By adamg on Sat., 5/23/2020 - 2:21 pm 
Massachusetts Avenue getting new, tougher bike-lane borders.
Scott couldn't help but notice the new concrete barriers lying amidst the plastic flexposts that motorists love to knock over and park on along a section of the Massachusetts Avenue bike lane south of Boylston Street.
Stefanie Seskin, BTD's active-transportation director, says this is the first part of a multi-year project to harden dedicated bike lanes against four-wheeled intrusions:
They will be pinned to the roadbed and additional signage will he added. Install only began yesterday, more to come.
Concrete curbing will reduce need to replace/repair flex posts & provide better barrier for our bike lanes.
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A good bike lane is about as
By Refugee
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 12:24pm
According to US DOT, a good bike lane is 4 or 5 feet wide.
Cars on Mass Ave don't need to 'pass' each other. It's a city road not a rural highway. Every motor vehicle can be expected to move with the flow of traffic up to the enforced speed limit. Multiple car lanes are there to handle traffic volume, not to enable 'passing'.
There isn't so much bicycle congestion to require two bike lanes in each direction, which is basically what's being created.
The perspective in the photo
By CH
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 1:24pm
The perspective in the photo is misleading. Ignore the car in the distance; compare the bike lane in the foreground to the car-sized parking spaces right next to it, and you'll see that the parking spaces are at least a foot or two wider.
More importantly, nothing is "being created" here except a stronger barrier between the bike lane and parking spaces. This bike lane has existed with its current dimensions for years.
Double Duty
By SwirlyGrrl
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 1:07pm
I don't mind at all if the lane is wide enough for an emergency vehicle to carefully use to get around pile ups of far less compact vehicles.
In the city this is a pretty ideal use of the space - bike lane most of the time, emergency lane when needed to get around the herds of social distancing bubbles.
Extra width is good for
By anon
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 4:07pm
Extra width is good for runners who use bike lanes as well. Now if we can stop Uber drivers from double-parking on Boylston it'll be a win-win for everyone.
This should do the job.
By Lee
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 4:35pm
I hope to see more of them around.
The road is looking pretty
By ZachAndTired
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 4:40pm
The road is looking pretty vacant
Does anyone care?
By jmeltzer
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 7:40am
Does anyone care?
I remember moving
By Matt
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 4:46pm
To Madison WI in 2006 for grad school. They had concrete curbs and guard rails separating the bikes. Glad Boston is finally catching up.
I appreciate the headline
By anon
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 5:15pm
and the bollards too.
Just south of this stretch...
By CopleyScott17
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 5:32pm
...is where things *really* get weird, when the bike lane becomes a dedicated green-painted path that veers off the street right up onto the sidewalk. That takes some getting used to :-)
Time to regulate (ie. tax) bikes...
By anon
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 5:40pm
Unpopular opinion, but all of this infrastructure isn't free.
Yes, automotive taxes only cover a small fraction of road maintenance costs, but that's not a reason why a similar scheme can't be applied to bikes. After all, these barriers physically prevent cars from sharing the bike lane, so it makes little sense for car taxes to subsidize such spaces. It's like a salesperson strongly encouraging you to pay for an extended warranty (that you don't need or want) on a TV, except the salesperson is the government and says that you can't have any TV at all without paying for the warranty - of the next person who comes to buy one.
Even T riders are paying transportation taxes, in the form of constant fare hikes that take place without any improvement in service (or even alongside service cuts). As highlighted by the ongoing health crisis, bus riders overall (minorities and poorer people) are arguably more vulnerable than able-bodied cyclists -- a reason why cyclists should pay their fair share. (Of course, Blue Bikes can be exempt, and to mitigate equity/race concerns, such a taxation system can even charge different rates based on income.)
This makes zero sense.
By Lee
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 5:24pm
Of course, car taxes should subsidize bike lanes. Because of cyclists, drivers have more room on the road.
Cyclists do pay taxes
By Ian
Mon, 05/25/2020 - 10:19am
Not sure why anyone thinks they don’t. Look up how much this infrastructure costs vs how much damage cyclists do to it - I assure you cyclists are well on the green side of the equation.
Now, if we want to start charging vehicles tax vs how much damage they do - I’m not opposed, but get ready for the cost of shipping goods to go waaaaay up.
Excellent, city space savers.
By anon
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 6:26pm
Excellent, city space savers. Can't wait to see how this works out during snow removal.
Dented plows and snow filled
By Lmo
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 7:42pm
Dented plows and snow filled bike lanes.
As someone else said elsewhere....
By Lee
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 6:31pm
.... UBER BUSTERS!!
Haha!
True...
By anon
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 8:06pm
But only until the Ubers start stopping in the active travel lane. After all, every Uber driver knows that they won't get a 5-star rating for dropping passengers off a block away...
Newsflash
By SwirlyGrrl
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 1:08pm
IF a bike lane is only 4' wide, that same Uber will be blocking the travel lane anyway.
See also: asshat valets lining up cars for free parking in the Seabork.
Any Uber driver that dropped me in mid traffic...
By Lee
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 5:25pm
... would get a zero rating from me.
Does the person who chose
By anon
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 8:16pm
Does the person who chose these ride a bike in the area? This makes it impossible to leave the bike lane to turn left or get around an obstruction.
I seriously hope these are visible at night, and stay that way (missing flexposts get replaced promptly, and lines get repainted when they fade, which should go without saying but thisnis Boston where missing lines stay missing for years). Nobody expects chunks of concrete in the road, and hitting one would seriously injure a cyclist, maybe even kill them.
Just here to say
By Brent Jeffries
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 8:18pm
this is one of my favorite headlines from Adam in a long time.
Anarchy in the UHub.
By jmeltzer
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 7:38am
Give a wrong time, stop a traffic line.
Subtle headline reference...
By Bob Leponge
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 12:13pm
Subtle headline reference is subtle.
If we start getting winters
By anon
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 8:36pm
If we start getting winters with heavy snow again, it will be interesting to see how plow blades interact with these barriers.
More of this, please.
By MrZip
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 9:08pm
But now Charlie needs to fix the T. I mean, really make it world class. If we make driving take even longer and eliminate parking options when you get where you're going, we need to supply an alternative. Lots and lots of people are just never going to ride a bicycle. Hats off to those that do. For the rest of us for whom the T will be the only option, a 5 mile bus+train trip should not average 9 mph (45 mins). We should not be forced to wait on the bus platform with 150 other people at 6 pm for a single bus that's sitting empty while the driver is on a break or they're "adjusting the schedule" or wait at a bus stop for 15 minutes in the morning only to have 4 buses roll up at the same time, bunched together. If driving is even more difficult and the MBTA system, already at the breaking point, is even further challenged by ridership increases, downtown, Back Bay, Cambridge, Somerville, South Boston, waterfront, really anywhere "in town" becomes even less accessible than before for folks who don't already live there. On the other hand, maybe we'll get used to not going out and our jobs will have us working from home more, so no need to go "in town". I've always wondered what's out there in the suburbs...?
Agreed
By anon
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 10:15pm
Not everyone can ride a bike (or afford one), particularly the most vulnerable members of our society: the elderly, people with disabilities, single mothers with young children, etc. etc.
It's difficult to support bike infrastructure when there aren't even studies commissioned (not to mention actual plans) to improve bus service on the same stretch of the street.
Help isn't coming either. We've got a governor with a less than stellar record on public transit, while local politicians - all from the opposite party - are all rooting for bikes like there's no tomorrow.
You must not spend much time in the city
By SwirlyGrrl
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 1:13pm
Perhaps your suburb is too spread out for this to work, but when I cycle in protected lanes I often see people in wheelchairs using them, too. I see a whole lot more chairs using bike lanes when there are physical barriers to cars involved.
The reasons are easy to understand: chair users can get up to higher speeds on the lanes and don't have to play find the ramp at every interconnection.
We need public transit, yes. We need better options for people with disabilities, yes. But I'm getting soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired of the "everyone is too disabled to not use a car/use a mask blah blah blah" nonsense.
Get a sense of proportion - and come visit the city when the current situation eases, too.
Which suburb are YOU from
By anon
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 4:08pm
...where there are no single mothers with young children on the bus at 7AM? Or seniors taking the bus to get to the grocery store? There's also East Boston and Chelsea residents (disproportionately poor + dying from Covid-19, by the way) who have to take the T to work in Boston - they can't bike in the tunnels or on the Tobin.
Do these groups of people not deserve better?
What PLANET are you from
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 05/25/2020 - 4:46pm
... where it is impossible to consider a world where having better transit and having bike lanes can both happen, and each new installment isn't some sort of dumbass competition?
Where EVERY SINGLE FUCKING SIMPLE LITTLE THING that cyclists get isn't somehow a monumental "loss" for everybody else or "your team"?
Since you already seem to have a vivid imagination, maybe consider putting it to good use thinking about a better city as a whole, and not pretending that anything that isn't rocking your special hobby horse is somehow a loss for team hobby horse?
Snow Plows
By Mike B
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 9:11pm
A snow plow traveling at 20 mph will toss those concrete forms like baseballs at whoever or whatever is near the sidewalk. Going to get very ugly.
Coordination
By ElizaLeila
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 2:04pm
I would suggest the City has coordinated with the Boston DPW (their own employees) on this. And when the winter/seasonal team is hired, they will notify the plow drivers of these adds to the infrastructure. Or they will change the set up in snow situations.
I’m sure that have. Boston is
By Lmo
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 7:44pm
I’m sure that have. Boston is great at logistical planning.
Plows hitting concrete bike lane forms
By Mike B
Mon, 05/25/2020 - 8:13pm
Plows hit fixed objects like cars and curbing all the time. These hidden under snow and out in the roadway will be cannon fodder.
Kneeland St. next, please!
By notadoctor
Sat, 05/23/2020 - 9:26pm
The bike lane there is just a glorified loading zone. this would be a great improvement!
Agreed! And ....
By Lee
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 3:40pm
... can we please have these for the bike lane about to be installed around the corner on Washington? Currently this is also an illegal loading zone/Uber/Lyft drop off and idling zone.
A brief return to normal
By anon
Sun, 05/24/2020 - 1:36pm
It so refreshing to read a good old Bike Brawl on U-Hub. Almost makes me feel like the world is normal again!
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