Cambridge making progress in traffic congestion (Boston, Somerville: 2015, transfer to, to live in)

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by GeePee

They did a test run in Roslindale last summer. Eliminated parking on one side of Washington st. and turned into a dedicated bus and bike lane. It was a huge success and is now permanent. Of course the people who have their cars there as private storage and the suburbanites who got free forest hills parking thought the end of times were coming.

I thought many of the houses along there have off street parking? Not a whole lot of businesses either. That would be hard to replicate in much of Cambridge, although I suppose it could work in some cases.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by GeePee

They did a test run in Roslindale last summer. Eliminated parking on one side of Washington st. and turned into a dedicated bus and bike lane. It was a huge success and is now permanent. Of course the people who have their cars there as private storage and the suburbanites who got free forest hills parking thought the end of times were coming.

Yeah, it's been a proven success almost anywhere it's been done. And for the weather naysayers, Montreal has had an excellent bike network with separated bike lanes for a long, long time. It's both colder and hillier than Boston.

Anecdotally, I know a lot of people who would ride and/or use last mile commuter options (scooters, hoverboards, etc.) if there was network of safe places to do so. As it is now, the network here is very fragmented.

[GeePee]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Anecdotally, I know a lot of people who would ride and/or use last mile commuter options (scooters, hoverboards, etc.) if there was network of safe places to do so. As it is now, the network here is very fragmented.

This is a great way to approach it. Different densities have different needs. Again using roslidale, They put 2 Hubway bike docks in at Adams Park.. but they didn't bither to put one at Forest hills yet? I'm sure it's in the works. It has to be right?

For me that is a much better way to get into town over driving every single time. Bike 1 mile to forest hills, then open your world to a multitude of options in under an half hour.

[GeePee]

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/04/...ted-bike-lane/


just picture how many less cars all you guys would have to deal with.
this is a win win win..

[timberline742]

Yeah. Hmmn. I wonder where the increase in ridership is coming from. I'd like to see the breakdown (if it exists) on whether that increase is primarily from decreased public transit, or decreased driving. It's a good thing though.

[wolfgang239]

Most of it is probably just people rerouting from poorly designed roads or side streets to the better configured bike lane. The counts were only on that one stretch, not city wide.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

Most of it is probably just people rerouting from poorly designed roads or side streets to the better configured bike lane. The counts were only on that one stretch, not city wide.

Ah yeah, didn't think of that. Makes sense.

[GeePee]

Still a win in my eyes. More options the better. Most people i know would love to ride to work, but are scared. Remove that factor and....

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

Most of it is probably just people rerouting from poorly designed roads or side streets to the better configured bike lane. The counts were only on that one stretch, not city wide.

Most likely, but it does indicate that many people either choose not to ride at all, or take a more circuitous route than take risks on more direct (usually busier) roads with unprotected bike lanes. Unfortunately, we're not Denmark or the Netherlands where a good network is in place for bikes and drivers are good about sharing the road. I saw a guy get clipped this morning on Merrimac St. (not a big accident, but enough that the guy fell and got up screaming at the driver). It's dangerous. If you eliminate some of that danger, people will bike. Montreal is colder, snowier, and hillier than Boston but they have a great bike network (With huge stretches of separated paths and protected lanes) and over 1,000,000 people use a bike as a means of commuting (about 50% of the population). No reason Boston can't do that. The few good bikeways we have are jam packed. I can't find data, but I use the Somerville Community Path every day and it's heavily trafficked. I occasionally use the Minuteman by Alewife and it's also packed. People use this stuff when it gets them where they want/need to go.

One of my favorite components of the Green Line Extension is that the Somerville Community Path will be extended from Lowell Street all the way through Lechmere and down to the Charles River Bike Paths in Charlestown/Cambridge. Since the Community Path links to the Minuteman at Alewife, you'll be able to ride from Bedford to just about Downtown Boston almost (there are small gaps between Alewife and Davis) entirely on a protected/separated bike path. For users in Arlington, Someville and Cambridge, this is a game changer in terms of practicality of a bike commute. Cambridge's changes will make it even better (and hopefully link to the path). Hopefully Boston follows suit.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by GeePee

Still a win in my eyes. More options the better. Most people i know would love to ride to work, but are scared. Remove that factor and....

This is me. I'm not willing to risk it for the most part. Give me a direct, protected path and I'll do it daily, year round. It's actually faster than the T in many cases.