Once a year Bike Newton organizes the Tour de Newton, a volunteer-led bicycle journey across the Garden City. Hundreds of residents of all ages participate enthusiastically- a great event!
Today I decided to take a more limited tour on my own. On Sunday I had returned to town after a month on Martha’s Vineyard. Though it was cooler there than in Newton, the humidity was just as high. The Vineyard is suffering a severe drought, even worse than here because most of the rain that fell on the mainland passed the islands by. It rained twice in my time there, only once for more than an hour. I was therefore curious to see conditions here, and not just the climate.
Starting in Waban, I turned off Beacon Street onto Gordon Road en route to Commonwealth Avenue. To my chagrin, a line of cars streamed towards me on Gordon, diverted once again off Chestnut Street because of ongoing construction. Work on Chestnut Street is Newton’s version of the Big Dig: the endless project. I feel sorry for those living on nearby side streets. When will Chestnut Street be done?
When I reached Commonwealth, I crossed over to the Carriage Road. Recently, the city finally sanctioned two-way traffic for pedestrians and cyclists, and the road was getting lots of use: joggers, walkers, and cyclists out to enjoy a beautiful midsummer’s morning. I took a left on Lowell, heading to North to check out its tennis courts. What a sight! With the encouragement of Friends of Newton Tennis (FoNT), Parks and Rec repaired and repainted North’s courts, and about time, too! Many thanks to the city and to FoNT (check out its website at https://playtennis.usta.com/friendsofnewtontennis) for making the popular courts safe and beautiful.
My next destination being Newton South High School, I decided to bike via the bike lane on Walnut Street. The lane has recently been repainted. Though not separated by barrier from automobile traffic, the lane felt safe enough mid-morning. I rode it all the way across Beacon Street and on to the Highlands. Now Martha’s Vineyard’s bike lanes are fully separated from the roads, and bike lanes cover much of the island. No such luck in Newton since placing dedicated lanes on our often narrow streets would require major engineering. Cycling can be a dangerous thing in the Garden City as recent accidents have reminded us. Cyclists, led by Bike Newton and Safe Routes to School and councilors like Andreae Downs and Alicia Bowman, will continue to advocate improvements to our bicycle infrastructure.
I soon passed the beautiful fountain on the corner of Walnut and Forest, bubbling amidst the flowers. From there I biked past Crystal Lake, which remains open through Sunday, August 21 from 1PM to dusk. Crossing Centre Street, I reached Parker and took its painted bike path. After crossing the perilous Route 9 bridge and weaving my way to South, I biked by the playing fields. All the natural grass there was browning, a sight all too familiar on the Vineyard. Young soccer players were out in force, perhaps readying themselves for the approaching season.
My destination was South’s tennis courts, of course. Once a month over the summer, I put in an hour or so resetting net heights, repairing small holes in the nets, fixing the center straps, picking up trash on and around the courts, and generally keeping an eye on things. The courts are in good shape save for some cracks that will need some repair in the near future. Parks and Rec and FoNT are well aware of the problem and will hopefully address it in due time.
I returned to Waban via Clark Street, which runs parallel to Route 9 on its north side. Thanks to its traffic bumps, only cyclists and local residents pass that way. Today it was empty and shady and lush, a perfect route. When I reached Centre and Walnut, I noticed that O’Hara’s no longer serves food in front of the shuttered garage across the street. Other restaurants, around the corner on Lincoln Street, have sidewalk seating, and I hope this most European custom survives locally. Nothing humanizes village centers like sidewalk dining.
My personal tour de Newton was mostly reassuring. Life goes on in the Garden City much as it has over the course of the Pandemic. Here’s hoping our schools, local government, businesses, and residents all prosper in the days ahead.
Thanks for the update on the tennis courts and bike lanes, Bob! Riding around Newton, in my experience, is usually safe—but not at high speeds (I average 11 mph, which given that I don’t have to stop behind all the cars at a red light, means that biking & driving 2-3 miles takes almost the same amount of time when traffic is busy).
If you went via Athelstane Road you would have noticed legal vandalism sanctioned by our city government
Can you elaborate on this?
Bob. Thank you for sharing your view of Newton from your bike. For those that are comfortable biking, getting f around Newton by bike is pretty easy and often faster by bike. I look forward to the work the city will be undertaking this fall to create Newton’s first official bike and pedestrian plan. This is something that was strongly supported by the full council. It is long past time to make our city streets safer for all users.
Maybe the new plan will suggest that all riders (especially students) should wear helmets?
Crystal Lake hours are 12-7pm until they close on Sunday.
Loved your on post Bob … and it’s inspiring me. Back during those 90+ degree days I had no desire to be on a bike. Now that temperatures are a bit more moderate maybe I’ll get my old clunker of a bike out for a spin this weekend.
We should all try to get out of our cars and ride bikes to work. It should be mandatory that you walk or ride a bike to work no matter how long the commute. We need to work collaboratively and save the planet. We should also have a week long mandatory global climate change impact training for all Newton residents to ensure we know how we can change to make us carbon neutral.
It was already proven that during the pandemic when GLOBALLY NO ONE commuted anywhere that emissions only reduced 6% globally
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00090-3
Ie if everyone globally were forced to bike everywhere, it only dents emissions.
The bulk of the emissions is clearly coming from the throw away consumer life style. Ban beef, ban throw away fashion, seasonal furniture trend and all the useless junk being made..
Biking is just a drop in the ocean
I have to assume that you’re joking. I know someone who commutes to Fall River from Newton – are you suggesting it should be mandatory that they do this by foot or bike? Or what about people with disabilities? I am all for reducing car usage but I hope to god you’re being tongue in cheek.
Better that we stop tearing down trees and homes and all the embodied carbon they hold.
https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/smart-growth-and-preservation-existing-and-historic-buildings
I walk where I can. I don’t own a bike. BUT, being a parent, my kids take the bus but there are many carpools that I belong to, and biking only wouldn’t cut it for me. My kids take public transportation into Boston and Cambridge. I think changing our views is important, but I don’t think cutting it out together makes sense for many people. While I don’t think I can ever go zero waste, I have been using the reuseable bags for years. I have my own reuseable produce bags. My kids take silverware in their lunchboxes. We cut out ziplock bags in the reuseable lunchboxes. I have changed my habits, but zero waste isn’t the goal. Reducing the waste is my goal. Reducing my single use car rides is my goal.
To echo other comments – biking to work for a commute more than, i dunno, 5-10 miles seems completely out of touch. Especially when it is 95 or 25 or snowing.
Requiring biking doesnt work for disabled or elderly or those who dont have/cannot afford a bike.
This seems out of touch. And here we go with the banning beef thing again. Honestly people, beyond meat is not good for you, is manufactured in a plant, and is not natural. So, people who eat organic are expected to buy factory manufactured food and this factory is expected to run entirely on solar energy to create this fake food?
There are logical ways to help the environment (see electric cars or paper bags at stores) and illogical ways. Lets stick to the right ways. And until power generation can come from something renewable, the idea that new homes must be mandated to be electric is just stupid. As a reminder, natural gas alone accounts for 2/3 of electric production in massachusetts. Renewables are only ~1/6th. So punishing the consumer with mandatory power sources that are more expensive acts as a tax without any major benefit to the environment.
Much truth in Bugek’s obervation, but I still believe that a combination of more bicycles and electric cars (yes, the level 3 infrastructure is lacking for all but Tesla) could do some good.
If you haven’t tried out an e-bike yet, you should, they are fantastic!