On April 23, MassDOT held a public hearing for comments on the 25% design. At the hearing, MassBike Executive Director David Watson praised the project’s aim to further the mobility and safety of all users of the intersection. In the spirit of discussion and given MassBike’s expertise in promoting safe cycling across the Commonwealth, David also offered specific suggestions that would drastically improve the design’s functionality. His comments center around the  particular needs of the less experienced, vulnerable bicyclists who frequent the Minuteman Bikeway.

Below is the letter MassBike sent to MassDOT Chief Engineer Thomas Broderick, summarizing David’s thoughts on pursuing a design that promotes safety above all while keeping an eye to the convenience of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike.

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Subject: Comments on Arlington Intersection Improvements, Project #606885

Dear Mr. Broderick:

I am writing both on behalf of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) and myself as an Arlington resident. MassBike is the statewide bicyclist advocacy group, promoting a bicycle-friendly environment and encouraging bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation. This letter summarizes the comments I made at the public hearing on April 23, 2013.

First, I would like to thank MassDOT and the Town of Arlington for pursuing this project to improve this extraordinarily busy and complicated intersection. Everyone who has observed the operation of this intersection knows that it presents significant safety and mobility issues for all users – motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians alike, but most especially users of the Minuteman Bikeway. Both MassDOT and Arlington have demonstrated their ongoing support for biking and walking.

The proposed design includes 5-foot bikes lanes adjacent to 7-foot parking lanes on both sides of Massachusetts Avenue, a signalized bicycle crossing at Swan Place, and extension of the bikeway through Uncle Sam Park adjacent to the sidewalk. All of these improvements are within acceptable design standards, but my concern is that they do not go far enough to significantly improve bicyclist safety and mobility.

People riding bicycles on the Minuteman Bikeway have already made the important choice that they do not want to ride in the roadway with traffic. While some ride the Minuteman for convenience (e.g., to access Alewife Station), many more use it because they do not feel safe or comfortable riding in traffic. The Minuteman is a destination unto itself, one of the most-used rail trails in the United States, even drawing people who drive to Arlington or the other communities along the path for the sole purpose of riding their bikes on the Minuteman. It is a popular destination for families bicycling with their children, often very young children just learning how to ride. All of these people have chosen not to ride on the road, yet these are the very people the proposed design directs into on-road bicycle facilities that meet only the bare minimum standards for the safety of even experienced bicyclists.

In order to attract bicyclists on the Minuteman to use the new facilities, they must both very safe and very convenient. The proposed design is neither, requiring bicyclists to ride in traffic and make two-stage crossings.

While minimum-width facilities are certainly acceptable from a design perspective, particularly in constrained spaces, and adequately serve bicyclists who have chosen to ride in the roadway, such facilities do not adequately serve bicyclists who do not want to ride in traffic. These are the least experienced, most vulnerable bicyclists. Yet the proposed design would have them cross busy streets, enter the traffic flow, and ride in minimum-width bike lanes adjacent to parking where they are at risk for being doored.

When working to enhance the safety and mobility of all users in constrained space, it is essential to find the right balance between the safety and needs of all user groups. As currently proposed, the design does not find that balance. Instead, it squeezes all roadway dimensions down to bare minimums in order to shoehorn bike lanes without impacting motor vehicle capacity or parking at all. That is not balance – that is continuing the historic prioritization of motor vehicles over all other users, with bicyclists and pedestrians left on the margins. This is inconsistent with the context-sensitive approach of the MassDOT Project Development and Design Guide, with Complete Streets requirements of the Healthy Transportation Compact, with current federal policy on bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and with the Mode Shift goals of the GreenDOT policy.

While minimum bicycle facilities are acceptable in many contexts, here, in the unique situation created by the discontinuous Minuteman Bikeway, more is required to actually meet the project’s safety and mobility goals. During the design process, alternatives were discussed that would have provided for greater separation from traffic for bicyclists making the Minuteman connection. Among these alternatives were a two-way cycletrack on the south side of Massachusetts Avenue and a “cross bike” or diagonal crossing through the Route 60 intersection, which together would create an almost continuous protected connection between the two sections of the bikeway. I urge MassDOT and the Town to reexamine these and other concepts to provide greater protection for bicyclists.

The primary reason that more-protected bicycle facilities cannot fit in the current design is the retention of on-street parking between Swan Place and Route 60. I completely understand the concerns of the business community and nearby residents about these parking spaces. But we are weighing the convenience of motorists against the safety of bicyclists, and it seems clear that known, significant safety concerns outweigh a handful of parking spaces in this context. With the extra seven feet available if those spaces are removed, many better options for bicyclists become possible, such as the two-cycletrack, buffered bike lanes, or simply wider bike lanes.

I also appreciate the safety concerns and complexity of the cross bike idea. But there is a strong desire line for bicyclists (and pedestrians) to make this movement, and many people do so today during the left turn signal phase from Route 60 to Massachusetts Avenue. The proposed design does nothing to protect or legitimize this movement, instead continuing the current situation requiring bicyclists to cross twice, in two signal phases, to make the Minuteman connection or simply continue onto Massachusetts Avenue. This inherently creates conflicts between bicyclists and pedestrians in the crosswalks, and those conflicts need to be addressed, perhaps with separate bicycle and pedestrians zones at the crossings, regardless of whether a cross bike is implemented.

I support MassDOT and Arlington in their efforts to make this difficult intersection safer for everyone, but I think we need to do better for bicyclists than the proposed design. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this project, and I look forward to working with the project team to meet the project goals.

Very truly yours,

David Watson
Executive Director
MassBike

Originally, MassDOT intended to detour all Cambridge-bound motor vehicle and bicycle traffic for the duration of the project, but MassBike and other advocates made a strong case to maintain two-way bicycle travel. For people riding just a few miles under their own power, a detour of a mile or more would discourage people from bicycling, at a time when we should be doing everything possible to shift people from driving to other biking, walking, or transit.

Thankfully, MassDOT listened, and the plan now is to maintain two-way bicycle travel, throughout construction – even though car traffic to Cambridge will be detoured the entire time! Construction will occur in several phases to permit work on different parts of the bridge, and during each phase the lane configuration will shift positions. Most of the time, bicyclists will enjoy dedicated bike lanes, though sometimes will share sidewalk space with pedestrians. We understand the very tight space constraints during construction, and we thank MassDOT for doing the best they can for bicyclists.

We are concerned, however, with the connections to local roadways and the Charles River paths on both sides of the river, both during and after construction. No plans have been shown for how those connections will work, especially as the lane configuration on the bridge shifts from side to side. These connections, especially in Charles Circle on the Boston side, and to the paths on the Cambridge side, are already challenging without the added complexity of construction. The project engineers do not seem to have a plan for involving advocates in these all-important designs, which could compromise bicyclist and pedestrian (and motorist) safety. Click here to see MassBike’s formal comment letter to MassDOT.

We hope (and have requested) that MassDOT will continue the collaborative effort that led to the current design for the bridge as the designs for these critical connections move forward.

Though it was not the focus of this hearing, it should be noted that bicycle and pedestrian advocates, including MassBike, continue to encourage MassDOT to rethink the Boston-bound side of the bridge to better provide for future bicyclist and pedestrian needs.

In the end, the two maps of Holyoke (which included the downtown area and a more suburban/rural part) were thoroughly marked up with problem spots, ideas for improvements, and general comments about bicycling in Holyoke. A lot of local expertise was provided from members of MassBike’s Pioneer Valley Chapter, in addition to other residents of Holyoke. Overall, there was one key area of agreement – while Holyoke has a number of bicyclists, more work needs to be done to bring them together. The Open House was the first step of that process.

Some of the other preliminary findings include:

• Recreational riding opportunities are excellent, with both on-road and off-road routes providing scenic and exciting rides.
• There are no bike-friendly river crossings from Holyoke into Chicopee or South Hadley.
• The riverfront is an underutilized area, and a great opportunity for a multi-use path.
• The bicycle facilities that do exist (bike lanes) typically disappear by the end of winter, resulting in motorists entering the bicycle lanes more frequently.
• There should be more bicycle safety education offerings, especially in Holyoke schools.
• Biking to the Holyoke Mall, a major commercial area, is very difficult.

Over the next several weeks, we will work to combine these findings with the results of a community survey and other outreach activities into a “Needs Assessment.” The intention is that this document will provide the foundation for continued relationship building and dialogue, crucial ingredients to the longer-term goal of building the infrastructure, both built and human, for better bicycling conditions.

This work is part of our Bikeable Communities Program. Do you want to see an activity like this in your community? Email Services@MassBike.org if so!

Price and students surveying Carew Street.

Last Fall, we went to the Renaissance High School in Springfield to work with a small group of high schoolers on how to do a Bikeability Assessment. That initial training has now grown into a larger project, and last week Programs Director Price Armstrong went back to Renaissance High School to teach even more students about principles of bikeability and how the assessment tool works. Their aim: reshape Carew Street as a route from the High School to the Connecticut Riverwalk and Bikeway.

Like the Blue Line Pilot Program, which was led by East Boston youth, this project is an opportunity for Springfield youth to document the barriers to bikeability that exist in their city. Carew Street is a perfect area for such a project, as it is an alternate highway route that carries fast-moving traffic through residential and commercial areas, not to mention right by their school. Many of the students often go to a small commercial area located further north on Carew Street for snacks or to hang out after school, while others have to cross it just to get home. Improving this street will make it safer for everyone – bicyclists, pedestrians, transit users and motorists.

Ultimately, the information they collect will be put together into a report and submitted to the City. It will serve as the foundation for an ongoing effort to improve Springfield’s streets, much of it made possible through the support of Mass in Motion. As the project moves forward, MassBike will continue providing input to help the students be as effective as possible in reaching their goal. This is a great example of leveraging local energy to improve biking in communities around the state. We’ll keep you posted as this project moves forward.

This work is part of our Bikeable Communities Program. Do you want to see an activity like this in your community? Email Services@MassBike.org if so!

Local bicyclists in Northampton getting ready to collect data.

Thanks to the hard work of the local volunteers, we collected an enormous amount of information about the layout of the intersections and areas that could be improved. The fantastic thing about having local bicyclists undertake these assessments is that we can get information that only a frequent rider on a particular road would know – such as that a certain intersection becomes unmanageable after the adjacent high school lets out, but otherwise appears adequate.

After analyzing the data and going through the pages of notes, we are proud to release the Hampshire County Bikeability Assessment. Click here if you would like to look at the full report. Some of the main points from the report were:

• Amherst: The intersections in and around the UMass Campus are barriers to bicycling, particularly the intersection of Triangle Street and East Pleasant Street.
• Belchertown: The intersection of Routes 9 and 202 should be the focus for improvements in the future. Due to the geometry of this intersection a roundabout with grade-separated bicycle facilities should be considered.
• Northampton: Intersections along King Street (Route 10) all need additional bicycle infrastructure. Route 10 is an arterial road that provides access not only to many commercial destinations, but also the Northampton Bikeway and the Franklin County Greenway. Tightening turn radii and adding colored biycle lanes and/or bike boxes should be done to improve bicyclist safety and comfort.

Overall, communities in Hampshire County are leaders in the state when it comes to bike-friendly infrastructure. They have a considerable off-road network, many traffic calming features, and painted infrastructure like bike lanes, sharrows, and even a bike box. However, the process of retrofitting our streets to encourage bicycling is still in its infancy, even in our most advanced communities. This report should further the conversation on prioritizing areas for improvement.

You can find out more about our Bikeability Assessments (which is a part of our Bikeable Communities Program) by clicking here. If you are interested getting an Assessment for your community, please email Services@MassBike.org.

We highly encourage you to take a look at the plan. Of particular interest is the “Policy/Planning” section, which describes the ways in which MassDOT intends to expand multimodal options, support livable communities, and triple the mode share of bicycling, walking and transit use by 2030. Contained within this section are goals to increase the creation of Complete Streets projects, expand bicycle parking and transit access, and continue expanding the length and connections of biking and walking facilities. And that’s just a start.

There is still a lot of work to do to make sure that these high-level policies are reflected in the projects and operations on the ground. In an organization with 6,000 employees, changing culture can be a tall order. However, this document is a major step in the right direction with far-reaching implications, and we were glad that we could be a part of the development process.

Bay Road and West Street in Amherst

Last weekend, a dozen volunteers braved the chilly New England Fall weather to work on making intersections in Northampton and Amherst better for bicyclists. Through a partnership with the Hampshire Council of Governments, and thanks to our partnership with Mass in Motion, we were able to come out and train local bicyclists how to use the assessment form, what to think about when assessing the intersections, and the most important things to document. Then we set them loose!

Did you miss the assessment last weekend? Don’t worry! We are going to be doing a second round of intersection assessments this coming weekend to hit the spots we couldn’t get to. If you would like to help out, send an email to me at Price@MassBike.org. The times are listed at the bottom of the page. We’ll also be in Belchertown on Monday from 11 – 1, if you have time to help out.

The Pioneer Valley is fortunate to have a MassBike Chapter, whose members serve on numerous local and regional advisory boards. They also have on-the-ground knowledge about the bicyclist experience, and important community connections to round up volunteers for activities just like this. Since June, we have taught both of our Bikeable Communities Trainings, taught Springfield youth on how to do Bikeability Assessments, and begun assisting Holyoke in expanding their bicycle infrastructure.

If you would like to help out this weekend, please do! And bring friends – the more boots (or tires) on the ground, the more intersections we can assess.

Northampton
Saturday, November 10th
Meet at the Forbes Library
1:00-4:00pm

Amherst
Sunday, November 11th
Meet at the Jones Library
1:00-4:00pm

Belchertown
Monday, November 12th
Meet at the Clapp Memorial Library
11:00am-1:00pm

This is really exciting work, especially in Springfield – the fourth largest city in New England -  which could see major transportation and economic benefits from being more bike-friendly. Right now, their main bicycle facility is the Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway, but that is mostly used for recreation. This stands in stark contrast to the northern tier of the Pioneer Valley, where Easthampton, Northampton, Hadley and Amherst are all linked via off-road trails and the streets tend to have more bicycle facilities.

We are fortunate to have the opportunity through Mass in Motion for the MassBike staff to be able to provide direct support to Springfield (and Holyoke) on improving their bike infrastructure. MassBike also has a chapter in the Pioneer Valley, which works on a variety of projects and other local initiatives. If you have any questions about other things going on in the Pioneer Valley, or would like to get more involved, email Price@MassBike.org.

You can see the schedule here to find a meeting near you (they are being held all over the state). While there are a few points we are listing below, we suggest the number one comment you can make is: Invest in a system that moves people, not cars.

Some other specific points could be:

• Achieving the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas reduction goals depends on encouraging more biking and walking.
• MassDOT needs to support healthier communities, since over one-fifth of our population is obese, as is one out of ten children.
• Investing in biking and walking is the smarter choice; we just can’t afford to keep building wider roads.
• Give the people what they want! Polls across the country have shown that people want to bike more often, but they think the roads are too dangerous.

MassDOT has been a national leader over the past several years in their commitment to a multi-modal system; we need to thank them for their work so far, and push them to go even further. Bringing down unnecessary overpasses, adding bike facilities on bridges, and promoting Complete Streets have all been great accomplishments. But if we want to see complete networks of bicycle facilities in our lifetimes, the state needs to go even further. Your voice is needed to do that.

Narrow shoulders, wide lanes

New bike lanes in progress!

In late August, we discovered what appeared to be preliminary striping for very narrow shoulders and very wide travel lanes on the newly-repaved Mystic Valley Parkway in Arlington. As shown, those shoulders would not have been wide enough to qualify as bike lanes.  We immediately expressed our concern to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and were quickly joined by other advocates who also noticed the problem. This was urgent, as paving and striping were ongoing. A flurry of emails and phone calls, and five days later we learned that DCR would stripe five-foot bike lanes – a big improvement. And those bike lanes are now installed! Many thanks to all the advocates for jumping on this right away, and to DCR for listening to us.

“No Bikes” signs went up …

… and finally came down!

The other problem involved some incorrect road signs and, surprisingly, considering there was no engineering or paint involved, took much longer to solve. Several months ago, we learned that “No Bikes” signs had appeared at intersections on the Alewife Brook Parkway, ostensibly banning bicyclists from riding on the road. This surprised us because we know that Massachusetts law gives bicyclists the right to use all public roads except for limited access or express highways (such as I-93 or I-95). Other bicyclists also noticed the signs and complained to neighboring municipalities. More emails and phone calls ensued, over a period of months, until two weeks ago, when we got the word that the signs would come down. And down they are.

For the record, we agree that the Alewife Brook Parkway is not a particularly good road for bicycling. Cars go too fast, and there is little or no shoulder so bicyclists must take the lane. The new Alewife Greenway offers an alternative, but some bicyclists prefer to ride in the road for a variety of reasons. We believe DCR acted to protect bicyclists, though we disagreed with their approach. The answer is not to remove bicycles from the road – it is to make the road safer for bicyclists. MassBike will continue to defend bicyclists right to use the road, and we have committed to working with state officials on future efforts to improve bicyclist safety on the parkway. Though we often have to be persistent, we are very lucky to have state agencies, like DCR, that value our opinion and, ultimately, agree with us.