EVERYONE IS BACK!

Oh man what a difference a couple degrees makes. Its like a someone pushed a button and all of a sudden all the cyclists are back on the road!  Welcome back everyone, we missed you, and are super happy you are back. Just an FYI, while you were gone the roads were destroyed by several snow-blastings. There are now pot holes, piles of sand/salt/rocks, still a lot of ice, and in general they are slightly more narrow.

All that being said, its been GLORIOUS riding these last couple days.  I actually got to wear actual bike shoes, instead of winter boots, and I feel like a million bucks.  HURRAH SPRING!

Have you started riding again? Do you remember what green plants look like?  Have you figured out what that glowing thing in the sky is?

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Hubways Back: Bigger Than Ever

Got this in the email from Hubway, they are back and bigger than ever. I have already seen 5 or 6 people on them.  Have you spotted anyone on one yet?

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Spring has sprung and it’s time to ride!

After a very snowy winter we are thrilled to announce that Hubway is open for business. Effective Tuesday, April 2, nearly 75% of our stations are on the ground and the bikes are ready to ride. Our team will continue to add stations and expect to be fully deployed by mid-April. There will be an official ‘Opening Day’ launch event on Monday, April 8. Stay tuned to our Twitter feed, Facebook page, and news page for event details.

There are many exciting changes for 2013! The current Hubway footprint is 112 stations and 1100 bicycles with several updates to the 2012 configuration:

Boston:

• Additional docking points installed at 10 of the most highly utilized stations, including Congress/Sleeper, Post Office Square, Beacon/Mass Ave, and Charles Circle
• Summer/Arch station has moved one block to the corner of Franklin/Arch and has added 12 docking points to accommodate demand
• TD Garden/Legends Way station has moved to the sidewalk along Causeway St at Portal Park and added 7 docking points
• New station at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s Navy Yard facility

Brookline:

• Washington Square will get a station in metered parking spots along the median of Beacon St (to be installed after the Boston Marathon)
• New station in on-street parking spots along Harvard Ave in the Kennedy Crossing area of Brookline, providing a critical link between Coolidge Corner and Allston

Cambridge:

• New station at the Radcliffe Quad, at Garden St/Shepard St
• Planned station for the Porter Square T plaza

Somerville:

• New station at Highland Ave/Somerville Hospital
• New station at Teele Square/Elm St
• New station adjacent to Tufts at Packard Ave/Powderhouse Blvd
• Ball Square station moving down the block to Bristol Rd at the intersection of Broadway

Your support has helped make Hubway a critical piece of the transit puzzle here in metro-Boston and one of the most successful bikeshare systems in the world. Together we are #realtransportation, we are Hubway.

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Nicole Freedman Is Back!

Great news, Nicole Freedman is back in the saddle as Boston’s bicycle director!

Nicole Freedman this week returned to her old job as director of the City of Boston’s bicycle programming, city officials announced.

Freedman, a Wellesley native and former Olympic bicyclist, worked as director of Boston Bikes from the program’s launch in 2007 until last April, when she stepped down from the post to take a job as the executive director of Maine Huts and Trails.

“Over the past five years, the program has made tremendous strides, but there’s always more work to do,” said a statement from Freedman. “We’re looking forward to another successful year of cycling in Boston.”

As director of Boston Bikes, Freedman has worked to raise awareness about bicycling in Boston, in an effort to make it more popular and safe, city officials said.

She oversaw major initiatives, including the launch of the Hubway bike share system and the installation of about 50 miles of bike lanes and 850 bicycle racks.

Freedman helped welcome the first professional bicycle race to Boston in nearly two decades, city officials said. Under her leadership, city helped donate more than 1,000 bikes to low-income residents and provided on-the-bike training to nearly 8,000 youth.

“In 2007, we set out to make Boston a world-class bicycling city, and Nicole was the clear choice for a leader who both shared that vision and had the passion to make it a reality,” said a statement from Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “Since her departure, Boston Bikes has continued to thrive and improve access for all cyclists, and we’re thrilled Nicole has joined us again to keep that momentum going.”

Freedman left her City Hall post as the so-called “bike czar” on April 20; her first day back was Wednesday. During her nearly nine-month absence, Kris Carter served as interim director. He will now return to his advisor to the mayor.

“I’m so excited to be back in Boston, and grateful for the vision of the mayor, and the work of Kris Carter and the team of people who have continued to lead Boston Bikes on a successful path,” Freedman said. (via)

I am very happy to see her return, Kris Carter did a great job, but nothing beats a dedicated bicycle director. Whoo hoo!

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I’m Back

Hi all,

I am back from RAGBRAI, and boy was it fun. Expect a full report soon.

Things seemed to have run smoothly without me.

Thanks for looking out.

More soon!

BB

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