By adamg on Wed., 7/12/2017 - 9:02 am
Devin Cole shows us the new cycle track - bike lanes marked off by more than just paint - along Brattle Street in Harvard Square.
HUGE upgrade for safety and access.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
More of this, please
By anon!
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 11:40am
Brattle St. looks great, but there was never really a need for this on that quiet, wide street.
Mass Ave is much more popular with, well everyone. Continuing the separated lane would go so far to helping the overall safety and usability of that road.
The big benefit of this new
By cden4
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 3:15pm
The big benefit of this new lane on Brattle is that it allows two-way travel by bike. That means there is now a quieter alternative to busy Mass Ave.
No, an alternative to Mt
By anon
Thu, 07/13/2017 - 1:27am
No, an alternative to Mt Auburn, or possibly Concord Ave. Mass Ave isn't parallel to Brattle.
One way protected lane also
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 9:51am
One way protected lane also added yesterday on Mass Ave NB between Putnam and Harvard St. A couple steps forward!
Bike Lane
By Bugs Bunny
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 9:56am
What's the point of the space between the yellow line and the curb now., bikers can't ride too close to a curb?
That's a lane.
By Sally
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:20pm
There are two bike lanes, one going in either direction--a little hard to see in the photo. It's an unusual design but hopefully it'll work.
Just like almost any other travel lane in North America
By Neal
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 10:21am
A yellow line denotes opposing traffic on the other side and that you should keep to the right of it.
so inbound
By Samuel Murphy
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 10:31am
you're riding between bikes close on one side (always so focused and stable) and cars on the other side that may not get the concept. What could possibly go wrong?
Sorry for being flip but the experiments in bike lanes are lacking the one element that's actually helpful, predictable expectations for all participants. I both bike and drive and walk and getting to a spot that's confusing is the worst situation.
Experiments?
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 11:00am
They're not experiments. This infrastructure, for example, has existed in Montreal for 2 decades or more.
I do agree that predictable is important -- but new and predictable are different. The standard of "yellow line on your left, white line on your right" has existed in America since long before you were born. It applies to country roads, heavily trafficked arteries, and interstates.
Yes, good signs and markings are important. In this case, there are bike stencils and arrows on the road in the image -- I don't have a feel yet for what the rest is like, as I haven't been there.
Except if you're in the
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:38pm
Except if you're in the general lane or parking lane, in which case there's a yellow line on your right.
Indeed.
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 2:01pm
It's why I don't especially like this design. IMO, there needs to be a physical separation, like a curb, so that this becomes two very near parallel roadways. I suspect that there is a longer-term plan to do just that, but moving curbs and drainage is expensive, typically reserved for when the road is due for major work, on the order of every 30 years or so.
Look at the Picture
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 11:23am
You are not riding beside moving cars. There are parking spots there. Look again.
Huge improvement inbound
By SP123
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 11:41am
I rode the contraflow this morning and it's an enormous improvement over the previous options to get into the center of Harvard Sq. You either had to go to Mt Auburn, past where all the buses turn around at the tunnel, and over to JFK St.; or you had to go to Concord, which is one of the most dangerous biking stretches in Cambridge (two narrow lanes each, way plus parking on both sides- extreme dooring hazard) and down to Mass Ave. past Out of Town.
Cars have the parking lane plus the lined buffer lane plus the orange posts (don't know if those are temporary or permanent) so there's no way a car should encroach on the double bike lane. The only problem was that cars making a right from Church onto Brattle didn't know to look right for bikes coming on the contraflow since the car traffic is only from the left, they need to put some kind of sign indicating that bike traffic is 2-way.
Where do cars coming out of
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:45pm
Where do cars coming out of Church stop to look for traffic on Brattle in the general lane? They might have to stop twice, once to look for pedestrians and bikes, and then again blocking the cycle tracks to look around the parked cars for oncoming cars.
Also, what's the intersection treatment for eastbound cyclists at the Brattle Square end?
Take another look
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 11:45am
What I see (right to left, in the picture):
Bikelane outbound
Yellow Stripe
Bikelane Inbound
Buffer (door) zone
Parking Lane
Vehicle Travel Lane Outbound
Parking Lane
This is not like that intersection with Beacon in Somerville/Cambridge Line at Park where you travel between parked cars and opposite-direction moving cars. There is a buffer zone and parked cars between the inbound bike lane and the moving outbound cars.
do you mean
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 2:19pm
Left to right?
just checking.
Lanes
By Bugs Bunny
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:07pm
That's so dangerous for the bikers. Bikers in the city have trouble biking in a straight line. There will be head on collisions.
Oh
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:52pm
Really.
LOL
By SP123
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 1:29pm
Yeah, like the horrible Minuteman bikeway with bikes going in both directions, people having head on collisions every few minutes.
oh crap
By extra88
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 1:49pm
So it's one-way for cars but two-way for bikes? I'm not going to be looking for bikes coming from the north when I cross.
Bikes going the wrong way on one-way streets is a bigger peeve of mine than them running red lights.
I'm not going to be looking
By DTP
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 3:29pm
Well maybe you should. You refusing to look for them doesn't mean they aren't legally allowed (and encouraged) to be there.
It's not the wrong way if there's an actual legitimate lane going that direction.
this is new
By extra88
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 4:10pm
I've never encountered a street that's be one-way for one kind of vehicle but two-way for another before. Most people haven't and there should be a big effort to make people aware of this change (maybe not just signage in place but also advertising). A solid yellow line 4 feet from the curb isn't going to mean anything to anyone.
My peeve about bikes going the wrong way is on streets with existing one-way bike lanes or no bike lane at all. It's wrong when a car or motorcycle does it, it's wrong when a bike does it but those cyclists act like it's not.
As a separate topic, how are those parking spots in the middle of the road working? Do they still use individual parking meters on the sidewalk?
Try the last ten years, in Camberville
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 5:02pm
Come down Park in Somerville - Bikes can go straight down the hill into Cambridge, or uphill with the cars, but cars can only go one way up hill.
Contraflow lane
By SP123
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 5:37pm
It's called a contraflow bike lane, it's quite common even in this area. There's one on the other side of cambridge common, there are a bunch around Fenway and Brookline. Drivers need to be educated about them because they're not that unusual. Look both ways before crossing the street isn't some unheard of concept.
Word Games
By ElizaLeila
Thu, 07/13/2017 - 10:57am
If they're not unusual, then drivers should already be aware of it.
I get your point, but because they aren't in wide use in our area, they are a bit unusual. They won't be in a couple of years, if not sooner.
It's just something new to get used to. Please - increase driver education on it.
People get lazy with regards to one way streets, however. So this will be something of a re-learning of old habits. It's ok, old dogs can learn new tricks. :)
Here's the problem
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 07/13/2017 - 11:03am
The MA license test is already a total joke. Then there is no additional requirement that one keep up with changes.
This is why I firmly believe that we need to have a 5 question, open book exam when people renew their license every 5 years. Things change, and most people have to be forced to learn that.
Sounds good to me
By ElizaLeila
Thu, 07/13/2017 - 11:49am
I'd be fine with that.
Contraflow bike Lanes
By BostonDog
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 5:46pm
Cambridge has has contraflow bike lanes for a decade now. There's one on the other side of Cambridge Common (Waterhouse St.) and Scott St., among others.
They are safe.
None of those are on the
By anon
Thu, 07/13/2017 - 1:33am
None of those are on the wrong side of parked cars, or on the right side of the general lane. In all of those longstanding contraflow lanes, oncoming bikes are in the main roadway, to the left of the general lane. Where you would expect oncoming traffic.
Wrong side of parked cars?
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 1:06pm
That would be ... which side again?
Ever been on a one-way street before? Wouldn't all vehicles be on the "wrong side" of the parked vehicles on the left side of a one-way street, by that "logic"?
There are even streets in the area that have parking down the middle - something that isn't all that uncommon in the US, either.
Bike lanes shielded by street parking are nothing new - they have had these in Cambridge for over a decade now in the Kendall Square area. It is only an issue when some putz decides to leave their car there.
Everyone is jumping down you
By blues_lead
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 7:19pm
Everyone is jumping down you throat, but I, as a ped/biker, absolutely see your point. I think the solution is to paint the lane through the intersection (green, probably) with big arrows on it. Not perfect, but helps drivers have an idea that something is happening and they need to look both ways for cyclists.
It's in the plan
By anon
Thu, 07/13/2017 - 5:44pm
Plans on the websites show green markings with bike symbols in both directions for the intersections.
Yes, this is standard
By DTP
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 9:22am
Yes, this is standard practice. The lanes most likely aren't technically finished yet, they're just letting people ride on them in the meantime because it's easier than trying to keep them fenced off or something.
Same thing as the Commercial St cycle track around the North End - they're still adding things like the green pavement treatments even though the cycle track has been rideable for months now.
Cars and trucks should be
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 10:57am
Cars and trucks should be banned from ALL of Cambridge. Give all of these cyclists jobs as pedi-cab drivers and get rid of taxi drivers and MBTA busses. Businesses need goods? Instead of trucks delivering their wares, someone should devise a large-scale bike which can transport goods and this bike could be powered by multiple cyclists. We'll have fresher air due to no vehicle pollution and all of these cyclists will be now be employed thus improving the economy. Why not give it a shot?
Below is the link the Cambridge Mayor's office...
By whyaduck
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 1:00pm
why don't you give her a call with your, um, suggestions and report back with her reply?:
http://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/MayorsOffice
Earth shattering news
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 11:55am
Now if only someone could come up with do-able way to make people in Cambridge less arrogant and obnoxious; that would impress me.
Cantabridgian Here
By Pete X
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 2:51pm
Piss off, idiot.
thx for proving my point
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 3:08pm
Although I should really should add 'smug'. How else would you describe a demographic obsessed with political correction and whining about others being 'mean spirited', yet resort to a retort such as yours and the post below?
I'm not a snowflake; there are few people who could be described as snowflakes who were born and raised in NYC and Boston (JP, Allston, Somerville) in the 80s-90s in what could charitably called working class.
Special Bunny!
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 5:05pm
Don't like it? Don't live in Cambridge. Diversity doesn't mean making the world safe for insufferable twits like yourself.
WTF does 'diversity' have to do with anything?
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 10:52pm
And I'm willing to bet I come from a much more 'diverse' background than you!
Wow
By BostonDog
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 5:48pm
You make a blanket generalization of people in one of Massachusetts' largest cities and you're surprised when a resident tells you shut up?
If only someone could come up
By Scratchie
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 1:48pm
If only someone could come up with a do-able way to make non-Cambridge snowflakes less sensitive and fragile...
Who is being arrogant and obnoxious?
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 1:49pm
Seems like that would be the people who conflate "work hard to make their community better" and "take evidence-based action" with "arrogance".
Why stop with cars? I mean
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:26pm
Why stop with cars? I mean the trucks can also stop at the Cambridge outskirts and the entire city can become off limits to all vehicles. Who cares about business deliveries? Why should I support a business you would like to frequent with allowing deliveries when I may personally not choose to use that business? Anyone that lives in Cambridge and wants to drive to their job should move out of the city because it's not designed for cars or walk/bus/bike/etc to their car parked outside the city borders. I'm sure this will markedly increase the livability, property values and desirability of Cambridge.
Then again, perhaps that's the solution to increasing rent and property prices in Cambridge. Make the city undesirable enough and you have your traffic solution because no one will want to drive there at all.
Uh...
By blues_lead
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 2:23pm
Dude. There are cars, using the road, in the picture. I count about 10 motor vehicles? You can still sit in a steel cage spewing smoke on that exact stretch of road, and you can store it for a few hours should you desire.
No one has stopped your car. No one has stopped deliveries.
Anyone care to address all
By tofu
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 2:32pm
Anyone care to address all the logical fallacies presented in this rambling?
I'm scared to bike in these
By anon
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:36pm
I'm scared to bike in these lanes. Being on the wrong side of parked cars causes a visibility problem at corners. That's why you're not supposed to ride on sidewalks, except in places without any intersections, driveways, or pedestrians.
Subjective, but feels safer to me
By peter
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 2:00pm
I am usually wearing a high vis yellow jacket, a bright helmet, and a blinkie rear light even in the daytime. About as visible as I can get, and yet I am still constantly worried about cars right hooking me or left hooking me, because I have been through a lot of close calls.
But I am also constantly worried about being doored. At least now the setup protects me from dooring, and I can focus on not getting hooked at intersections. Also, I would hope that the drivers are paying attention to the road they are turning onto, else they'll be running over pedestrians in the crosswalk.
Doored
By JonT
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 4:06pm
I've been bike commuting in the Boston area for over 20 years, and have never been doored. The best way to avoid being doored is to ride outside the door zone. That is, ride at least 3 feet from parked cars.
Doored
By BostonDog
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 5:52pm
I've been doored when riding in the bike lane when someone abruptly decided to open the right hand door of a car waiting at a light in the travel lane. It would have been impossible to ride less then 3' from the cars as that would have put me too close to the curb. (There was no parking on this street.)
Pages
Add comment