Comments on: New Bike Lanes Everywhere!

By: Ron Newman

Ron Newman — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:50:09 +0000

This part of Beacon Street is near Boston College, not Boston University.

By: Jack

Jack — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:02:04 +0000

Did anyone notice how fast the lines for the Western Ave bike lane wore off? Had to be from the cars!

By: teeheehee

teeheehee — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:52:28 +0000

This morning the River St spray-paint guide lines were still there with one block had upgraded to true lane-marking paint (only one block?), and about two blocks of road had orange cones and chunks of missing pavement for sidewalk replacement work going on. I figure it will be another two or so weeks before the lane (if it even is a bike lane) is complete with all of the appropriate paint and markers.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:26:20 +0000

Riverside is my hood and I can confirm the right side of River St is the worst. It’s left side biking for me into Central. The conditions are unacceptable.

By: latron

latron — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:24:07 +0000

Can I vote to have all Boston-area bike lanes uniformly painted a color — green, I hope — so that it’s really clear that they belong to bikes? I was on the Beacon Street (in Somerville/Cambridge) tonight; it has a great bike lane, but the left-hand stripe has been worn away by drivers stepping over the line, so as to speak. In places it’s only barely visible, and drivers now just go for it — “What bike lane, officer?” they’ll say after the accident. If the body of the lane itself were completely painted in with a color (green, etc), it would give an instant and enduring clue that the space isn’t for cars.

By: m2mayer

m2mayer — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:16:08 +0000

This is great to see. Previously there were no lane markings at all on that stretch of Beacon, and motorists would always try to pass each other on the right, in what is now a bike lane. Also they used to drive very fast when the road widens there by the reservoir. Now that they are specifically confined to an actual lane, it will be much safer for us.

By: teeheehee

teeheehee — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:57:08 +0000

On Fridays I usually take River St in to Cambridge from Allston. This is a one-way that more or less covers the same areas as Western Ave, which is one-way in the opposite direction. For at least a while (one year+) Western Ave has had a bike lane and River St has not, though the streets basically compliment each other. I saw spray-paint markings appear on River St just a week or two ago which usually comes before lane stripes, it wouldn’t surprise me that it finally is going to have a bike lane there. Even though, as you note, it sections off the worst part of the road for cyclists to use (big surprise!)

Oh, and the road and lane paint on Western is in pretty rough shape. A couple of huge buckling road wrinkles travel along the same line as the path marking for a stretch in places.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:13:46 +0000

OK, on second thought, now I’m thoroughly confused. I didn’t bike home the last two nights, so I didn’t see these new markings (the lateral white lines to the left and the bike symbol on the right). I thought the bike lane was to the left and the lane to the right (by the curb) was for parking. If that isn’t for parking, and the “lane” to the left is just buffer, I’m even happier than before. In lots of ways, it’s too bad more roads don’t have as much room for buffer.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:10:35 +0000

Oh, and to clarify, I’m specifically talking about the bike lane along the reservoir – there are obviously tons of cars parked on Beacon St. as you go up past BC’s campus, as the other picture shows.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:09:15 +0000

I just started taking Beacon St. home this way, past my alma mater, BC (not BU). I’m so happy about these bike lanes, too, although at the most dangerous curve in the road, the bike lane essentially disappears, which is kinda crummy. Also, there’s this one part of the road just as you get to the reservoir that is still ridiculously bumpy. Also, I usually try not to get too excited about bike lanes, but this is the type of road where they are great (especially because there typically are very few cars parked along the curb).

Anyway, the newly (in my mind, it’s still new) re-paved Beacon St. through Brookline is great, and now with the bike lanes marked all the way up to BC, my commute home is getting better and better.

Like 100psi, though, I am a little sad about the loss of daylight. This summer was such a wash, it’s making the transition into fall really hard.