guides riders on a convoy from Newton to downtown Boston for Bike Fridays once a month during warmer weather. We ride more safely via the Charles River paths – slightly longer distance, but far more beautiful and enjoyable. You can find our route detailed on http://www.bikefridays.org, and check out our web site at newtonbikeped.org We also ride a tandem! George
Thanks George, I’ll check it out! “Ça va pédaler!” as the Parisians liked to shout at our tandem…
To tell you the truth I’d like very much to be able to take the Charles River paths on a more regular basis but living in the southern part of town it would mean having to pass through the circle of death at Exit 17. Also the (non-)crossing at Soldiers Field Rd. and Cambridge St. (by the Doubletree Hotel) is, for the time being at least, ridiculously dangerous.
But putting aside my whining I’m grateful to the task force because for the most part, Newton has done a better job than Brookline or Needham for example. So I’m looking forward to the Bike Fridays once they start back up next year – and at least every year the cycling infrastructure in greater Boston gets a little bit better, so maybe we’ll eventually get over the hump and cyclists won’t have to weigh the risk to their lives presented by the different paths in and out of town.
Thank you to Lois Levin for running a great program last night. And thanks to a great set of presenters, including Alicia Bowman, Bill Paille, George Kirby, John Pelletier, Steve Heinrichs, Tom Gloria, Julian Phillips, Newton PD Officers Dawn Fleming, Dan Devine, and Sargeant Jay Babcock. And thank you to Aldermen Ruthanne Fuller and Vicki Danberg for taking time out of a busy schedule to attend and comment. The update in a nutshell: Newton has made good strides on bike facilities, still has enormous potential for improvement, and has a Director of Transportation in Bill Paille who is excited and enthusiastic to move forward on a range of bike facilities and programs. Let’s continue to give Bill the resources and support he needs to move Newton forward on active transportation.
@Nathan – Were there any specific projects that were discussed?