Bike Newton’s mission is to make biking in Newton safer and promote bicycling as a viable mode of transportation. The Bike Newton steering committee has voted to endorse the Northland development. We believe Northland will have a positive impact on the safety and viability of bicycling in Newton because it will:
Enhance Connections to the Upper Falls Greenway
Northland enhances connections from the Upper Falls Greenway, a one-mile path for walking and biking, that connects the upper falls neighborhood to Needham St.
As part of the special permit, Northland will contribute $5 million dollars to study converting the rail bridge into a bike path to Needham and a possible extension of the Green Line.
Newton was recently awarded $400,000 from the state to expand and improve the north and south ends of the Greenway, enhancing connections to Newton Highlands and Upper Falls. If Northland is rejected the city loses out on this money.
Provide 1,100 bike parking spaces
Northland will feature secure bike parking for 1,100 bikes for residents, employees, and customers.
Connect to Needham St. Protected Bike Lanes
Newton will be getting the city’s first protected bike lanes when Needham Street is reconstructed with sidewalk-level bike lanes. With these new protected bike lanes, getting to and from the site by bike will be a viable option for residents of Northland and surrounding neighborhoods.
Establish a Walkable and Bikeable neighborhood
Northland will create a new walkable, bikeable neighborhood designed according to complete streets principles which prioritizes slow car speeds and safe walking and biking.
Create Safe Crossing at Charlemont Street
As part of the project, Northland will construct a safe crossing at Charlemont Street featuring a pedestrian walk signal and a bike lane through the development.
The Bike Newton steering committee urges Newton residents who value the ability to move around safely by bike to vote “Yes” on the referendum on March 3rd.
Bike paths can be lined with unicorn dust and they will not have the levels of use envisioned, for a few reasons:
1. Northland – while it’s the talk of the town between now and March 3rd – is but one tiny sliver of Newton. Not reason enough for people to ditch their cars. Not even it’s future tenants.
2. How many grocery bags can one carry on a bike?
3. Newton still has winters, rain and is hilly.
Biking is not a reason it vote “Yes” but unresolved traffic, school, under-resourced city services and 8 story towers all remain reasons to vote “No”.
@Matt – There’s a whole world of gear out there. Weather’s not a problem. Day-to-day hauling (e.g. groceries, not washer/dryers), not a problem.
@Brendan – But cars are a problem. How do you build a neighborhood on the premise of the bike as a legitimate mode of transport, provide not 1 but 2 bikeable lanes running in parallel for 3/4 of a mile or so, and then have no real connections at either end? Lead enough bikes down the Greenway onto Curtis St. and it’s only a matter of time before someone is hit trying to turn onto Centre. No?
Hopefully if the Greenway connection to Curtis Street were to get built then it wouldn’t be too late to install a bidirectional cycle track underneath Route 9 on that same side of Winchester/Centre, along with safe passage up the Route 9 onramp and along Floral Street to the Highlands, so that cyclists wouldn’t have to cross Centre.
There’s already a dirt “desire path” up the Route 9 westbound onramp, and plenty of space to put in bike lanes, especially if the truncated downhill traffic lane were to be eliminated.
@Michael – In your best case scenario there, the folks going on and off Needham St. have safe passage to Walnut or Centre. (Though, I can’t tell from your response if the improvements on the streets are even included in the state grant amount, or that’s something for which money would still have to be found.) But the rest of Newton lies beyond, in all directions. What I’m looking for from Bike Newton is an assessment that bikes really can work at the Northland site **because it ties in with citywide plans to promote and support bike travel.** When can we expect a network of north/south and east/west protected – just give us bollards and green paint – across the city? Without that, a prettified 1 mile strip amounts to no more than hand waving.
@DW I love the way you are thinking about needing a “commitment from the city to promote and support bike travel”. This is one of several reasons I ran for City Council and left Bike Newton’s leadership in Brendan’s capable hands.
There is momentum in Newton for much better bike infrastructure. The Needham St. enhancements project will include protected bike lanes on the length of Needham St. and bike lanes into Needham. There will be a shared use path on Winchester under Route 9. West Newton is getting bike lanes (a mix of protected and door zone-we tried) and Washington St is going to have a trial of protected bike lanes from Chestnut St. to Lowell.
But you are correct. Without a network, huge changes in mode shift are difficult. Many people around the city are calling for making biking easier, which in itself is a culture change from even 5 years ago. At the first Open Space and Recreation Plan community meeting, one of the top ideas was for a very safe bike routes that enable people to get around the city by bike, to city parks and just for exercise. Safe Routes to School is working on identifying quiet, easy bike routes for middle school and high school students. Bike Newton presented at last week’s Public Safety and Transportation meeting the idea of creating Newton Neighborhood Greenways that would incorporate the OSRP idea and the work of SRTS, promote mobility for biking, walking, wheelchairs, scooters and more, and support a long-term goal of Bike Newton a “Climate Action Bike Plan”, a plan that gets more people biking, more frequently.
The city has committed to mode shift (more trips by walking, biking & transit) as a means to reduce congestion and address climate change (see Newton 2040 and the Newton Climate Action Plan). What they haven’t done formally YET is commit to a plan that will get us there. That is what we most definitely need next. In the meantime, let’s continue to support improving biking infrastructure.
@Councilor Bowman, good to hear from you. And, I’m more than delighted that you ran, won, and can advance the cause of biking in Newton. But government documents like the Climate Action Plan (http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/98185) make me skeptical. 72 pages, about 10 of those remotely resembling a plan – yes, background is necessary, but so is balance – and **a mere 4 words** about biking. I feel the optimism, but I don’t see political will or momentum. Until Bike Newton and the City do have broad-based bike plans, I think it’s premature to say a single, isolated, and densely populated real estate venture built on the idea of transportation alternatives is good for biking.
@matt just for the record, I regularly shop for my family of 5 on a bike, and I don’t have all that much by way of carrying gear (just 2 bags on my rear rack). In the past I had “grocery hauler” that had a nice big basket and I’d get 5 grocery bags in there without much effort. There is also an emergence of electric assist bikes that, I’m told, are amazing for making hills disappear. If you have questions I’d suggest stopping in at City Hall and talking with Dana Hanson in the Mayor’s office. She rides hers every day regardless of the weather.
A number of families have turned to cargo bikes that can seat multiple children as well as groceries. One of my regrets is not buying one when my kids were younger. When you pair that added capacity with an electric assist, the results are just amazing.
All these options are far cheaper to buy and own than a second car. And they accomplish the goal: eliminating car TRIPS.
Irrespective of Northland — the bike path running parallel to Needham Street has immense potential that is neutered by lack access between the Greenway and the main drag. From the entrance on Easy Street to about 2/3 of the way to Oak Street there’s nothing but a long, continuous line of cyclone fencing on both sides.
Want to cycle to the pet shop, or to buy a donut, or (to add insult to injury) get to the area bike shop? Too bad — cycle through car traffic.
Someone with a bad attitude, a pair of wire cutters and no respect for the law could solve that issue in about 15 minutes. But it would be nicer if abutters could agree to open more points of access to the Greenway.
@Michael are you talking about your wishes or is there an actual plan to eliminate the downward section of the RT 9 on ramp from Floral? Floral is one way at that point …would the bikers be going vs traffic or are you foreseeing some type of bike lane allowing them to do so?
@Dulles, while I admire your diestablishmentarianism, I disagree about the lack of access. The only stretch of impenetrable fencing is the 1,000 feet behind Avalon and the DPW. But Avalon has a gate at its western end next to Newton Nexus (Stop & Shop), and don’t tell anybody, but somebody handy with wirecutters has already opened a hole in the eastern end of that fence. Otherwise there’s pretty easy access to both sides for the rest of the path’s length.
@NHM, the cycle track up the ramp and down Floral St. Is just me dreaming, AFIK.
To learn more information about the Northland Newton development, please visit: https://www.northlandnewtondevelopment.com/