Given limited resouces, what % of residents are affected by this in January?
0.0625% or 0.00625% ?
Now, if the company newton uses for snow removal is contractually obligated to fix, then yes… it should be fixed
I would rather see resouces dedicated to fix a litany of existing longstanding issues (potholes, dying trees etc)
Newtoner
on January 23, 2022 at 4:23 pm
What’s the point of this post?
Adam
on January 23, 2022 at 5:08 pm
Bugek, yes, curb-to-curb might be in the contract, and it’s not just for cyclists, but for very practical reasons of drainage. If the curbs and drains are blocked, ice can form on the roadway.
Slightly off topic, but I remember the outrage when the new traffic plan was put in place. Change is hard. And yeah, it was a bit of a mess before the road paint was finished, but as someone who drives through there often and thinks it’s ok, I have to wonder, are people still angry, or was it just an adjustment period?
Bugek
on January 23, 2022 at 5:39 pm
If not in contract, It should be added to contract this year and aggressively enforced(with financial penalties)
Problem solved
Bugek
on January 23, 2022 at 5:42 pm
Assuming the contract is set for bid, i’m sure many companies are vying for the job with the new clause (with negligible increase in price)
Mary Mary Quite Contrary
on January 23, 2022 at 5:52 pm
People still seem angry. I saw a whole thread about it on Facebook just a few days ago.
Mike Halle
on January 23, 2022 at 7:01 pm
But the time between angry Facebook threads is getting longer. 🙂
I drove through the other day and found it much better now that the lines have been painted.
Donald Ross
on January 23, 2022 at 7:14 pm
I ride my bike to work most days, and have been doing this since way before it was cool. Sheldon Brown was my guru.
This is a little ice on the shoulder. If anybody should find it an issue, it would be the drivers who are stuck behind me / have to go around. But IME they’re pretty understanding because they can see the problem with their own eyes.
This is just riding a bike in New England in winter. It’s actually pretty good compared to what it could be.
Bob Jampol
on January 23, 2022 at 7:24 pm
Maybe so, but I do bike almost every day all year round, and it would be great if city policy involved keeping the bike paths and road shoulders clear of frozen leaves and ice. By the way, you’d be surprised to know how many high school students bike to both high schools even in the winter. Bicycles are growing in popularity, the naysayers notwithstanding.
Charles Tanowitz
on January 23, 2022 at 7:45 pm
I agree with Donald above, I end up going around it.
But that’s kind of the problem. To even decide to cycle in these conditions means you must be willing to battle traffic. This is a main reason why people don’t do it, even if they’d be otherwise willing.
The other issue that emerges in the spring is the broken asphalt on the shoulders (thanks, in part, to the freezing and thawing of this kind of “snow clearing.” Anyone try biking on Craft Street? It’s nearly impossible as you pass North Street headed for Watertown Street. I get forced into traffic all the time.
Jane H
on January 23, 2022 at 8:24 pm
Amy,
In the short run, I would suggest you 311 this ASAP and include your photos. In the long run….
Steve Runge
on January 31, 2022 at 8:14 pm
Debris is at least as much a problem as snow & ice in the winter.
Doug Cornelius
on January 23, 2022 at 9:04 pm
As Chuck and Donald said, its the drivers who are going to be grumpy. I have to move into traffic which is less safe for me and impedes traffic.
Of course it affects a small number of bikers. That number will stay small as long as the city is ignores (or is worse, hostile to) cyclists and cycling infrastructure.
It’s a general sign of maintenance and care being solely focused on cars to the detriment of other methods of transportation. How many corners are piled up with snow, blocking pedestrians? All over the place in my neighborhood.
Elmo
on January 24, 2022 at 11:44 am
Looks like the business of impeding property development must be slow for Ms. Sangiolo. Or perhaps this is just a case of diversification of interests. Regardless, identifying this crucial issue is certainly a service to the community.
Richard C Frank
on January 24, 2022 at 12:29 pm
I’m in favor of improving biking – I biked for many years when I was younger and commuted down watertown street where I picked up the bike path and went down to western ave where the office was.
In my 60s now I no longer feel safe enough; And I have too many doctor / dentist appointments that interrupt my day, whereas in my younger days my schedule was much more predictable, even with young kids.
That said, I have seen 0 bicyclists using the new infrastructure in West Newton. I live near there, and I drive through that intersection a lot, if not every day, then 4 or 5 times a week. At many different times of day.
I have seen zero bicyclists through that intersection since the day it was more or less finished; Including the weird little elevated thing in front of Sweet Tomatoes.
A fair amount of money was spent on that intersection, including bicycle specific lights, etc.
I hope if you build it, they will come. I was walking along Washington Street this AM ( around 8:45) down from West Newton and I saw one teenager on a bike with a backpack, probably going to Newton North. Where was he? On the sidewalk. And I don’t blame him. When, 30 years ago, I was biking to work I took the sidewalk in a bunch of places, particularly in Nonantum (the bike path hadn’t been extended back then).
Bill Koss
on January 24, 2022 at 2:16 pm
I just go around it. I biked 25 miles yesterday morning and I think the excessive salt and people running in the bike lane are more of problem. I was westbound on Beacon near the BC Hill and there were two runners in the bike lane, which only makes me have to swing out into the car lane when the side walk is perfectly clear for runners. I ran into two more near the Waban Dentistry. Whatever…if you bike in the winter you expect crap on the roads, piles of snow/ice, lots of salt and debris scattered around. It is winter biking. As we get closer to April, the runners on Beacon and Comm make it less desirable as a biking route and easier to just head west into Weston, Concord and Harvard.
So…is “going around” it really the optimal way to have to deal with new infrastructure designed to encourage cyclists? Surely, when this was designed, the issue of maintenance and budgeting for it was taken into account….
Adam
on January 24, 2022 at 8:24 pm
Amy, I’m not sure I see the connection. This seems like an operational issue, but you’re trying to pin it on the design? the budget? Maybe, like any other plowing route in the system, the supervisor just needs to follow up with a new operator and try to improve for the next storm. Did you file a 311 report?
@Adam: I’m trying to link the need to ensure that maintenance and upkeep are taken into consideration and budgeted when designing a project that is supposed to be a benefit. It’s not a benefit if it isn’t doing what it is designed to do – protect cyclists from traffic and if because it has not been properly plowed and forces bikers into traffic – is it not doing what it was designed to do? I’m not a biker – so no, I did not file a 311 report. My post was a real question – is this a problem for winter bikers? Apparently, all of the winter bikers don’t seem to care – they just do what they are used to doing, go into traffic,
Jane H
on January 24, 2022 at 10:39 pm
Amy,
… and some of us take photos and enter them into 311, and make a request. I have made many 311 requests regarding snow plowing & also spoken to many DPW employees out in the field, about certain nearby locations that are not plowed for cyclists or pedestrians and that need to be – and if it’s on their route they drive off (in their plows) and take care of it, and it’s also taken care of (ie plowed) for subsequent snows.
Mike Halle
on January 25, 2022 at 1:38 am
Right now we don’t have a complete bike network. To a large extent, we are building it opportunistically: when a new project is designed, Newton includes bike lanes if it can. That’s why bike lanes stop and start at the edge of projects. That means the people who are riding on Newton’s roads are generally comfortable riding in traffic, at least when necessary, even if that’s not their preference.
Ultimately, our bike network should be able to accommodate and encourage bicyclists of a wide range of abilities. However, those rides who aren’t comfortable in traffic are going to emerge later over time as we build more complete routes. Or, alternatively, they’ll continue to ride on the sidewalk because they believe that’s safer (which is may or may not be, and it risks pedestrian safety).
In particular, winter riding self-selects for experienced riders. Hardier bicyclists tend to be experienced bicyclists, and experienced bicyclists are safer and more comfortable in traffic. Since winter riding almost always entails some roads that have snow on their edges and limited lane width, bike lanes or no, most winter riders accept the situation as a fact of life. Most inexperienced fair weather riders stay home.
Combine all these things together with the fact that Newton doesn’t yet have many plows that can work on sidewalks and on-street and protected bike lanes. Now you’ve got bike lanes that may be uncleared after the snow and experienced riders who already have to deal with sub-optimal riding conditions and who will just avoid a blocked lane and ride in traffic.
That’s where we are, not where we want to be. The city will need to gain experience and capability to clear its bicycle facilities in an efficient and timely manner. That, like the expanding bike network, takes time.
Bill Koss
on January 25, 2022 at 8:01 am
I agree with Mike’s comments. If you are an experienced bike rider that tends to bike fast, you are comfortable riding in traffic. I think the protected bike lanes are restrictive. I know the recreational ride prefer the protected lanes, but I dislike them. I do find the painted bike lane to be helpful, not so much for me, but for the drivers. Just having the lanes painted on the street helps the drivers to keep spacing and alignment. Remove the lines and drivers tend to favor the right side of the road, where a biker would be riding. The weird bike lanes that become a sidewalk like the ones installed around Trio, or in Watertown and Cambridge are obstacle to any serious rider. I prefer to ride in traffic where I am not restricted as to how and where I can turn or maneuver. Again…I realize this is not true for all riders. The best bike lanes built in Europe (e.g. Netherlands) are built to support faster riding and regular maintenance. In the US, we are no where close to this level. We are just figuring out how to create a bike lane and often we build it with obstacles like inclines, cars parked on the left side which encourages people to just walk across the bike lane without looking and strange street crossings for these interior protected lanes that cars turning cannot see a rider. To each their own, but if you are strong rider it is easier to ride with the car traffic.
Donald Ross
on January 25, 2022 at 9:33 am
Great comments from @Bill and @Mike. To push this a bit farther… While Amy may be presenting herself as an ally in this context, her position reveals an underlying subtle bigotry that assumes that automotive transit comes first and hopefully we can work you bikers in around the cars.
The reason that this “snow in the bike lane” “issue” is a non-issue to me is that I believe that I am – as a biker – 100% entitled to use the entire lane. I ride as far to the right as practical as a courtesy to my fellow road users. But if “as far to the right as practical” is moved six feet left because of snow and ice? It is what it is; I have no problem using the middle of the lane (and TBH I’ve never had a car behind me that didn’t understand the situation). It’s insulting to cyclists to paint markings on the road and then pretend that we’re beholden to those markings regardless of the practicality of the situation.
Amy makes it clear how she feels about bike lanes on her website:
“Build a cohesive bicycle network throughout the city, ****so bicyclists can share the road and travel safely without impeding the flow of traffic for motorists****.”
She’s all for building bike lanes not for the benefit of cyclists, but to ensure that they not dare impede the flow of traffic for motorists.
At the end of the day, this is a total non-issue. Riding a bike in the winter in New England is an experience. You have to embrace the conditions and do your best. It’s not something that I would put a lot of effort into getting other people to adopt.
Mike Halle
on January 25, 2022 at 11:08 am
For all of you just joining in…
There has been a decade’s long difference of viewpoint between experienced bicyclists (sometimes called “vehicular cyclists”) and “safe bicycling for all” advocates. In the past, this difference of opinion has broken out into what can only be referred to a religious war. While both sides of the argument have their merits and points, the split has been destructive to advancing both bicycling safety for individual riders and bicycling transportation as a mechanism for reducing motor vehicle trips.
Fights over small pieces of pie lead to everyone starving.
The fact that the new street layout of the Seaport District in Boston and the Rose Kennedy Greenway were designed without dedicated bicycling facilities are examples of how what I view as a rigid ideology about bikes and traffic can miss real opportunities to do amazing things.
I have spent a couple of decades standing in the breech and trying to bridge the two extremes, at least where they are flexible. Statewide organizations such as MassBike have as well.
It really isn’t hard to reconcile things at a practical level. Studies have shown that the most effective thing you can do as a bicyclist to avoid crashes and injuries to to again experience, lots of experience, riding. An experienced rider can navigate with motor vehicle traffic and (mostly) anticipate hazards such as car doors opening. They can travel at higher speeds more safely, change lanes when necessary, and make left hand turns safely. Whether they feel comfortable or safe is a different question, but they are statistically involved in fewer crashes, no matter who is responsible.
However, you can’t gain that experience if you don’t ride. A lot. Same is true for driving. You can pass a driver’s test, but it takes years, and miles, and a fair numbers of close calls you probably won’t admit, before you’re more confident and statistically safer as a driver.
Now flip to the other side of things. We have a real opportunity and need for bicycling in Newton. Newton’s village centers and generally flat topology mean that many residences are near centers of activity, close enough to walk but certainly enough to bike. People can bike to Newton businesses (to shop or to work), ride to and from transit, and ride for recreation and exercise. Not necessarily every trip every day for everyone. But the ability for a reasonable number of people to do some trips some days by bike as part of a robust transportation system that provides options. Not everyone will bike to their village center, and only the hardiest will bike in the snow and cold. But a whole lot of people want to live in a neighborhood that’s generally safe enough for their kids and themselves to walk and bike.
But even more so, we have a neighborhood school system designed to be walkable and bikeable. This system mitigates the city’s biggest source of traffic congestion while at the same time giving young people a sense of independence and a natural way to get exercise. Students are by definition less experienced and more vulnerable riders. They are currently riding day in, day out to all of our schools across the city, in all weather, often on broken sidewalks or at dusk or dawn, or possibly in a dubiously legal manner. Because that’s what they have to do.
They aren’t bicyclists, they are people who happen to ride bikes. And there are hundreds of them, and there would be a whole lot more if they, and more importantly their parents, thought it was safer.
It is in our society’s best interest, and I argue part of our moral obligation, to make travel by these less experienced cyclists safer while encouraging them to ride and ride in a legal and predictable fashion. That’s how they become experienced. That’s how they learn to be more independent. That’s how that could become better drivers, while at the same time gaining a sense that a single occupancy car is often not the one and only transportation option available to them. We need safer, slower neighborhoods and we need safer connecting roads.
For these novice and less experienced riders, separated and otherwise protected bike facilities give them the confidence to ride and ride more, in a safer and more predictable fashion, off of sidewalks and in their own space. “Safer” here is a tricky thing, since safety is tied to experience and separated bike facilities have their own risks and hazards. Safety and perception of safety are two different things. However, I believe that safety statistics built by effectively discouraging people from riding are illusory, misguided, and self-defeating.
High quality, well-designed, and thoughtful sidewalks and bike facilities make being a transportation omnivore possible and our city better. It’s sensible, it’s equitable, it’s relatively low cost, and ultimately it floats all boats. These facilities can’t happen overnight, and the pace of building a full network piecemeal is maddeningly slow and frustratingly limiting. For everyone. But it’s a path that brings along as many people as we can.
Donald Ross
on January 25, 2022 at 12:05 pm
@Mike
Fully agree with everything that you write above.
I fully support infrastructure to make bike riding – especially for children and casual riders – a more safe and viable option. But we need to be pragmatic about the realities of our environment. These children and casual riders are unlikely to be out on Washington Street in the middle of winter, and no amount of snow removal is going to change that dynamic. My children are certainly not riding their bikes to school these days. For those who *are* out in the middle of winter? We’re fully capable of navigating the environmental challenge.
Mike Halle
on January 25, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Donald, in my direct experience, students are riding to Newton North and F. A. Day right now. On Streets like Washington and Walnut. It’s happening. Really. It’s quite remarkable.
Chuck Tanowitz
on January 26, 2022 at 11:59 am
I agree with Mike on this point. My son (now in college) biked every day, rain, shine, snow, or ice*, for 6 years (Day through to Newton North). The bike racks at school were so often overpopulated that he would leave early to get a spot.
The evidence that we’ve seen in other cities (including in New England) is that with the right infrastructure, kids will bike even through winter. Many adults will too. Not everyone, but more than we have now. And that increase in cycling could have a very positive impact on overall quality of life for the majority of people.
* he still proclaims his love of studded tires.
Nathan Phillips
on January 25, 2022 at 3:00 pm
High schoolers are riding to NSHS too, presently. It *is* remarkable to see, as Mike observed.
Rapscallion Stallion
on January 25, 2022 at 3:13 pm
Having been involved with this project from the inception, the goal was to make one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the state for bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as motor vehicles, safer for everyone. The project was designed to slow down motor vehicles, reduce the number of vehicle travel lanes, update and synchronize the traffic lights, make vehicle turns safer, provide bicycle lanes, and create traffic calming measures to make the streets and crosswalks safer for pedestrians. Despite a lot of resistance from some city departments and others, most of these goals were accomplished. Is the design perfect? Nope. Compromises with the NPD and other stakeholders had to be made to get it through (e.g., there should have been a protected bike lane on both the eastbound and westbound sides of Washington Street). But West Newton Square is a heckuva lot safer for bicycles and pedestrians than it ever was before.
JOE RIZZA
on January 25, 2022 at 4:03 pm
mr rs
aka mr thm
you must be joking
I WALK THE SQUARE EVERYDAY
you cannot step into a crosswalk
in west newton square(aka the gateway to hell)
without taking your life in your hands
no one pays attention to the lights and could care less
if a human being is crossing!!!!!!!!!
its a disaster.
people are blasting their horns at each
and giving the NOT VERY KIND hand gestures
just go sit up in the sq and listen and watch!!!!
safer the ever
NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 TIMES WORSE THAN BEFORE!!!!
Rapscallion Stallion
on January 25, 2022 at 4:23 pm
Huh. I walk and drive through West Newton Square everyday, and I have never seen any of that. Go figure.
fignewtonville
on January 25, 2022 at 5:58 pm
I’m in West Newton Square daily as well, both on foot and via car. My thoughts:
1) Clearly it is good to get new sidewalks, lighting, and benches
2) I don’t often see anyone using the new bike lanes.
3) The bike lane in front of Sweet Tomatoes seems poorly done.
4) The intersections of Cherry with Webster and Washington Street seem to have an issue in high traffic times.
5) This was an incredibly complicated series of intersections. There was no “perfect” solution. I think Newtonville is a bigger success but mostly because it was far more simple from a traffic perspective.
6) The Village clearly looks refreshed. I hope the trees are cared for because that will make a huge difference. And the new restaurants (Blue Salt, Blue Bird Cafe, the Wine Bar, etc.) are great new additions.
7) I wish some combination of new housing with a renovated theatre could occur. West Newton Cinema is a community diamond in the rough. But it needs to be renewed as well. Think Brookline’s Coolridge Corner Cinema…
8) It is far better now than six months ago. It has been striped, and folks are now more used to the lane markings.
9) Some of those lane markings defy common sense.
10) Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I agree with RS. Far safer for pedestrians than previously. Because previously it was VERY unsafe.
11) Parking remains an issue.
Rapscallion Stallion
on January 25, 2022 at 7:13 pm
“11) Parking remains an issue.”
Well then, we should close the square to cars. Problem solved. In fact, all of the above problems solved.
Chuck Tanowitz
on January 26, 2022 at 12:15 pm
I’ve also driven, biked, walked and parked in W. Newton recently and not had any problems. When it comes to parking, at most I may need to move my car a block or two and walk. If my expectation is that I can get a spot right in front of the store that I’m visiting at that moment, I can imagine it would be frustrating to park in the lot and walk over.
Newton Highlands Mom
on January 25, 2022 at 7:45 pm
@Fig agree about #11 for sure. I was picking up food from Comellas the other night and found it hard to find a spot. I was in a bit if a hurry as I had to pick up a child at an appt. I ended up on Davis did a 3pt turn and parked behind the police parking section. I cut through the alley way (miss L’Aroma 🙁 ) which was fine but the in the process of finding a spot it made me question future visits to the area since it was a noticeable pain to park. Made getting takeout unnecessarily stressful.
Lisa
on January 25, 2022 at 9:33 pm
I really miss L’Aroma.
I can’t think of a good reason to cycle through West Newton Square in January maybe in April? More likely I would head west to ride along the Charles or towards Weston and the Mass Central Rail Trail.
@Donald Ross: I hardly think of myself as a “bigot” when it comes to cars and bikes. I spent my honeymoon riding down the Pacific Coast from Seattle to San Francisco without the benefit of bike lanes and competing for road space with logging trucks. I am totally serious when I say that when the City builds infrastructure – no matter what it is – it has the responsibility of maintaining it. I’m not going to get into the experienced riders vs. the non-experienced riders. I think it is great to provide as many opportunities as possible for more people – especially kids to ride their bikes safely to and from school and was so heartened to see so many using the bike lanes on Beacon Street when I was at the Farmers Market at Cold Springs Park this summer. That was in large part because the Beacon Street painted bike lanes made it much more safer for kids and adults to ride their bikes.
That being said – I do believe that the City ought to have a bike masterplan – I realize that maybe we cannot install bike lanes throughout the city overnight – but we should have had by now, an overall bike plan and planned bike infrastructure that should be accompanied with a maintenance plan.
Chuck Tanowitz
on January 26, 2022 at 12:17 pm
I believe that a bike master plan is in the works.
Adam
on January 25, 2022 at 10:35 pm
A bicycle/pedestrian plan is in the works with $80K from the ARPA funds.
As for the Beacon Street lanes, unfortunately I heard that a large section was being permanently removed to accommodate Farmers Market parking.
Bob Jampol
on January 26, 2022 at 4:27 pm
Amy’s words seem wise to me. She states, in essence, that although Rome may not be built in a day, it’s best to have a plan for the long haul. With a long-range agenda, the bicycle infrastructure can improve incrementally, in predictable ways, giving advocates like me and Bike Newton some confidence that conditions wil grow safer for cyclists over time. A plan also improves chances of finding funding beyond the Garden City. Most of the time, state and federal government or private sources want to earmark their grants to specific projects.
BOB BURKE
on January 26, 2022 at 4:52 pm
Life Magazine had an article sometime during the 1950’s that listed the Nation’s 10 most dangerous intersections. West Newton was among the “winners” and closer to number one than number ten. Another edition ranked America’s best high schools and Newton High ranked number 2 just below a high school in Pennsylvania.
“Bigot” is the last word that comes to mind when I think about Amy Sangiolo. Totally inappropriate and over the top in any context it is used against her. I read Amy’s statements and it seemed to me that she was searching for a set of constructive compromises that would collectively advance the primary safety and mobility objectives of cyclists, motorists and pedestrians. No reasonable adult should ever expect to get everything they want. The biggest heroes in my book are those pedestrians that cross streets when and where they are directed to and only ask that they can do so without getting whacked by an errant car or truck.
Rapscallion Stallion
on January 26, 2022 at 8:43 pm
All kidding aside, the West Newton Square Improvements were designed with future residential development in mind. Dunstan East and the West Newton Armory will be adding hundreds of residential units, including many units affordable to folks who work at Trader Joe’s. The improvements were intended to make it safe for folks to walk to the many amenities we have and will have in the Squahah. My bride and I love Blue Salt, Bluebird Bar, Sweet Tomatoes, The Wine Bah, etc., in large part because we can walk there without having to park the cah. The more people who can walk to the Squahah, the bettah.
Matt Lai
on January 26, 2022 at 10:05 pm
Interesting if not optimistic discussion…but bottom line….
This is still New England with freezing winters and wet spring/fall. Additionally bikes have limited usefulness in what it can carry which limits its usefulness as primary/daily transportation. No matter which method of counting used, # of bikes on the road is not even in the same universe as # of cars.
“If you build it and they will come” has resulted in, “yeah, we built it and no one came.” Dedicated bike lanes in Boston, Cambridge and Brookline had brought out more bikers…but not enough to offset the (car) congestion created. Cars are stuck longer in traffic and therefore spewing more exhaust per trip, while bike lanes are sporadically if not scarcely used (especially now).
The right answer is neither, “no bike lanes” nor the, “all bikes all the time” that advocates are asking for, but something in between. The good of the many should outweigh the wants of the few.
Mike Halle
on January 27, 2022 at 10:30 am
So Matt, you don’t support providing safer biking facilities for the hundreds of school students who are currently riding, and the scores more who would if it were safer? What is your advice to them and their parents?
Do you support the new accessible sidewalks and crosswalks in West Newton Square? Providing increased and better timed crossing opportunities impacted traffic signal timing in West Newton Square impacted the design far more than any bike lane additions (though the wait for pedestrians is still too long).
Matt Lai
on January 27, 2022 at 10:02 pm
Mike: I fully support infrastructure projects that will be used.
I’m parent to a Junior at South. Neither he nor any of his friends ride bikes to school. I wish they did, but they do not, for all the reasons stated previously. There is a cost to these projects, not just financially, but roads are not getting any wider. We need to resist the urge to build more than will realistically utilized. Protected bike lane from Newton Center down Parker to NSHS and Brown/Oak Hill? I’ll paint the lines myself. Simply suggesting we should be pragmatic on where we build….not build like this is San Diego.
Accessible sidewalks and walkways? Great idea. Walking is a 4 season sport/need. 🙂
Better timed lights? Always a good thing. If FB, IG and other social Media sites and read our minds and present scary relevant ads, it’s about time we upgrade traffic lights to include some predictive logic and machine learning!
Mike Halle
on January 28, 2022 at 12:53 am
Matt, overwhelmingly in general, Newton is not removing general motor vehicle capacity for bike lanes. There was some places in West Newton Square where travel lanes were removed (over the overpass, for instance) or turn lanes become exclusive where they were previously also straight through. However, because of bottlenecks and pinch points in West Newton Square, the actual traffic capacity is essentially unchanged.
In some limited cases, such as upcoming on part of Washington Street, the city is proposing removing one travel lane and narrowing some lane widths to provide for continuous bicycle lanes, sidewalks, dedicated turn lanes, and safer street crossing for bus commuters and people parking on the far side of the street. That’s possible because the street itself, currently four lanes, is far over capacity. If it were at capacity, it would likely deadlock West Newton Square and Newtonville. Lane reductions from 4 to 3 lanes (two lanes plus turns) only modestly reduce motor vehicle capacity but reduce motor vehicle crashes by 19 to 47% in federal studies. This change will have a direct positive impact for neighbors and local traffic (i.e., those who are turning) as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.
Where bicycle facilities are added, the most common change is loss of parking, though the city tries to minimize that. As for costs, the cost of adding on-street bike lanes is generally far cheaper than, say, repaving a roadway or even adding or repairing a sidewalk. Bike lanes are basically paint.
For numbers, at F. A. Day last spring we counted reliably between 75 and 90 bikes on the racks. That’s a pretty impressive fraction. That’s a whole bus worth of kids. A bus costs the city something like $500-600 per day. Or imaging the impact of 75-90 more cars driving to Day in the morning and the afternoon. Call it 60 with optimistic car pooling. That’s a line of additional cars about half-way down Albemarle Field. And that’s just the students who ride now, with the incomplete infrastructure we have.
Imagine how many we could get to ride and walk, not every day, but more days, if we made a major push to provide safe and universally accessible bike/ped routes to all our schools. Yes, “build it and they will come”, but the increased safety of the students who are already riding right now justifies the modest one-time capital costs and relatively minor maintenance involved in doing this revamp. This calculus means that all the potential increases in adult and family recreational and commuter riding is literally a free ride.
Adam
on January 27, 2022 at 8:22 am
It’s a distortion to reduce this to extremes. Advocates are asking for safe cycling facilities, not “all bikes all the time”. The West Newton Square redesign wasn’t all about bikes, but about complete streets for all users: better signal coordination, preemptive signals for emergency vehicles, calmed traffic, safer pedestrian crossings, trees and benches, and yes, even things like “snow storage” (not pictured here). Those goals are sometimes at odds with improving traffic throughput and feeding our addiction cars. And it’s going to take more than one segment of roadway to make a difference. Transforming the Washington Street corridor clearly is going to take time.
Jackson joe
on January 27, 2022 at 8:33 am
I was wondering if any of you advocates for safe cycling see a reason to require helmets for bikers (especially at bike share stations)? Then again most of you have probably never seen the consequences of TBI from a bike accident (I have). Even with a helmet nothing is guaranteed but seeing anyone ride without one is asking the rest of us to accept the risk that would result from an accident that would require life long medical care.
Mike Halle
on January 27, 2022 at 11:12 am
Here is my take on helmets. Wearing a helmet is the easiest and most effective thing an individual can do to avoid debilitating injury should they be in a crash. Gaining experience riding legally, confidently, and safely is the most effective thing an individual can do to avoid crashes (besides not riding at all).
What we do as a municipality or as a society to improve the safety for bicyclists needs to be aligned with those ideas, but we have to think at the population level. How do we build bicycle and other road facilities that don’t require expert skills to navigate safety by novice users? Only by riding more will bicyclists gain the real world safety experience they need to protect themselves from the hazards we aren’t able to design away.
Regarding helmet use, what’s the best way to get more people to use them and use them properly ? There’s no state law. Local laws would be pretty limited since many bike trips cross municipal lines. I think it’s pretty hard to argue enforcement is equitable when we don’t really enforce things like speeding by motor vehicle operators in residential neighborhoods (i.e., why blame the (potential) victim when we don’t punish the people actually being unsafe).
It leaves open the question of how we encourage the use of safety equipment (helmets, but also lights). Maybe we can all agree that it needs more attention. I believe the best approach is one from a personal empowerment point of view for cyclists. You do things for yourself because you are important and you are valued as a visible member of the community.
The last point is another tricky one. There have been a number of studies in other countries that suggest that riders who wear helmets may be statistically more likely to engage in more dangerous riding behavior, with one inference being that it is treated a little like a superhero cape. On the flip side, we repeatedly see crashes involving bikes reduced to whether the cyclist was wearing a helmet, even when the driver was clearly at fault or a helmet would have made no difference in the crash. These are issues we need to try to understand better and work to mitigate.
fignewtonville
on January 27, 2022 at 10:57 am
Jackson Joe:
My father used to describe folks using a motorcycle without a helmet as “operating a licensed organ donation vehicle”. Apparently organ donations go up in states where they relax helmet laws. Why? So many folks die of head injuries, leaving well protected internal organs to be used to save other lives (assuming they have selected to be an organ donor, which is a great thing to do).
That phrase has always stuck with me. You operate on roadways without a helmet at your peril, and if you get hit you are far more likely to die or lose your mental capabilities if you don’t wear one.
And yes, I’m generally the one stopping kids biking on the sidewalk or the street without a helmet. Especially middle school kids. I see them carrying the helmet lots of times too. Parents made them bring it, but they don’t want to wear it. One of my kids had a friend get hit without his helmet on. He survived, but the helmet would have made a huge difference if he had actually been wearing it versus carrying it.
Jackson joe
on January 27, 2022 at 11:04 am
and what is the percentage of people who use ride sharing bikes that wear a helmet?
I have been to TBI facilities and many of those people probably wish that they hadn’t survived or in some cases had worn a helmet. In my opinion the bike sharing companies should be providing this basic safety option or share in the liability.
fignewtonville
on January 27, 2022 at 11:20 am
Very low in my experience. In Boston they have the bike helmets sold in CVS and convenience stores for reduced rates. I’ve bought them before so I can use the sharing bike. $10.
Mike Striar
on January 27, 2022 at 12:53 pm
Jackson Joe makes a good point about bike helmets, and it’s one I’ve made many times before on V14. In my opinion, it is unethical for the City of Newton [or any municipality] to allow private bike rental companies to operate their business on public property without requiring helmets for those riders. When the inevitable happens, and one of those un-helmeted rental bikers sustains a head injury, the company that rented the bike and the City of Newton will be equally at fault.
Bill Koss
on January 27, 2022 at 1:16 pm
@mike Yes…I agree and I spent my youth riding dirt bikes and never wearing a helmet, but I do remember one really bad crash that knocked the wind out of me in the 3rd or 4th grade. I have crashed hard twice on my mountain bike years ago and I think the helmet played a big part in no head injury; although I had plenty of other injuries. Bike helmets are good for one fall only! I now ski with a helmet too, but I grew up in the 1970s skiing Sunapee, Killington, Wildcat, Mad River Glen all without a helmet. Maybe my older self looks at risk differently. I had some accidents on the road bike, nothing serious, but I cannot think of riding on the road without a helmet. I get the causal rent a bike benefit as it is really faster to go from one side of town to another, but the liability risk everyone is taking. Good luck with that.
There’s no way for Blue Bikes to require helmets. There’s no one to enforce it.
If you believe strongly in this issue, the only viable solution is to change state law for helmet use for all bicyclists. Going after bike share, which has a tiny tiny fraction of Newton’s bike riders, is almost literally bike shedding.
Mike Striar
on January 27, 2022 at 3:23 pm
I didn’t suggest that these bike rental companies were doing anything illegal. My point is, it’s unethical for the City of Newton to partner with a bike rental company that does not [in some way, shape or form] provide helmets for their customers. Saying there’s no way to “enforce” helmets, is just making an excuse for a dangerous situation that will inevitably result in injury.
Bill Koss
on January 27, 2022 at 3:50 pm
@Mike H….all good. I am not going after bike share companies. My opinion is we need less regulation in life — not more. I think it is crazy for people to ride without a helmet, but that is something I did a lot when I was younger and not any more. Just an observation because the City provided a license for a bike share to operate, the question is should City do more to ensure safe riding? Probably not as they rarely if ever enforce speed limits I see no reason why they should enforce bike safety limits as well. Just saying you need to be over 16 to ride, you need to wear a helmet and you signed a waiver does not actually mean it is safe and all risk and liability has been mitigated.
Jackson joe
on January 29, 2022 at 9:57 am
Bill,
Maybe you don’t the public paying for a lifetime of care for someone who has TBI from biking without a helmet but I do. Maybe you don’t see the need to require seatbelts or crosswalks either. This isn’t a matter of regulation, you are trying to turn this into a political statement
Mike Halle
on January 27, 2022 at 9:43 pm
How would a bike share company provide helmets that would be effective for every ride? And how would providing helmets, say, when people sign up for bike share, get people to use them?
Boston investigated a group trying to design bike vending machines at the start of Blue Bikes. It never made it to market.
Helmets are readily available. It is the responsibility of riders to wear them. I believe the police had a grant in the past to provide them for free if asked. If you’re interested in actually working on the public health problem and bicyclist education including helmets, let’s do that. Giving Newton Bike Share some insurmountable task that will make no practical difference in public health is not that answer.
Now back to ice and snow.
Mike Halle
on January 28, 2022 at 1:18 am
Interesting statistics on bike share and safety. Yes, helmet use is lower for bike share users compared to other cyclists. However, bike share itself appears to be safer than general bicyclists. A study of the major US bike share cities between 2010 and 2016 found no fatalities related to bike share over approximately 35 million miles traveled. I could not find any later studies.
I do not know what to think and I will leave it up to others who have the time and energy to take on these noble challenges. I can only control what I do when I ride a bike: wear helmet, ride with and in traffic and I do not want to be restricted by barriers or people.
/wrk
Jackson joe
on January 29, 2022 at 10:05 am
I love these “anonymous studies” written by a “reputable” source. I’m sure that some of the theories have some validity but this is misinformation. Besides it doesn’t address the issue of TBI and lifelong medical care. I would agree that experienced cyclists probably take greater risks, ride faster and probably die more often than inexperienced riders who ride slower and only suffer lifelong head injuries that will incapacitate them for the rest of their life. Does that prove that ride sharing without a helmet is safe? Is that what you are trying to tell us?
Nathan Phillips
on January 28, 2022 at 11:00 am
I’m hereby issuing a “get Matt Lai on an e-bike or e-trike without inducing a wide grin challenge” – or anyone who hasn’t tried e-mobility yet.
We can make sure to find a safe place you won’t get run down or menaced by cars – contrary to popular belief they do exist in Newton.
Matt Lai
on January 28, 2022 at 8:32 pm
Matt Lai would LOVE to try an e-bike!!! …. come April.
Actually considered getting one last Spring, but return to office never fully materialized with Delta and now Omicron.
And FWIW, been riding on streets beside cars since a teen in the late 80’s. Never had a problem with that, although I did feel a wee nervous on RT 16 where it connects with 95. Perhaps it’s because I’m not in my 20s anyone.
If anyone has an e-bike for me to try….I’d love to!! ❤️
Nathan Phillips
on January 28, 2022 at 10:34 pm
Matt, you’re on! And April is a great time for it. I can set you up with a good demo option.
Mike Striar
on January 28, 2022 at 12:02 pm
@Mike Halle–
“That said, the authors do warn that there have been instances of serious, non-fatal crashes involving bike-share riders — including head and spinal injuries. And they point out that helmets help in these cases: “Helmets, like seatbelts in cars, mitigate the severity of injuries when a collision does occur, but they do not prevent the collision from occurring.”
That’s a quote from the Mineta Transportation Institute study that you referenced. A study that appears to have been funded by the bike share industry itself. I think you’re too dismissive of the dangers involved in biking without a helmet. This is an issue that bike share companies could fix with a tweak to their business model, if municipalities like Newton just insisted they make some provision for helmets.
Mike Halle
on January 28, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Mike Striar, please point to anything I have said that could be misconstrued as “dismissive of the dangers involved in biking without a helmet.” Please read my first post here on the topic. If I am dismissive, it is they we have much of a lever arm to change the helmet-wearing behavior of bike share riders, or that fixating on this tiniest slice of Newton’s bicycling population rather than working on a broader based safety campaign that includes helmets is the best use of our limited outreach resources.
But prove me wrong. What do you believe bike share companies can do to encourage either helmet use of general bicycling safety? Measures that effectively reduce the number of users don’t really count.
Mike Striar
on January 28, 2022 at 5:19 pm
@Mike Halle–
I suggested you were “dismissive” of the safety aspect, because you think it’s acceptable for some bike sharing customers to ride on public roads without helmets. I disagree.
I totally support all the recent initiatives to make bike riding safer in Newton, but I cannot condone the City subsidizing a business that puts their un-helmeted customers on our roads. I not only think it’s unethical, I think it’s a foolish liability risk on the part of the City.
While I believe the bike sharing business model could be tweaked to include helmets, it’s not my obligation to fix their business model. And the City of Newton has done nothing that would incentivize the companies to change.
Of course any restriction [like adding helmets] is likely to reduce riders, but I frankly don’t give a hoot about that. I don’t care how many people use the bike share, nor do I care if the bike share companies are profitable. My concern is that un-helmeted bike share riders will needlessly sustain the type of head, neck and spine injuries mentioned in the study that you linked to this thread.
Mike Halle
on January 28, 2022 at 9:03 pm
I believe bike riders should wear helmets to protect their own safety. The responsibility is on the rider or their parent, by law and from a pragmatic perspective. I think one could make a far better argument about enforcing youth helmet laws, or changing the state helmet law, than one could regarding some likely ineffective restriction on bike share. Instead, though, I personally support a broader mix of safety education, facility design, and encouragement, and that’s where I place my energy.
I understand you are impassioned about this issue and have a different perspective. Follow that where it takes you.
I will close my comments by coming back to my original point. The history of bicycling encouragement, safety and advocacy over the past four decades is filled with “bike shedding”: arguing about details to the point that little of consequence actually gets done. In celebration of upcoming Chinese New Year, I quote the Chinese saying 光说不能煮米饭, which I am told means “talk doesn’t cook rice”. We need a lot more rice cooked in Newton.
Rick Frank
on January 28, 2022 at 12:20 pm
I kinda wonder if the people in Amsterdam I saw – which was the most bicycles per km of road I ever saw – with their kids on their handlebars, no helmets, wearing skirts, and work clothes ( no spandex), weaving through the roads with trolleys and cars ( all small cars mind you, no SUVs which seems to be the car of choice in Newton) – were they “bicyclists”? Or just normal people. Or, maybe everyone there is more experienced because they tax gasoline (!] and have smaller streets than even Boston.
Matt Lai
on January 28, 2022 at 9:01 pm
As wonderful as it would be to see streets full of bikes like Amsterdam …the greater Boston area is a much different place…different circumstances, priorities, lifestyles, etc. Apples and oranges.
We can’t “wish” our way into being Amsterdam, no more than Jayson Tatum can be a consistent force this season. 50 points one night…shooting 1 for 8 in the first half to tonight. Ready to pull my hair out!!!
You know who used to be like Amsterdam? China. Arguably more bikes per km than….anyone…until they surpassed the US. Now they are the #1 car market globally.
I’m not anti-bike (as some have joked or alluded)…just a bit more pragmatic than your regular Newtonian. 🙂
Mike Halle
on January 28, 2022 at 9:20 pm
This view of bicycling both locally and in China, a country of 1.4 billion people, is both broad brush and outdated.
The upcoming game changer both here and in China is ebikes. 300 million on the streets in China, battling the congestion and overbuilt roadways that impact major cities in both countries. See here:
Even with their relatively high prices, ebikes are outselling electric cars in the US and Europe. For a place like Newton, they offer anything from a car replacement for some people to a way to make quick trips and exercise and perhaps avoid the need for an additional car for others.
Errr….until China developer an economy. Now it’s all about cars, not bikes. (No type corrections on V14 sadly)
Rick Frank
on January 28, 2022 at 10:33 pm
@ Matt I was in China for 20 days in 2007. There were 20 lane [ maybe more ) highways all full of cars. That was a long time ago, but they were interested in “our” lifestyle. They were not interested in biking. Maybe that’s changed some- they shut things down in 2007 to prep for the 2008 Olympics, Which was one reason we chose to go then. We waited in line to go to Pizza Hut, where they had cloth napkins and fancy place settings. This is one conundrum we’re in – we have over 4 billion people wanting to improve their lifestyle – which we advertised- and now we’re saying , uh never mind that, go back to bicycles….
and the main way that is done is by burning fossil fuels. To both give the. Energy AND manufacture “cheap” stuff for us. Tough corner we painted ourselves into.
Given limited resouces, what % of residents are affected by this in January?
0.0625% or 0.00625% ?
Now, if the company newton uses for snow removal is contractually obligated to fix, then yes… it should be fixed
I would rather see resouces dedicated to fix a litany of existing longstanding issues (potholes, dying trees etc)
What’s the point of this post?
Bugek, yes, curb-to-curb might be in the contract, and it’s not just for cyclists, but for very practical reasons of drainage. If the curbs and drains are blocked, ice can form on the roadway.
Slightly off topic, but I remember the outrage when the new traffic plan was put in place. Change is hard. And yeah, it was a bit of a mess before the road paint was finished, but as someone who drives through there often and thinks it’s ok, I have to wonder, are people still angry, or was it just an adjustment period?
If not in contract, It should be added to contract this year and aggressively enforced(with financial penalties)
Problem solved
Assuming the contract is set for bid, i’m sure many companies are vying for the job with the new clause (with negligible increase in price)
People still seem angry. I saw a whole thread about it on Facebook just a few days ago.
But the time between angry Facebook threads is getting longer. 🙂
I drove through the other day and found it much better now that the lines have been painted.
I ride my bike to work most days, and have been doing this since way before it was cool. Sheldon Brown was my guru.
This is a little ice on the shoulder. If anybody should find it an issue, it would be the drivers who are stuck behind me / have to go around. But IME they’re pretty understanding because they can see the problem with their own eyes.
This is just riding a bike in New England in winter. It’s actually pretty good compared to what it could be.
Maybe so, but I do bike almost every day all year round, and it would be great if city policy involved keeping the bike paths and road shoulders clear of frozen leaves and ice. By the way, you’d be surprised to know how many high school students bike to both high schools even in the winter. Bicycles are growing in popularity, the naysayers notwithstanding.
I agree with Donald above, I end up going around it.
But that’s kind of the problem. To even decide to cycle in these conditions means you must be willing to battle traffic. This is a main reason why people don’t do it, even if they’d be otherwise willing.
The other issue that emerges in the spring is the broken asphalt on the shoulders (thanks, in part, to the freezing and thawing of this kind of “snow clearing.” Anyone try biking on Craft Street? It’s nearly impossible as you pass North Street headed for Watertown Street. I get forced into traffic all the time.
Amy,
In the short run, I would suggest you 311 this ASAP and include your photos. In the long run….
Debris is at least as much a problem as snow & ice in the winter.
As Chuck and Donald said, its the drivers who are going to be grumpy. I have to move into traffic which is less safe for me and impedes traffic.
Of course it affects a small number of bikers. That number will stay small as long as the city is ignores (or is worse, hostile to) cyclists and cycling infrastructure.
It’s a general sign of maintenance and care being solely focused on cars to the detriment of other methods of transportation. How many corners are piled up with snow, blocking pedestrians? All over the place in my neighborhood.
Looks like the business of impeding property development must be slow for Ms. Sangiolo. Or perhaps this is just a case of diversification of interests. Regardless, identifying this crucial issue is certainly a service to the community.
I’m in favor of improving biking – I biked for many years when I was younger and commuted down watertown street where I picked up the bike path and went down to western ave where the office was.
In my 60s now I no longer feel safe enough; And I have too many doctor / dentist appointments that interrupt my day, whereas in my younger days my schedule was much more predictable, even with young kids.
That said, I have seen 0 bicyclists using the new infrastructure in West Newton. I live near there, and I drive through that intersection a lot, if not every day, then 4 or 5 times a week. At many different times of day.
I have seen zero bicyclists through that intersection since the day it was more or less finished; Including the weird little elevated thing in front of Sweet Tomatoes.
A fair amount of money was spent on that intersection, including bicycle specific lights, etc.
I hope if you build it, they will come. I was walking along Washington Street this AM ( around 8:45) down from West Newton and I saw one teenager on a bike with a backpack, probably going to Newton North. Where was he? On the sidewalk. And I don’t blame him. When, 30 years ago, I was biking to work I took the sidewalk in a bunch of places, particularly in Nonantum (the bike path hadn’t been extended back then).
I just go around it. I biked 25 miles yesterday morning and I think the excessive salt and people running in the bike lane are more of problem. I was westbound on Beacon near the BC Hill and there were two runners in the bike lane, which only makes me have to swing out into the car lane when the side walk is perfectly clear for runners. I ran into two more near the Waban Dentistry. Whatever…if you bike in the winter you expect crap on the roads, piles of snow/ice, lots of salt and debris scattered around. It is winter biking. As we get closer to April, the runners on Beacon and Comm make it less desirable as a biking route and easier to just head west into Weston, Concord and Harvard.
So…is “going around” it really the optimal way to have to deal with new infrastructure designed to encourage cyclists? Surely, when this was designed, the issue of maintenance and budgeting for it was taken into account….
Amy, I’m not sure I see the connection. This seems like an operational issue, but you’re trying to pin it on the design? the budget? Maybe, like any other plowing route in the system, the supervisor just needs to follow up with a new operator and try to improve for the next storm. Did you file a 311 report?
@Adam: I’m trying to link the need to ensure that maintenance and upkeep are taken into consideration and budgeted when designing a project that is supposed to be a benefit. It’s not a benefit if it isn’t doing what it is designed to do – protect cyclists from traffic and if because it has not been properly plowed and forces bikers into traffic – is it not doing what it was designed to do? I’m not a biker – so no, I did not file a 311 report. My post was a real question – is this a problem for winter bikers? Apparently, all of the winter bikers don’t seem to care – they just do what they are used to doing, go into traffic,
Amy,
… and some of us take photos and enter them into 311, and make a request. I have made many 311 requests regarding snow plowing & also spoken to many DPW employees out in the field, about certain nearby locations that are not plowed for cyclists or pedestrians and that need to be – and if it’s on their route they drive off (in their plows) and take care of it, and it’s also taken care of (ie plowed) for subsequent snows.
Right now we don’t have a complete bike network. To a large extent, we are building it opportunistically: when a new project is designed, Newton includes bike lanes if it can. That’s why bike lanes stop and start at the edge of projects. That means the people who are riding on Newton’s roads are generally comfortable riding in traffic, at least when necessary, even if that’s not their preference.
Ultimately, our bike network should be able to accommodate and encourage bicyclists of a wide range of abilities. However, those rides who aren’t comfortable in traffic are going to emerge later over time as we build more complete routes. Or, alternatively, they’ll continue to ride on the sidewalk because they believe that’s safer (which is may or may not be, and it risks pedestrian safety).
In particular, winter riding self-selects for experienced riders. Hardier bicyclists tend to be experienced bicyclists, and experienced bicyclists are safer and more comfortable in traffic. Since winter riding almost always entails some roads that have snow on their edges and limited lane width, bike lanes or no, most winter riders accept the situation as a fact of life. Most inexperienced fair weather riders stay home.
Combine all these things together with the fact that Newton doesn’t yet have many plows that can work on sidewalks and on-street and protected bike lanes. Now you’ve got bike lanes that may be uncleared after the snow and experienced riders who already have to deal with sub-optimal riding conditions and who will just avoid a blocked lane and ride in traffic.
That’s where we are, not where we want to be. The city will need to gain experience and capability to clear its bicycle facilities in an efficient and timely manner. That, like the expanding bike network, takes time.
I agree with Mike’s comments. If you are an experienced bike rider that tends to bike fast, you are comfortable riding in traffic. I think the protected bike lanes are restrictive. I know the recreational ride prefer the protected lanes, but I dislike them. I do find the painted bike lane to be helpful, not so much for me, but for the drivers. Just having the lanes painted on the street helps the drivers to keep spacing and alignment. Remove the lines and drivers tend to favor the right side of the road, where a biker would be riding. The weird bike lanes that become a sidewalk like the ones installed around Trio, or in Watertown and Cambridge are obstacle to any serious rider. I prefer to ride in traffic where I am not restricted as to how and where I can turn or maneuver. Again…I realize this is not true for all riders. The best bike lanes built in Europe (e.g. Netherlands) are built to support faster riding and regular maintenance. In the US, we are no where close to this level. We are just figuring out how to create a bike lane and often we build it with obstacles like inclines, cars parked on the left side which encourages people to just walk across the bike lane without looking and strange street crossings for these interior protected lanes that cars turning cannot see a rider. To each their own, but if you are strong rider it is easier to ride with the car traffic.
Great comments from @Bill and @Mike. To push this a bit farther… While Amy may be presenting herself as an ally in this context, her position reveals an underlying subtle bigotry that assumes that automotive transit comes first and hopefully we can work you bikers in around the cars.
The reason that this “snow in the bike lane” “issue” is a non-issue to me is that I believe that I am – as a biker – 100% entitled to use the entire lane. I ride as far to the right as practical as a courtesy to my fellow road users. But if “as far to the right as practical” is moved six feet left because of snow and ice? It is what it is; I have no problem using the middle of the lane (and TBH I’ve never had a car behind me that didn’t understand the situation). It’s insulting to cyclists to paint markings on the road and then pretend that we’re beholden to those markings regardless of the practicality of the situation.
Amy makes it clear how she feels about bike lanes on her website:
“Build a cohesive bicycle network throughout the city, ****so bicyclists can share the road and travel safely without impeding the flow of traffic for motorists****.”
She’s all for building bike lanes not for the benefit of cyclists, but to ensure that they not dare impede the flow of traffic for motorists.
At the end of the day, this is a total non-issue. Riding a bike in the winter in New England is an experience. You have to embrace the conditions and do your best. It’s not something that I would put a lot of effort into getting other people to adopt.
For all of you just joining in…
There has been a decade’s long difference of viewpoint between experienced bicyclists (sometimes called “vehicular cyclists”) and “safe bicycling for all” advocates. In the past, this difference of opinion has broken out into what can only be referred to a religious war. While both sides of the argument have their merits and points, the split has been destructive to advancing both bicycling safety for individual riders and bicycling transportation as a mechanism for reducing motor vehicle trips.
Fights over small pieces of pie lead to everyone starving.
The fact that the new street layout of the Seaport District in Boston and the Rose Kennedy Greenway were designed without dedicated bicycling facilities are examples of how what I view as a rigid ideology about bikes and traffic can miss real opportunities to do amazing things.
I have spent a couple of decades standing in the breech and trying to bridge the two extremes, at least where they are flexible. Statewide organizations such as MassBike have as well.
It really isn’t hard to reconcile things at a practical level. Studies have shown that the most effective thing you can do as a bicyclist to avoid crashes and injuries to to again experience, lots of experience, riding. An experienced rider can navigate with motor vehicle traffic and (mostly) anticipate hazards such as car doors opening. They can travel at higher speeds more safely, change lanes when necessary, and make left hand turns safely. Whether they feel comfortable or safe is a different question, but they are statistically involved in fewer crashes, no matter who is responsible.
However, you can’t gain that experience if you don’t ride. A lot. Same is true for driving. You can pass a driver’s test, but it takes years, and miles, and a fair numbers of close calls you probably won’t admit, before you’re more confident and statistically safer as a driver.
Now flip to the other side of things. We have a real opportunity and need for bicycling in Newton. Newton’s village centers and generally flat topology mean that many residences are near centers of activity, close enough to walk but certainly enough to bike. People can bike to Newton businesses (to shop or to work), ride to and from transit, and ride for recreation and exercise. Not necessarily every trip every day for everyone. But the ability for a reasonable number of people to do some trips some days by bike as part of a robust transportation system that provides options. Not everyone will bike to their village center, and only the hardiest will bike in the snow and cold. But a whole lot of people want to live in a neighborhood that’s generally safe enough for their kids and themselves to walk and bike.
But even more so, we have a neighborhood school system designed to be walkable and bikeable. This system mitigates the city’s biggest source of traffic congestion while at the same time giving young people a sense of independence and a natural way to get exercise. Students are by definition less experienced and more vulnerable riders. They are currently riding day in, day out to all of our schools across the city, in all weather, often on broken sidewalks or at dusk or dawn, or possibly in a dubiously legal manner. Because that’s what they have to do.
They aren’t bicyclists, they are people who happen to ride bikes. And there are hundreds of them, and there would be a whole lot more if they, and more importantly their parents, thought it was safer.
It is in our society’s best interest, and I argue part of our moral obligation, to make travel by these less experienced cyclists safer while encouraging them to ride and ride in a legal and predictable fashion. That’s how they become experienced. That’s how they learn to be more independent. That’s how that could become better drivers, while at the same time gaining a sense that a single occupancy car is often not the one and only transportation option available to them. We need safer, slower neighborhoods and we need safer connecting roads.
For these novice and less experienced riders, separated and otherwise protected bike facilities give them the confidence to ride and ride more, in a safer and more predictable fashion, off of sidewalks and in their own space. “Safer” here is a tricky thing, since safety is tied to experience and separated bike facilities have their own risks and hazards. Safety and perception of safety are two different things. However, I believe that safety statistics built by effectively discouraging people from riding are illusory, misguided, and self-defeating.
High quality, well-designed, and thoughtful sidewalks and bike facilities make being a transportation omnivore possible and our city better. It’s sensible, it’s equitable, it’s relatively low cost, and ultimately it floats all boats. These facilities can’t happen overnight, and the pace of building a full network piecemeal is maddeningly slow and frustratingly limiting. For everyone. But it’s a path that brings along as many people as we can.
@Mike
Fully agree with everything that you write above.
I fully support infrastructure to make bike riding – especially for children and casual riders – a more safe and viable option. But we need to be pragmatic about the realities of our environment. These children and casual riders are unlikely to be out on Washington Street in the middle of winter, and no amount of snow removal is going to change that dynamic. My children are certainly not riding their bikes to school these days. For those who *are* out in the middle of winter? We’re fully capable of navigating the environmental challenge.
Donald, in my direct experience, students are riding to Newton North and F. A. Day right now. On Streets like Washington and Walnut. It’s happening. Really. It’s quite remarkable.
I agree with Mike on this point. My son (now in college) biked every day, rain, shine, snow, or ice*, for 6 years (Day through to Newton North). The bike racks at school were so often overpopulated that he would leave early to get a spot.
The evidence that we’ve seen in other cities (including in New England) is that with the right infrastructure, kids will bike even through winter. Many adults will too. Not everyone, but more than we have now. And that increase in cycling could have a very positive impact on overall quality of life for the majority of people.
* he still proclaims his love of studded tires.
High schoolers are riding to NSHS too, presently. It *is* remarkable to see, as Mike observed.
Having been involved with this project from the inception, the goal was to make one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the state for bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as motor vehicles, safer for everyone. The project was designed to slow down motor vehicles, reduce the number of vehicle travel lanes, update and synchronize the traffic lights, make vehicle turns safer, provide bicycle lanes, and create traffic calming measures to make the streets and crosswalks safer for pedestrians. Despite a lot of resistance from some city departments and others, most of these goals were accomplished. Is the design perfect? Nope. Compromises with the NPD and other stakeholders had to be made to get it through (e.g., there should have been a protected bike lane on both the eastbound and westbound sides of Washington Street). But West Newton Square is a heckuva lot safer for bicycles and pedestrians than it ever was before.
mr rs
aka mr thm
you must be joking
I WALK THE SQUARE EVERYDAY
you cannot step into a crosswalk
in west newton square(aka the gateway to hell)
without taking your life in your hands
no one pays attention to the lights and could care less
if a human being is crossing!!!!!!!!!
its a disaster.
people are blasting their horns at each
and giving the NOT VERY KIND hand gestures
just go sit up in the sq and listen and watch!!!!
safer the ever
NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 TIMES WORSE THAN BEFORE!!!!
Huh. I walk and drive through West Newton Square everyday, and I have never seen any of that. Go figure.
I’m in West Newton Square daily as well, both on foot and via car. My thoughts:
1) Clearly it is good to get new sidewalks, lighting, and benches
2) I don’t often see anyone using the new bike lanes.
3) The bike lane in front of Sweet Tomatoes seems poorly done.
4) The intersections of Cherry with Webster and Washington Street seem to have an issue in high traffic times.
5) This was an incredibly complicated series of intersections. There was no “perfect” solution. I think Newtonville is a bigger success but mostly because it was far more simple from a traffic perspective.
6) The Village clearly looks refreshed. I hope the trees are cared for because that will make a huge difference. And the new restaurants (Blue Salt, Blue Bird Cafe, the Wine Bar, etc.) are great new additions.
7) I wish some combination of new housing with a renovated theatre could occur. West Newton Cinema is a community diamond in the rough. But it needs to be renewed as well. Think Brookline’s Coolridge Corner Cinema…
8) It is far better now than six months ago. It has been striped, and folks are now more used to the lane markings.
9) Some of those lane markings defy common sense.
10) Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I agree with RS. Far safer for pedestrians than previously. Because previously it was VERY unsafe.
11) Parking remains an issue.
“11) Parking remains an issue.”
Well then, we should close the square to cars. Problem solved. In fact, all of the above problems solved.
I’ve also driven, biked, walked and parked in W. Newton recently and not had any problems. When it comes to parking, at most I may need to move my car a block or two and walk. If my expectation is that I can get a spot right in front of the store that I’m visiting at that moment, I can imagine it would be frustrating to park in the lot and walk over.
@Fig agree about #11 for sure. I was picking up food from Comellas the other night and found it hard to find a spot. I was in a bit if a hurry as I had to pick up a child at an appt. I ended up on Davis did a 3pt turn and parked behind the police parking section. I cut through the alley way (miss L’Aroma 🙁 ) which was fine but the in the process of finding a spot it made me question future visits to the area since it was a noticeable pain to park. Made getting takeout unnecessarily stressful.
I really miss L’Aroma.
I can’t think of a good reason to cycle through West Newton Square in January maybe in April? More likely I would head west to ride along the Charles or towards Weston and the Mass Central Rail Trail.
@Donald Ross: I hardly think of myself as a “bigot” when it comes to cars and bikes. I spent my honeymoon riding down the Pacific Coast from Seattle to San Francisco without the benefit of bike lanes and competing for road space with logging trucks. I am totally serious when I say that when the City builds infrastructure – no matter what it is – it has the responsibility of maintaining it. I’m not going to get into the experienced riders vs. the non-experienced riders. I think it is great to provide as many opportunities as possible for more people – especially kids to ride their bikes safely to and from school and was so heartened to see so many using the bike lanes on Beacon Street when I was at the Farmers Market at Cold Springs Park this summer. That was in large part because the Beacon Street painted bike lanes made it much more safer for kids and adults to ride their bikes.
That being said – I do believe that the City ought to have a bike masterplan – I realize that maybe we cannot install bike lanes throughout the city overnight – but we should have had by now, an overall bike plan and planned bike infrastructure that should be accompanied with a maintenance plan.
I believe that a bike master plan is in the works.
A bicycle/pedestrian plan is in the works with $80K from the ARPA funds.
As for the Beacon Street lanes, unfortunately I heard that a large section was being permanently removed to accommodate Farmers Market parking.
Amy’s words seem wise to me. She states, in essence, that although Rome may not be built in a day, it’s best to have a plan for the long haul. With a long-range agenda, the bicycle infrastructure can improve incrementally, in predictable ways, giving advocates like me and Bike Newton some confidence that conditions wil grow safer for cyclists over time. A plan also improves chances of finding funding beyond the Garden City. Most of the time, state and federal government or private sources want to earmark their grants to specific projects.
Life Magazine had an article sometime during the 1950’s that listed the Nation’s 10 most dangerous intersections. West Newton was among the “winners” and closer to number one than number ten. Another edition ranked America’s best high schools and Newton High ranked number 2 just below a high school in Pennsylvania.
“Bigot” is the last word that comes to mind when I think about Amy Sangiolo. Totally inappropriate and over the top in any context it is used against her. I read Amy’s statements and it seemed to me that she was searching for a set of constructive compromises that would collectively advance the primary safety and mobility objectives of cyclists, motorists and pedestrians. No reasonable adult should ever expect to get everything they want. The biggest heroes in my book are those pedestrians that cross streets when and where they are directed to and only ask that they can do so without getting whacked by an errant car or truck.
All kidding aside, the West Newton Square Improvements were designed with future residential development in mind. Dunstan East and the West Newton Armory will be adding hundreds of residential units, including many units affordable to folks who work at Trader Joe’s. The improvements were intended to make it safe for folks to walk to the many amenities we have and will have in the Squahah. My bride and I love Blue Salt, Bluebird Bar, Sweet Tomatoes, The Wine Bah, etc., in large part because we can walk there without having to park the cah. The more people who can walk to the Squahah, the bettah.
Interesting if not optimistic discussion…but bottom line….
This is still New England with freezing winters and wet spring/fall. Additionally bikes have limited usefulness in what it can carry which limits its usefulness as primary/daily transportation. No matter which method of counting used, # of bikes on the road is not even in the same universe as # of cars.
“If you build it and they will come” has resulted in, “yeah, we built it and no one came.” Dedicated bike lanes in Boston, Cambridge and Brookline had brought out more bikers…but not enough to offset the (car) congestion created. Cars are stuck longer in traffic and therefore spewing more exhaust per trip, while bike lanes are sporadically if not scarcely used (especially now).
The right answer is neither, “no bike lanes” nor the, “all bikes all the time” that advocates are asking for, but something in between. The good of the many should outweigh the wants of the few.
So Matt, you don’t support providing safer biking facilities for the hundreds of school students who are currently riding, and the scores more who would if it were safer? What is your advice to them and their parents?
Do you support the new accessible sidewalks and crosswalks in West Newton Square? Providing increased and better timed crossing opportunities impacted traffic signal timing in West Newton Square impacted the design far more than any bike lane additions (though the wait for pedestrians is still too long).
Mike: I fully support infrastructure projects that will be used.
I’m parent to a Junior at South. Neither he nor any of his friends ride bikes to school. I wish they did, but they do not, for all the reasons stated previously. There is a cost to these projects, not just financially, but roads are not getting any wider. We need to resist the urge to build more than will realistically utilized. Protected bike lane from Newton Center down Parker to NSHS and Brown/Oak Hill? I’ll paint the lines myself. Simply suggesting we should be pragmatic on where we build….not build like this is San Diego.
Accessible sidewalks and walkways? Great idea. Walking is a 4 season sport/need. 🙂
Better timed lights? Always a good thing. If FB, IG and other social Media sites and read our minds and present scary relevant ads, it’s about time we upgrade traffic lights to include some predictive logic and machine learning!
Matt, overwhelmingly in general, Newton is not removing general motor vehicle capacity for bike lanes. There was some places in West Newton Square where travel lanes were removed (over the overpass, for instance) or turn lanes become exclusive where they were previously also straight through. However, because of bottlenecks and pinch points in West Newton Square, the actual traffic capacity is essentially unchanged.
In some limited cases, such as upcoming on part of Washington Street, the city is proposing removing one travel lane and narrowing some lane widths to provide for continuous bicycle lanes, sidewalks, dedicated turn lanes, and safer street crossing for bus commuters and people parking on the far side of the street. That’s possible because the street itself, currently four lanes, is far over capacity. If it were at capacity, it would likely deadlock West Newton Square and Newtonville. Lane reductions from 4 to 3 lanes (two lanes plus turns) only modestly reduce motor vehicle capacity but reduce motor vehicle crashes by 19 to 47% in federal studies. This change will have a direct positive impact for neighbors and local traffic (i.e., those who are turning) as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.
Where bicycle facilities are added, the most common change is loss of parking, though the city tries to minimize that. As for costs, the cost of adding on-street bike lanes is generally far cheaper than, say, repaving a roadway or even adding or repairing a sidewalk. Bike lanes are basically paint.
For numbers, at F. A. Day last spring we counted reliably between 75 and 90 bikes on the racks. That’s a pretty impressive fraction. That’s a whole bus worth of kids. A bus costs the city something like $500-600 per day. Or imaging the impact of 75-90 more cars driving to Day in the morning and the afternoon. Call it 60 with optimistic car pooling. That’s a line of additional cars about half-way down Albemarle Field. And that’s just the students who ride now, with the incomplete infrastructure we have.
Imagine how many we could get to ride and walk, not every day, but more days, if we made a major push to provide safe and universally accessible bike/ped routes to all our schools. Yes, “build it and they will come”, but the increased safety of the students who are already riding right now justifies the modest one-time capital costs and relatively minor maintenance involved in doing this revamp. This calculus means that all the potential increases in adult and family recreational and commuter riding is literally a free ride.
It’s a distortion to reduce this to extremes. Advocates are asking for safe cycling facilities, not “all bikes all the time”. The West Newton Square redesign wasn’t all about bikes, but about complete streets for all users: better signal coordination, preemptive signals for emergency vehicles, calmed traffic, safer pedestrian crossings, trees and benches, and yes, even things like “snow storage” (not pictured here). Those goals are sometimes at odds with improving traffic throughput and feeding our addiction cars. And it’s going to take more than one segment of roadway to make a difference. Transforming the Washington Street corridor clearly is going to take time.
I was wondering if any of you advocates for safe cycling see a reason to require helmets for bikers (especially at bike share stations)? Then again most of you have probably never seen the consequences of TBI from a bike accident (I have). Even with a helmet nothing is guaranteed but seeing anyone ride without one is asking the rest of us to accept the risk that would result from an accident that would require life long medical care.
Here is my take on helmets. Wearing a helmet is the easiest and most effective thing an individual can do to avoid debilitating injury should they be in a crash. Gaining experience riding legally, confidently, and safely is the most effective thing an individual can do to avoid crashes (besides not riding at all).
What we do as a municipality or as a society to improve the safety for bicyclists needs to be aligned with those ideas, but we have to think at the population level. How do we build bicycle and other road facilities that don’t require expert skills to navigate safety by novice users? Only by riding more will bicyclists gain the real world safety experience they need to protect themselves from the hazards we aren’t able to design away.
Regarding helmet use, what’s the best way to get more people to use them and use them properly ? There’s no state law. Local laws would be pretty limited since many bike trips cross municipal lines. I think it’s pretty hard to argue enforcement is equitable when we don’t really enforce things like speeding by motor vehicle operators in residential neighborhoods (i.e., why blame the (potential) victim when we don’t punish the people actually being unsafe).
It leaves open the question of how we encourage the use of safety equipment (helmets, but also lights). Maybe we can all agree that it needs more attention. I believe the best approach is one from a personal empowerment point of view for cyclists. You do things for yourself because you are important and you are valued as a visible member of the community.
The last point is another tricky one. There have been a number of studies in other countries that suggest that riders who wear helmets may be statistically more likely to engage in more dangerous riding behavior, with one inference being that it is treated a little like a superhero cape. On the flip side, we repeatedly see crashes involving bikes reduced to whether the cyclist was wearing a helmet, even when the driver was clearly at fault or a helmet would have made no difference in the crash. These are issues we need to try to understand better and work to mitigate.
Jackson Joe:
My father used to describe folks using a motorcycle without a helmet as “operating a licensed organ donation vehicle”. Apparently organ donations go up in states where they relax helmet laws. Why? So many folks die of head injuries, leaving well protected internal organs to be used to save other lives (assuming they have selected to be an organ donor, which is a great thing to do).
That phrase has always stuck with me. You operate on roadways without a helmet at your peril, and if you get hit you are far more likely to die or lose your mental capabilities if you don’t wear one.
And yes, I’m generally the one stopping kids biking on the sidewalk or the street without a helmet. Especially middle school kids. I see them carrying the helmet lots of times too. Parents made them bring it, but they don’t want to wear it. One of my kids had a friend get hit without his helmet on. He survived, but the helmet would have made a huge difference if he had actually been wearing it versus carrying it.
and what is the percentage of people who use ride sharing bikes that wear a helmet?
I have been to TBI facilities and many of those people probably wish that they hadn’t survived or in some cases had worn a helmet. In my opinion the bike sharing companies should be providing this basic safety option or share in the liability.
Very low in my experience. In Boston they have the bike helmets sold in CVS and convenience stores for reduced rates. I’ve bought them before so I can use the sharing bike. $10.
Jackson Joe makes a good point about bike helmets, and it’s one I’ve made many times before on V14. In my opinion, it is unethical for the City of Newton [or any municipality] to allow private bike rental companies to operate their business on public property without requiring helmets for those riders. When the inevitable happens, and one of those un-helmeted rental bikers sustains a head injury, the company that rented the bike and the City of Newton will be equally at fault.
@mike Yes…I agree and I spent my youth riding dirt bikes and never wearing a helmet, but I do remember one really bad crash that knocked the wind out of me in the 3rd or 4th grade. I have crashed hard twice on my mountain bike years ago and I think the helmet played a big part in no head injury; although I had plenty of other injuries. Bike helmets are good for one fall only! I now ski with a helmet too, but I grew up in the 1970s skiing Sunapee, Killington, Wildcat, Mad River Glen all without a helmet. Maybe my older self looks at risk differently. I had some accidents on the road bike, nothing serious, but I cannot think of riding on the road without a helmet. I get the causal rent a bike benefit as it is really faster to go from one side of town to another, but the liability risk everyone is taking. Good luck with that.
Blue bikes says comply with the law: https://www.bluebikes.com/helmets
Blue Bikes has an age limit, so you must be 16 or older to ride.
In Massachusetts, 16 year olds and under must wear helmets.
Blue Bikes has a liability waiver:
https://assets.bluebikes.com/liability-waiver.html
There’s no way for Blue Bikes to require helmets. There’s no one to enforce it.
If you believe strongly in this issue, the only viable solution is to change state law for helmet use for all bicyclists. Going after bike share, which has a tiny tiny fraction of Newton’s bike riders, is almost literally bike shedding.
I didn’t suggest that these bike rental companies were doing anything illegal. My point is, it’s unethical for the City of Newton to partner with a bike rental company that does not [in some way, shape or form] provide helmets for their customers. Saying there’s no way to “enforce” helmets, is just making an excuse for a dangerous situation that will inevitably result in injury.
@Mike H….all good. I am not going after bike share companies. My opinion is we need less regulation in life — not more. I think it is crazy for people to ride without a helmet, but that is something I did a lot when I was younger and not any more. Just an observation because the City provided a license for a bike share to operate, the question is should City do more to ensure safe riding? Probably not as they rarely if ever enforce speed limits I see no reason why they should enforce bike safety limits as well. Just saying you need to be over 16 to ride, you need to wear a helmet and you signed a waiver does not actually mean it is safe and all risk and liability has been mitigated.
Bill,
Maybe you don’t the public paying for a lifetime of care for someone who has TBI from biking without a helmet but I do. Maybe you don’t see the need to require seatbelts or crosswalks either. This isn’t a matter of regulation, you are trying to turn this into a political statement
How would a bike share company provide helmets that would be effective for every ride? And how would providing helmets, say, when people sign up for bike share, get people to use them?
Boston investigated a group trying to design bike vending machines at the start of Blue Bikes. It never made it to market.
Helmets are readily available. It is the responsibility of riders to wear them. I believe the police had a grant in the past to provide them for free if asked. If you’re interested in actually working on the public health problem and bicyclist education including helmets, let’s do that. Giving Newton Bike Share some insurmountable task that will make no practical difference in public health is not that answer.
Now back to ice and snow.
Interesting statistics on bike share and safety. Yes, helmet use is lower for bike share users compared to other cyclists. However, bike share itself appears to be safer than general bicyclists. A study of the major US bike share cities between 2010 and 2016 found no fatalities related to bike share over approximately 35 million miles traveled. I could not find any later studies.
https://www.vox.com/2016/4/3/11349856/bike-share-safety
Mike…I fully admit I am not informed on this subject and when I do a search, I find confusing data points.
This link (well done site) says Boston is an urban death trap for bikers and I have generally stopped biking through Cambridge/Boston and tend to ride southwest, west and northwest from Newton: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/583e2036be0b4a359be5efe0a6c33f25
This link (GHSA) says that Boston is one of the safest cities to bike in: https://www.ghsa.org/issues/bicyclists-pedestrians
The PPM website says that bike accidents are in decline, but fatalities are on the rise: https://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/bicycle-accidents-in-the-united-states/
I do not know what to think and I will leave it up to others who have the time and energy to take on these noble challenges. I can only control what I do when I ride a bike: wear helmet, ride with and in traffic and I do not want to be restricted by barriers or people.
/wrk
I love these “anonymous studies” written by a “reputable” source. I’m sure that some of the theories have some validity but this is misinformation. Besides it doesn’t address the issue of TBI and lifelong medical care. I would agree that experienced cyclists probably take greater risks, ride faster and probably die more often than inexperienced riders who ride slower and only suffer lifelong head injuries that will incapacitate them for the rest of their life. Does that prove that ride sharing without a helmet is safe? Is that what you are trying to tell us?
I’m hereby issuing a “get Matt Lai on an e-bike or e-trike without inducing a wide grin challenge” – or anyone who hasn’t tried e-mobility yet.
We can make sure to find a safe place you won’t get run down or menaced by cars – contrary to popular belief they do exist in Newton.
Matt Lai would LOVE to try an e-bike!!! …. come April.
Actually considered getting one last Spring, but return to office never fully materialized with Delta and now Omicron.
And FWIW, been riding on streets beside cars since a teen in the late 80’s. Never had a problem with that, although I did feel a wee nervous on RT 16 where it connects with 95. Perhaps it’s because I’m not in my 20s anyone.
If anyone has an e-bike for me to try….I’d love to!! ❤️
Matt, you’re on! And April is a great time for it. I can set you up with a good demo option.
@Mike Halle–
“That said, the authors do warn that there have been instances of serious, non-fatal crashes involving bike-share riders — including head and spinal injuries. And they point out that helmets help in these cases: “Helmets, like seatbelts in cars, mitigate the severity of injuries when a collision does occur, but they do not prevent the collision from occurring.”
That’s a quote from the Mineta Transportation Institute study that you referenced. A study that appears to have been funded by the bike share industry itself. I think you’re too dismissive of the dangers involved in biking without a helmet. This is an issue that bike share companies could fix with a tweak to their business model, if municipalities like Newton just insisted they make some provision for helmets.
Mike Striar, please point to anything I have said that could be misconstrued as “dismissive of the dangers involved in biking without a helmet.” Please read my first post here on the topic. If I am dismissive, it is they we have much of a lever arm to change the helmet-wearing behavior of bike share riders, or that fixating on this tiniest slice of Newton’s bicycling population rather than working on a broader based safety campaign that includes helmets is the best use of our limited outreach resources.
But prove me wrong. What do you believe bike share companies can do to encourage either helmet use of general bicycling safety? Measures that effectively reduce the number of users don’t really count.
@Mike Halle–
I suggested you were “dismissive” of the safety aspect, because you think it’s acceptable for some bike sharing customers to ride on public roads without helmets. I disagree.
I totally support all the recent initiatives to make bike riding safer in Newton, but I cannot condone the City subsidizing a business that puts their un-helmeted customers on our roads. I not only think it’s unethical, I think it’s a foolish liability risk on the part of the City.
While I believe the bike sharing business model could be tweaked to include helmets, it’s not my obligation to fix their business model. And the City of Newton has done nothing that would incentivize the companies to change.
Of course any restriction [like adding helmets] is likely to reduce riders, but I frankly don’t give a hoot about that. I don’t care how many people use the bike share, nor do I care if the bike share companies are profitable. My concern is that un-helmeted bike share riders will needlessly sustain the type of head, neck and spine injuries mentioned in the study that you linked to this thread.
I believe bike riders should wear helmets to protect their own safety. The responsibility is on the rider or their parent, by law and from a pragmatic perspective. I think one could make a far better argument about enforcing youth helmet laws, or changing the state helmet law, than one could regarding some likely ineffective restriction on bike share. Instead, though, I personally support a broader mix of safety education, facility design, and encouragement, and that’s where I place my energy.
I understand you are impassioned about this issue and have a different perspective. Follow that where it takes you.
I will close my comments by coming back to my original point. The history of bicycling encouragement, safety and advocacy over the past four decades is filled with “bike shedding”: arguing about details to the point that little of consequence actually gets done. In celebration of upcoming Chinese New Year, I quote the Chinese saying 光说不能煮米饭, which I am told means “talk doesn’t cook rice”. We need a lot more rice cooked in Newton.
I kinda wonder if the people in Amsterdam I saw – which was the most bicycles per km of road I ever saw – with their kids on their handlebars, no helmets, wearing skirts, and work clothes ( no spandex), weaving through the roads with trolleys and cars ( all small cars mind you, no SUVs which seems to be the car of choice in Newton) – were they “bicyclists”? Or just normal people. Or, maybe everyone there is more experienced because they tax gasoline (!] and have smaller streets than even Boston.
As wonderful as it would be to see streets full of bikes like Amsterdam …the greater Boston area is a much different place…different circumstances, priorities, lifestyles, etc. Apples and oranges.
We can’t “wish” our way into being Amsterdam, no more than Jayson Tatum can be a consistent force this season. 50 points one night…shooting 1 for 8 in the first half to tonight. Ready to pull my hair out!!!
You know who used to be like Amsterdam? China. Arguably more bikes per km than….anyone…until they surpassed the US. Now they are the #1 car market globally.
I’m not anti-bike (as some have joked or alluded)…just a bit more pragmatic than your regular Newtonian. 🙂
This view of bicycling both locally and in China, a country of 1.4 billion people, is both broad brush and outdated.
The upcoming game changer both here and in China is ebikes. 300 million on the streets in China, battling the congestion and overbuilt roadways that impact major cities in both countries. See here:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-04-05/hyperdrive-daily-e-bikes-rule-china-s-urban-streets
Even with their relatively high prices, ebikes are outselling electric cars in the US and Europe. For a place like Newton, they offer anything from a car replacement for some people to a way to make quick trips and exercise and perhaps avoid the need for an additional car for others.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/business/e-bikes-urban-transit.html
Errr….until China developer an economy. Now it’s all about cars, not bikes. (No type corrections on V14 sadly)
@ Matt I was in China for 20 days in 2007. There were 20 lane [ maybe more ) highways all full of cars. That was a long time ago, but they were interested in “our” lifestyle. They were not interested in biking. Maybe that’s changed some- they shut things down in 2007 to prep for the 2008 Olympics, Which was one reason we chose to go then. We waited in line to go to Pizza Hut, where they had cloth napkins and fancy place settings. This is one conundrum we’re in – we have over 4 billion people wanting to improve their lifestyle – which we advertised- and now we’re saying , uh never mind that, go back to bicycles….
and the main way that is done is by burning fossil fuels. To both give the. Energy AND manufacture “cheap” stuff for us. Tough corner we painted ourselves into.