Who would want to be out in this cold and wet? Why should we build infrastructure for people to bike, run, walk, or do anything but drive?
In writing about Heartbreak Hill and the current push for marathon training, the Boston Globe writes:
Thanks to a happy accident in Newton’s street plan, those 4 infamous miles on Commonwealth Avenue — stretching from a firehouse on the corner of Washington Street to the campus of Boston College — are paralleled by a small carriage road. It provides drivers with access to the stately homes on the north side of Comm. Ave., and runners with a protective corridor where they can run the hills over and over again, many in large groups.
Imagine that. People who are outside during the harshest part of winter on a protected lane in the heart of Newton. Oh, and one more thing: snow removal helps.
Vitally important is the fact that it is well plowed. Training for the Marathon means running in winter, when snow renders sidewalks unusable and runners are forced to choose between the monotony of a track or treadmill, or the tight confines of street traffic. Newton gets rave reviews from runners for its attention to the carriage road. (A city official said they try to plow every road well, but are aware of the increased foot traffic on the carriage road.)
But hey, let’s not build any more of these because no one uses them. This must be why the path along the Charles is covered with ice, making any kind of running, walking, or biking nearly impossible. Why would you need it when there is a perfectly good road nearby?
You could have written a post about protected lanes without the smug attitude.
I noticed that on my drive in the morning on Beacon St heading towards BC from Newton Center the number of runners who had to run in the street due to the snow and ice on the sidewalks. Thankfully this section is wide enough at times so there is that (but also a 35 mph speed limit, so if a crash does occur, it’ll be bad)
This carriage road is also where I run when there is snow/ice. Snow/ice removal is too damn inconsistent on the sidewalks and makes for dangerous running.
We pay millions in snow removal for the roads, and yet homeowners are responsible for clearing the sidewalks. Why don’t we do both? Or rather, why don’t we have the city do the clearing of sidewalks too?
There is a (very) long paper here about the law subsidizing driving in many explicit and implicit ways here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3345366
Summary here: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/03/06/heres-how-driving-is-encouraged-and-subsidized-by-law/
Because a plow can’t go 30+ mph on a sidewalk. It would take a week or more for the city to clear the sidewalks, even if they had enough equipment.
The plow is lucky if it can go 5 mph.
We should all be so lucky as to live on Comm Ave with a carriage lane.
Reposting a great comment from the Streets blog about sidewalk plowing:
“Yes, absolutely, sidewalk snow clearance should be a tax-supported public responsibility. (Who can I beg to please tax me already for sidewalk plowing?)
Because in most cities, sidewalks are public property. If the public has a right to use them, then the public has a duty to maintain them. Sidewalks are not private property.
Nowhere else in municipal administration do we require private individuals to maintain public property. You are not required to personally fix the hydrant in front of your house if it springs a leak. You are not personally required to replace the bulb if the streetlight in front of your house burns out. You are not personality required to replace the stop sign in front of your house if someone knocks it over.
Imagine how badly our cities would function if we managed all public property & right-of-ways the way we manage sidewalks. Wanna drive to work in the winter? Buy your own plow, buddy.”
Some of us remember when the city plowed the sidewalks. What a concept! What are they doing with the money we save (d) them?
@pat Irwin
Some of us remember that the city plowed a FEW sidewalks, near schools. I’ve been here nearly 40 years, near Horace Mann school and my sidewalk has never been plowed. Ever.
Guys, get a grip. Besides, the amount of gas those things would burn will add to climate change. You really want 100+ sidewalk plows out after every storm?
What exactly is your point, Chuck?
To be a bit of a devil’s advocate here if you had protected bike lanes how would they be cleared of snow? The carriage lane is a road sized way thus normal plows clear it. The roads are generally too narrow to fit that size of a bike lane. Would you use the sidewalk plow to plow a smaller protected way? I’ve found that the sidewalk plows don’t always leave the cleanest surface..chunks of snow/ice or sometimes thin coats of ice. What happens to the roadway snow when you have the protected lane? Does the street get even narrower? I’m all for making the city safe for those who are able to bike and walk but you can’t disregard where we live.
This laughable!!
You’re trying to make a case for walkability and bikeability, referencing article after a sunny, mid-40’s afternoon, about fit people (runners) and fitter people (training for the marathon)??
What about families with kids, their countless activities and errands to run? What about the elderly?
EVERYONE enjoys walking, running and biking…recreationally. Otherwise the horse and buggy would not have invented.
And no matter how many (unused, lightly used, or SEASONALLY used) bike lanes are carved out of the already narrow, winding cow paths that are the roads of Eastern Massachusetts, this is New England, not San Diego.
⛈❄️☃️☔️
☀️⛅️
♀️♂️
PS. It’s currently snowing outside. Anyone want to ride their bikes to Wegman’s?
Matt! YOU’VE SOLVED IT!
Let’s get rid of the carriage lane, turn Comm Ave. into a 4-lane road, just like Washington Street! Then the cars from Chestnut Hill can get to Auburndale that much faster.
Didn’t say that, did I Chuckie?
Just commenting your absurd assumption that what someone enjoys recreationally is the same as their standard mode of transport.
And here I thought we were supposed to be this bucolic 1950’s village.
I’ve been making my 5th header walk to school every morning for years! I didn’t realize that only the fit and fitter used the sidewalks and carriage roads in the winter.
…maybe I need to give up my job so I can drive him to school and his countless activities? We’d been discussing getting him his own bus pass so he could use the 553 et.al. to get places, but that doesn’t seem to be on-line with what’s done here…
/sarcasm
/while I am an employee of the MBTA the above is my own personal opinion (and sarcasm) and is not a statement of the Authority.
@anne, I think it’s GREAT that your 5th grader walks to school. Our 8th grader takes the bus as well and has been doing so since the 1st grade. And I take the T into Boston every workday.
What I am TIRED of – and this by no means directed at you – is assertion that one size fits all.
As a society, we need to reduce our carbon footprint, but let’s be sure we do it in strategic areas that will actually work.
Unfortunately, not everyone gets to post one-sided views on Village14, and some of those who can appear to believe we should all petal around on a snowy day like today.
And how do all those folks who train on the carriage lane get there? They DRIVE, of course!
Chuck, as you well know, we’re a society that uses autos as its main mode of transportation, not bikes or our feet. Commonwealth Avenue works perfectly well with one lane in each direction (plus the carriage lane). Washington Street is a very different kind of thoroughfare, and in order for those of us who live in West Newton to travel east (and back again) without gridlock it must remain 2 lanes in both directions. I respect all the well-meaning people who are suggesting that it should be narrowed, and I understand that it sounds good theoretically, but in reality it’s not going to work. So let’s keep Comm Ave one lane in each direction and Washington St 2 lanes in each direction and move forward in a way that addresses the actual needs of Newton residents, not some pie-in-the-sky notion that suddenly if more spiffy new bike lanes are painted on our roads that there’ll be more than the current handful of daily bike riders using them.
Oh and if anyone wants to discuss live… you can find me running 3 days a week either on the carriage roads in question, and throughout Upper Falls, Highlands and Waban… AFTER it warms up another 10 degrees. Perhaps next week or the week after. #SPRINGWEATHER
I do my cardio indoors during the winter. Going to start that workout now…then driving to Wegman’s to get rough 6 bags (recyclable) of groceries for the week.
Chuck, I like the use of “attitude” in this situation. I’m a pro with light sarcasm when I’m worn out with the same made-up, unsubstantiated problems that keep being repeated every time certain subjects are brought up. Particularly when I’ve reached the point of exhaustion with trying to explain the subject.
MMQC, while I agree that there are times when Chuck can be a know-it-all, it’s generally when he does or thinks he does. Since I agree with him on this point, it’s OK with me. Not fair? No place for snowflakes on V14 and I’ve read a few arrogant posts from you too.
Sometimes when dealing with an abundance of “attitude” from the chorus on V14, repeating the same ole same ole, it’s a way to express your frustration without saying anything inappropriate.
Chuck, I would also like to see more off-street bike paths as they have in Holland. Your heart is in the right place. But pointing to Heartbreak Hill as a reason to maintain pedestrian/bike paths is like pointing to South Station as a reason to build Acela train stations. These are unique, high-traffic nodes, and conditions will not be the same elsewhere.
@Newton Highland Mom and others make a good point that sidewalks aren’t as well suited for plowing. How then to make a good separated biking facility year-round? BU is just finishing beautiful lanes which I believe are asphalt paved. Sure, they’ll have to invest more $ to clear them, but I think they’ll be a huge success. Another more affordable way is parking-protected lanes, which can be cleared along with the roadway. Unfortunately, those entrusted with maintaining public safety in Newton lobbied against a very good protected lane design in West Newton Square. There aren’t many other opportunities for parking-protected facilities in Newton given road widths. The Washington Street corridor is one. Another which carries significant bike traffic is Beacon Street in front of BC. For a fraction of the cost, BC can pitch in and encourage biking like BU.
Adam, I was just thinking what a shame it was that easily maintained parking protected bike lanes were removed from the West Newton design. It would have been great and could still be great for the rest of Washington Street.
There will be protected bike lanes on the redesigned Needham Street by raising them to sidewalk height. These have all worked in parts of Cambridge which also is in eastern MA and has narrow streets.
No one is wanting to go to extremes. No one is taking away our cars. Basically just adding options.
I’m tired of the strawman argument that investing in safe biking facilities only makes sense if everyone rides a bike. Complete Streets means all modes of transportation must be accommodated safely, and while it may mean a disproportionate investment sometimes to gain some small amount of modal shift, that shift helps all users. Getting just a small amount of people out of their cars can mean a lot less congestion for motorists at peak hours.
It’s worth noting that to date, most of the investment for bicycle facilities in Newton has been relatively cheap: a few engineering designs, one signal, and a little extra paint.
Shhh. Don’t tell anyone, but when the dinosaurs in city government catch up with the rest of the civilized world, the unprotected bike lanes in West Newton Square could become protected bike lanes, just by using some paint.
A photo from this morning’s run:
http://newtonwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/exported-IMG_0365-1024×768.jpg
The carriage road is a Newton treasure for winter running.
I think we do need to consider the 1st paragraph of the story:
“The Newton Hills…. for marathoners, there is nothing nice about those three words. Many even add a word, giving it a middle name that cannot be printed in this newspaper. For those four hills — which sit between miles 17 and 21 of the Boston Marathon course, culminating in the infamous “Heartbreak Hill” — are where marathon dreams go to die.”
Newton isn’t as flat as the Netherlands unfortunately, which is a barrier to our adopting the pervasive every-day cycling culture they have there. Even the lime e-bikes struggle in many of our neighborhoods.
I did go for a run recently in a small Belgium town. I ran about 3 miles out of town on a spoke road bike path and it was entirely clear the day of a storm. They had a narrow tractor plow for it.
It’s helpful to remember the little things that have large effects 20, 50, 100 years down the line. Like keeping the carriage road on Comm Ave.
For example, are there standards/codes that specify a minimum width for sidewalks? Can we consciously push for wider sidewalks to accommodate other forms of transportation – which then have secondary effects (more place to dump snow when it happens, allowing for wider walking paths)?
Can we make parking meters (much) more expensive while at the same time constructing parking areas/garages near town centers? Or, with self-driving in the future, creating pickup/dropoff zones only? This is prime real estate and should be priced as such.
I get that it’s not feasible to do this in all areas, but we need to keep non-drivers equal to if not higher than vehicles.
Last sentence was poorly phrased: I meant keeping the priority of non-drivers equal to if not higher than drivers.
Some quick thoughts.
I recall when horse drawn plows cleared most of the sidewalks in our neighborhood. Of course, the sidewalks and roadways were in much better shape than they are today.
I have shoveled my sidewalk after every storm this winter and so have just about all of my neighbors as well. Despite these fine examples of civic pride, people going to the Eliot T stop still walk in the street. I, do as well. The reason is quite simple. The City plows and salts the roadway quite evenly so there is generally little or no ice. Most homeowners simply don’t salt and sand and those that do apply it unevenly.
Matt Lai questions “one size fits all “kind of thinking where transit and traffic are concerned. I’d also apply that to our impatience with the City’s snow removal effort. Light and fluffy snow of any depth is a breeze for both homeowners and the City. The problem (and I see this with increasing frequency as climate change takes hold) is when a heavy wet snow is quickly followed by a deep polar freeze that ices everything before it can be removed.
Some of the back and forth between bicycle proponents and opponents comes off as a bit churlish and childish and I’ve seen plenty of instances where both bicyclists and motorists make boneheaded moves that just narrowly avoid disaster. Bicyclists have an awful habit of running red lights and I’ve seen instances where impatient motorists try to harass bicyclists who are doing nothing wrong.
NB. I know it’s not nice to generalize, but the ones I’ve encountered are young and middle age males driving a black pickup truck or a BMW.
I was standing on a side walk when a 20 year old young lady (someone’s child) was crushed by a truck because of absent planning or bicycle lanes. The driver of the truck was distraght as she bled out on the asphault under his back wheel. The bus driver following him witnessed it and was clearly traumatized… and despite my training as a doctor… I was helpless. I do not have an abstract perspective of this topic. The white ghost bikes (including hers in Inman Square) around town tell the concrete story of when convenience and safety find themselves in opposition. The arugment of “people should just drive” is as unsuitable a response as “people should just bike.” My child is one of hundreds who walk or bike daily to FA Day school. There is no safe route or bike lane to help them deal with drivers who have a legitimate demand for road-territory. Many drivers would love for people getting to work on foot or by bike to have a safe place to be. However, from the responses to this article, there are plenty of drivers in Newton still willing to trade oil for blood.
@Jack
Thanks for that image of Beaumont and the CR in the winter, when stepping off that curb in ice and snow is in itself dangerous. And YES, cyclists, runners and walkers use this road and path ALL YEAR ROUND, in all types of weather, when it’s light out and when darkness sets in at 4pm.
I’ve been advocating for a curb cut for years that cyclists could use; I’ve been advocating for an ADA curb cut there for the pedestrians and runner; I’ve also been advocating for a painted line or some mechanism that would keep the turning vehicles a few feet from the curb to protect runners and bicyclists stepping off the curb. Cars quickly make that turnaround. I had the city a few years back cut back those forsythia bushes, so that runners stepping off the curb and bicyclists could be seen before they hit the road.
There is a design in place, from the Transportation Division, that would add curb cuts to both sides of Beaumont and also both sides of Lake — but the usual thing is funding.
This particular intersection is only a few blocks from NNHS. Everybody wants their kids to get to school safely, but when it comes to paying for it, that’s another story. All sorts of arguments come into play. Bottom line is there are runners, many of whom are the HS teams out practicing, many of whom are regular “adult” people like you and me, and there are cyclists, who are regular people like you and m, and who are kids like Dave’s.
@Jane — Great point. Lack of a curb cut is a big issue there. Cyclists navigating onto the path in round about ways creates safety issues with cars entering from comm ave.
As well cleared as the carriage road is, that particular stretch isn’t kept as clear and drives runners and cyclists onto comm ave in snowy weather and the aftermath. A curb cut might allow it to be plowed as a road rather than a sidewalk. There is also a stretch adjacent to the pond and up on Center street that have similar issues.
Unrelated note — when did Newton do away with sanding? Probably very good for environment and costs.
I commute everyday by bike from Newton Center to Cambridge, in all weather conditions – sunshine, dark of night, rain, snow, cold, hot, whatever.
It’s just not a big deal.
When it’s cold, I wear a hat and gloves. When it’s rainy, I wear a rain jacket. When it’s icy, I have studded tires. When it’s dark, I have lights. Could it be better and safer? Sure. A big step would be to make sure the current road lines are painted, traffic signals are up to code, streets are swept and potholes are filled. The majority drivers are just fine. Every once in a while I experience a jerk on the road, but not so much lately.
I’m 57 years old and my commute provides me with welcomed physical activity two times a day in the great outdoors. It virtually costs me nothing. I bought a used bike on craigslist for $120 and my employer provides a $20 / month stipend for repair and maintenance costs. And, I can park next to the building I work for free. Although I can’t carry 5 shopping bags of groceries, I can easily carry a gallon of milk and two shopping bags worth in my two rear waterproof panniers.
If you have any interest in learning more about how to reduce your commuting/transportation costs, get more exercise to improve your health and well-being, and, yes, reduce your environmental impact, by biking, let me know. I’d be happy to help out.
-Tom Gloria