New Longfellow Bridge Experience

(picture from the globe)

I got my first chance to ride over the Longfellow this morning with the new traffic layout.  And I have to say its pretty nice.  They need to address some of the lights after you are off the bridge (inbound from Cambridge) to make the left hand turns safer, but other than that it was great.  I think the car drivers have learned to go someplace else/take the T/ride there bike, because there were almost no cars, and A LOT more cyclists than usual.

It would be great if they just left it one lane in each direction and put in giant sidewalks and bike lanes…but I don’t think we are there yet.  Good to know the bridge can function just fine with “extra” bike/ped accommodations though.

Anyone else ride over it yet?  Any other thoughts?

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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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Longfellow Bridge Under Construction Watch Out

They got the base of the Longfellow (on the Boston side) all torn up, you will have to be extra careful when you merge to get over to the bike lane.

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