Longfellow To Be Closed To Bikes On Weekends During Construction (Sorta)

From the globe:

There are still a few weeks left before Boston-area residents will have to deal with weekend Red Line diversions on Longfellow Bridge — those are scheduled to come in August — but local bike enthusiasts won’t be able to use two wheels to bypass the gridlock.

Though cyclists will be allowed to travel in both directions on the bridge during most of the construction project, officials at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation have decided to bar bike-riding during the 25 weekend Red Line diversions, when the T will cease running at the bridge, and buses will instead run shuttle service between Park Street, Charles/MGH, and Kendall/MIT s tations.

“It’s purely out of concerns for safety,” said Michael Verseckes, a MassDOT spokesman.

During those weekends, the bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic to allow a steady stream of buses to cross the bridge uninterrupted, Verseckes said.

In recent years, there have been multiple incidents of MBTA buses involved in crashes with bicycles, several of them fatal. Verseckes said the agency decided it was too dangerous to have biycles riding alongside so many buses on the narrowed bridge without having a physical barrier between them.

Cyclists who want to cross the bridge will have to dismount their bikes and walk them across the bridge.

It takes all of a couple minutes to walk your bike over the Longfellow, this is really not a closure so much as a delay for most cyclists. Don’t be that person who is riding your bike through a bunch of pedestrians, just get off your ride, walk over the bridge and hop back on. Shouldn’t slow you down but a few moments.

I feel sorry for all those people in buses and cars, and anyone taking the red line, this is going to be a mess…stick to the bike.

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What You Can Look Forward To For The Next Couple Years On The Longfellow

Long story short, shouldn’t be too big of a deal (for cyclists). There is the Mass Ave bridge for those weekends when this thing is a nightmare.

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Construction On The Southwest Corridor Near Stony Brook Station

Be warned, they take all the bike traffic and direct it right off a non-cut curb. Its also very hard to see in the dark. Go slow, and be prepared to dismount.

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Emerald Necklace Bike Path Under Construction

I have gotten reports that the emerald necklace bike path between longwood and park st is under construction (see map here).

Anyone else notice this? Anyone got a good detour route for people?

(thanks Geoff for the heads up)

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Construction On Southwest Corridor

From JP Bikes

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Just got this from Kyle over at the JPNDC. The flyer is attached below. Basically, they’re re-working that whole intersection as part of the Jackson Square redevelopment. It should vastly improve the crosswalk across Centre that links the SWC path at Jackson Square. Right now, the crosswalk and ramps are narrow, and the T-station side is offset from the path such that you have to negotiate a tight turn, often around pedestrians. I have a copy of the plans, and at first glance it looks much better, with the crosswalk and ramp widened and placed much closer to the continuation of the path. I think the sidewalk is wider as well. That said, I wasn’t involved with the redesign and others may have concerns.

Construction is slated to start next week and continue approximately until the end of May. In the meantime, you can expect it to be a little more difficult to get through there at times as they work. Please be courteous around pedestrians and extra careful around vehicles.

pdf flyer here.

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