Comm. Ave. Could Look A Lot Different, If You Speak Up!

And that would be a good thing, the street is currently one of the busiest and in my opinion worst designed streets in the city.

Public Comments are due by November 25!  So make sure you contact Zach Wassmouth, Project Manager, BPWD ([email protected]) and let him know you want more pedestrian and cyclist friendly infrastructure on Comm. Ave.!

From the KeepBostonMoving.org site:

Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton

Description: The Boston Public Works Department is redesigning Commonwealth Avenue between Brighton Avenue (Packard’s Corner) and Warren/Kelton Streets.  With its solid apartment blocks, unique carriage roads, landscaped median, and MBTA transit reservation, this segment of Comm. Ave. is both a multi-modal transportation corridor and home for thousands of people.    The redesigned corridor will feature separated bicycle facilities, improvements to pedestrian sidewalks and crosswalks, enhanced access to the MBTA Green Line, preservation and enhancement of historic landscape features, and implementation of innovative sustainable features.    The centerpiece of the project will be the redesigned intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Harvard Avenue. Through a combination of geometric improvements and urban design features, this busy commercial and transit hub will be revitalized, with an emphasis on maximizing pedestrian space and amenities.

At completion, Commonwealth Avenue will be a livable, walkable, multimodal, green and sustainable corridor, safely and efficiently accommodating all users of this signature Boston Boulevard.

Project Status: In design

Estimated Project Cost: $20,000,000

Estimated Project Start: 2016

Estimated Project Completion: 2020

Project Design Team:

• Zach Wassmouth, Project Manager, BPWD
  • [email protected]
• Consultant Team – HDR Engineering, Inc. teamed with Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge, LLC, Ronald W. Buia, Inc., SMC, RM Engineering, Inc.

Additional Information:

Comm Ave Meeting Flyer (11-17-14)

Comm Ave Phase 3 & 4 Public Meeting #1 Presentation

Public Meeting Minutes 11-17-14

Comm Ave Meeting Flyer (10-27-15)

Comm Ave Phase 3 & 4 Public Meeting #2 Presentation

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Big New Plans For Comm. Ave.!

The city wanted a shitty plan, a plan based on old ideas, on the idea that the car would always be the main form of transportation in the city, and the entire bike community stood up and said “Hell no!” and you know what?  It worked!

The new design has smaller travel lanes, which will keep speeding down, BUFFERED cycle tracks!  I can not wait to give this a try when its done!  Congratulations everyone who worked hard on this.  It’s not over yet, and we are going to need to keep a close on the plans right up till the cement is poured, but

From livable streets (read more here):

The stretch of Comm. Ave. from the BU bridge to Packard’s Corner is about to get an $18 million dollar upgrade, with the project going to bid in fall 2015. The original plan, since 2009 and as of fall 2014, called for wider car lanes that would encourage speeding, narrower sidewalks, and no protected bicycle lanes. The city has since updated its plan to include crucial improvements…

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

RAGE!

Comm. Ave. numskull in a car thinks the bike lane goes away when it snows….it doesn’t.

Keep calm and carry on people, don’t be like this guy. The advent of tiny cameras is going to revolutionize traffic incidents in court. Russia had a spate of people throwing themselves against parked cars and then claiming they were hit, so now “dash cams” are very popular there (all those crazy videos on the internet are almost all from Russia), I hope that all cyclists start riding around with cameras so that things like this can be documented and reported.

Share the road, all the time, even in the snow. Bikes have the full legal right to use the entire lane, it doesn’t suddenly become legal to be a jerk just because its cold out. I have noticed that many people when in the wrong will substitute “Im sorry, I should have been paying attention.” for “FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!”

Also love the accents, nothing says “Boston” like two guys screaming at each other in the snow with accents. FAHCK YOU! NAH FAHCK YOU! WICKED! FAHCK!

Thanks Greg for the tip on the video.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

New Bike Lanes Being Installed On Comm. Ave.

Tristan reports:

Hey – wanted to make sure you’d heard (Im sure you have), but there are new bike lanes on comm ave! I was only on comm from Packards corner inwards, but they were in place on that whole stretch. Beautiful!

And AB Bikes saw them grinding off the arrows in preparation for moving the lane markings.

Weee!

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Fatal Crash On Comm. Ave. In Brighton

Edit: It seems the young lady later died of her injuries.

At about 4:17pm, on Monday, August 9, 2010, officers from Area D-14 (Brighton) responded to a radio call for an accident involving a bicyclist being struck by a motor vehicle in the area of Warren Street and Commonwealth Ave. On arrival, officers located and observed a 24 year-old female victim being attended to and treated by EMS. The female victim, suffering from life threatening injuries, was transported to the Brigham & Women’s Hospital where she later succumbed to injuries and was pronounced. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation.

AB Bikes, and others have reported a potential fatal crash on Comm. Ave. last night, anyone have details?

I’ve been hearing reports of a bad bike accident, yesterday evening at the intersection of Kelton St and Comm Ave. There is nothing official yet, but you can read reports/tweets here: http://www.universalhub.com/2010/bicyclist-hit-car-brighton

From what I’ve heard, she was a 24 years old, no helmet, wearing headphones, who may have run a red light. The driver apparently had the right of way. Again, the reports are unverified.

Be careful out there. I will post more details as I get them.

Edit: Lots of reports of a lot of blood in the street from the accident, but I still cant confirm a fatality…I think we can be sure it was a lady, thats about all I can confirm at this point.

Edit: Here is the location of the crash, Kelton and Comm. Ave.

View Larger Map

EDIT: Just got off the phone with the cops, they say they don’t have any fatalities recorded for yesterday involving a bicyclist, so hopefully that means that the young lady survived.

EDIT: Here is a picture of the bike at the scene. Pink and purple step through frame. Looks geared, and with brakes (aka, this wasn’t a fixed gear bicycle).

Edit: The globe seems to have finally noticed, no new info however.

Edit: More info about the young lady who died Marlene “Marly” Pineda here.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet