Protected Bike Lanes Installed On Mass. Ave. In Central

The good folks in cambridge fighting for improved bike safety are claiming their first (of hopefully many) victories, with the installation of protected bike lanes in Central Square.

from their email:

We are excited to report major progress in the push for bike safety in Cambridge! Today, the City started to implement pop-up protected bike lanes on sections of Mass Ave! Additionally, the City has has committed to begin building a broader network of pop-up protected bike lanes this spring.

These are a major achievements and they would not have happened without you. The City Council and the new City Manager Louis DePasquale are responding to our petition signatures, phone calls, letter writing, rallies, and council meeting attendance. As a measure of the city’s commitment, the traffic department will be hiring an additional engineer in large part to help with the plans for increased bike infrastructure.

Our road to success has not been without challenges. As you may recall, in early November, the city had stated publicly that establishing even a single protected bike lane before the end of the year would be impossible due to the time needed for planning and the practical problems posed by snow and cold weather. This surprising reversal in policy was the result of our calls, letters and presence at council meetings letting City Hall know that we were not satisfied with the pace of progress.

Even as we celebrate, we recognize that we are still a long way from our goal of a network of protected bike infrastructure on all major thoroughfares. During the Winter, conversations will continue with city officials to work out details for the Spring roll-out of additional protected bike lanes. The city has not specified the exact plan for the spring pop-up network and we want to make sure that it is significant in scope and is as successful as possible. It will be important to voice our opinion at public meetings and, if necessary, at the council to make this happen. Let’s continue to use our collective power to ensure that we get the safe streets everyone deserves.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Mass Ave Detour

They are tearing up Mass Ave for the next couple weeks…sigh, here is how to deal with it, from the city:

The city will begin construction on Massachusetts Ave from Boylston St to Westland Ave. During the construction, the roadway will be milled then paved with a temporary surface and re-striped with limited* and temporary markings. For the next month, the area will be more uncomfortable for anyone who is biking or driving in the construction zone. If you are biking in the area, please consider taking this alternative route. If you are driving in the area, please be aware that there is an active construction site and you may need to shift lanes.

Please bear with us during construction. Once construction is complete, the roadway will be re-paved and striped with the final markings. — *The temporary markings will be limited to the double yellow centerline and dashed white lines to designate travel lanes. — This is a special alert about the Vision Zero project on Mass Ave. Vision Zero Boston is the City of Boston’s commitment to focus the city’s resources on proven strategies to eliminate fatal and serious traffic crashes in the city by 2030. To learn more about Vision Zero Boston, visit visionzeroboston.org. Join the mailing list(s) to receive general and project-specific updates.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Reminder: Speak Out For Safety On Mass. Ave. Wed. June 15th!

From Livable Streets:

Now is the time to speak up for a safer Massachusetts Ave!

This Wednesday, June 15^th the City of Boston is holding a community meeting to share proposed design improvements for Massachusetts Avenue from Beacon Street to Harrison Avenue. This is a critical meeting. Will you be there? 

Vision Zero Priority Corridor Mass Ave Public Meeting
June 15, 2016, 6pm – 7:30pm
@ Saint Cecilia Parish, 18 Belvidere St, Boston

Through participating in this meeting you are demonstrating your support not just for a safer Mass Ave, but for strong Vision Zero implementation throughout Boston.

You can do a few things to help out:

1. Share this with your friends and neighbors and encourage them to join you on Wednesday.
2. Wear yellow to the meeting. Yellow is an international color of solidarity for those killed in crashes.
3. Spread the word via social media before and during the meeting using #visionzero, #ProtectMassAve and#crashnotaccident 
4. Speak up at the meeting. Tell the city about your personal experiences and the improvements you’d like to see on Mass Ave

Here are a few suggested talking points:

• Thank you for your commitment to Vision Zero and making Mass Ave safer for everyone!
• Please add protected bike lanes on both sides of Mass Ave, the whole way.
• Re-pave Mass Ave by the Christian Science Center Plaza as soon as possible!
• In areas where protected bike lanes can’t be added this year, please make a commitment to implement them as part of your long-term plan for the street.
• Please make signals shorter to reduce the wait time for pedestrians crossing the street;
• And give pedestrians at least a 6 second head start when they are crossing
• Please make every intersection ‘no right on red’ — and enforce it!

This project is an important step in bringing the number of fatalities on our streets to zero and has the potential to be a model street for other safety improvements throughout Boston.

We know that improving Mass Ave will save lives. We hope to see you on June 15^th!

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Action Alert: Speak Up For A Safer Mass. Ave. June 15th

From Livable Streets:

Now is the time to speak up for a safer Massachusetts Ave!

Next Wednesday, June 15 the City of Boston is holding a community meeting to share proposed design improvements for Massachusetts Avenue from Beacon Street to Harrison Avenue.

This is a critical meeting. We’ve been waiting for this since the City first announced Mass Ave as a Vision Zero priority corridor last December.

The City’s goal is to use the feedback from this meeting to make safety improvements to Mass Ave this year.

Vision Zero Priority Corridor Mass Ave Public Meeting
June 15, 2016, 6pm – 7:30pm
@ Saint Cecilia Parish, 18 Belvidere St, Boston

We know that improving Mass Ave will save lives. Will you join us on June 15th?

This project is an important step in bringing the number of fatalities on our streets to zero and has the potential to be a model street for other safety improvements throughout Boston.

We’ll follow up with more details about the meeting early next week. In the meantime you can:

1. Mark your calendar for June 15 and plan on attending the meeting.
2. Share this email with your friends and neighbors and encourage them to join you.

Thank you for making our streets safer and more livable for everyone!

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Bikes Lanes At Fatal Mass. Ave. Intersection…Not Working

I noticed the same thing when I was looking at them a couple nights ago, but Reddit user Alltheacro noticed that drivers don’t seem to be paying any attention to them during the day either…

I read there was talk of Bollards?  It looks like they will be needed…we could also use some more bike lane markers, some targeted enforcement, and maybe that blinking sign should say “Right most Lane, Bikes Only” because these drivers don’t seem to care/understand.  This turn needs a curb bump out to slow down right turning vehicles, and something to keep them out of the bike lane.  Also shame on that city bus, I know they have had training on how to drive safely around cyclists, and yet they continue to pull dumb shit like this.

This intersection isn’t the most dangerous in Boston on accident, and its not going to fix itself, the city has started the process, but clearly its not done yet.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet