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

Bike Safety Instructor

Our Instructors deliver the bike safety education for our Education Program. We currently have four instructors located around the state, but are looking for an additional instructor for the Boston Metro area. The key to this position is having a flexible schedule, as many of the classes we teach are during the day, though occasionally on nights or weekends. Ideal candidates will have teaching experience and are intimately familiar with bicyclist issues. Time commitment will only rarely exceed 20 hours per month. To see the job description, click here.

Project Coordinator

We are searching for a top-notch candidate to help the City of Springfield build its bicycle and pedestrian network. The Project Coordinator is a full-time position based in Springfield that will work closely with staff from the City and from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. An ideal candidate would have a Master’s Degree and a minimum one year of experience, or two to four years of experience doing related work. Spanish language skills and familiarity with or residency in Springfield a HUGE plus. To see the job description, click here.

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.

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 started 2012 by welcoming our new Membership and Office Coordinator, Austin Rand. He quickly revamped our member benefits and improved our social media and communications. He played a major role in organizing Bike Night: Beyond the Spandex, a gala featuring a bike fashion show, and the Summer Century & Family Fun Ride. Austin continues to develop new events and membership programs to make them even more fun and generate more support for our advocacy work.

Advocates at the National Bike Summit

2012 was a rollercoaster of a year for federal transportation funding and policy. When our Program Manager, Price, and I went to DC in March for the National Bike Summit, no one knew exactly what was going to happen with funding for bicycling. The House had just passed a bill essentially eliminating non-highway spending, and the Senate passed a bill that more or less maintained the status quo. We led Massachusetts advocates visiting our Representatives and our Senators, and our entire delegation was very supportive for our cause, truly “bike-partisan”. In the end, we didn’t get everything we wanted, but most bicycle funding was left intact. And now we’re leading the efforts here in Massachusetts to ensure that this money actually gets spent on biking and walking.

MA Bike/Walk Summit Keynote

Returning home from Washington, we co-hosted the first Massachusetts Bike/Walk Summit at the State House on Beacon Hill with WalkBoston. The purpose of the event was to educate our state legislators about three safety-related bills that would benefit bicyclists and pedestrians. It was a very successful first-time event, featuring Streetsblog founder Aaron Naparstek giving the keynote presentation at lunch. Unfortunately, we didn’t get our Vulnerable Road Users Bill passed, but it was the first try for this bill, and we are confident that we have positioned it much better for passage because of the Summit.

Bay State Bike Week Bike Friday

The Summit was a highlight of Bay State Bike Week, the third year that we partnered with MassDOT to celebrate bicycling statewide. There were over 150 events from Cape Cod to the Berkshires, making Massachusetts the only state in the nation to have a truly statewide Bike Week. Thousands of bicyclists across the Commonwealth welcomed the riding season, celebrating bicycling and promoting bicycle safety at rides, breakfasts, screenings, classes, and more. Thanks to MassBike’s partnership with MassDOT, we were able to provide t-shirts, reflective ankle straps, bells and stickers to partner events. We are already in the planning stages for 2013, so stay tuned for details.

Bikeability Assessment in Franklin County

Instructor Galen Mook in Revere

Our Education Program had its biggest year yet. We delivered bicycle safety education to thousands of children and adults through our Safe Routes to School Program, On-Bike Skills Classes, and Biking for Everyone Workshops. In fact, if you check our calendar right now, we are even holding some end-of-year Winter Bicycling Workshops around the City of Boston to help people stay safe and comfortable on the roads. These classes are made possible with the generous support of the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness, which also sponsored our free valet bike parking at Circle The City and other events.

The best part of our work in 2012 is that it has set us up for an even better 2013. We are putting together a bigger, better legislative agenda to build off of the awareness raised at the Bike/Walk Summit; we are already planning the next Bay State Bike Week with MassDOT; we are excited to be a partner organization in Transportation for Massachusetts, a coalition of advocacy groups seeking to increase state support for biking, walking and transit; and we have plans to expand our Bikeable Communities Program. The bottom line, though, is that we couldn’t do any of this work without the support of our members from around the state. It is only through the membership and donations of thousands of bicyclists around the state that we can be your voice to local, state and federal leaders. So I thank you for your support, and promise to continue our success in 2013.

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

Speed Limit Map of Colrain

You might remember last month when two MassBike staff went to Greenfield to undertake a Bikeability Assessment. The purpose of the assessment was to feed into a regional Complete Streets Plan, which would lay the groundwork for improvements in Franklin County’s streets. We were joined by ten local residents to help with the assessment, and gathered data on five key areas in Franklin County. You can find the full report here.

From our point of view, this was a successful event with community involvement and a solid product. Some of the key findings were:

• Debris is a major issue on many of the roads, pushing bicyclists into travel lanes or forcing them to use sidewalks.
• Shoulders on many of the roads are inconsistent, and totally non-existent in some spots. Having paved shoulders, designated as bike lanes if possible, is especially important in more rural areas where traffic may be traveling at higher speeds.
• There was no bicycle parking recorded anywhere, even near city center of Greenfield.
• There were a range of speed limits, but in general traffic was moving too fast for most people to be comfortable bicycling.
• As is common in many rural areas, the intersections are designed to accommodate fast-turning traffic (Y-intersections, e.g.). These can be a danger to bicyclists and a barrier to biking.

From here, Franklin Regional Council of Governments will include our recommendations in the report being submitted to the regional planning agency. Beyond that, this report is a tangible example of how local residents can come together and impact their community. This report will inform future road improvements in these locations – it might not happen tomorrow, but when a road project comes up for Route 5/10/116 in S. Deerfield, we can point to this report to guide the decisions.

It is thanks to the support of Mass in Motion, a program of the Department of Public Health, that we were able to provide this technical assistance. We are excited to be using this opportunity to expand the local capacity to make change in our communities; by leveraging local energy, we can accomplish so much more together. Let us know if there is an opportunity to do a bikeability assessment in your community by emailing Price@MassBike.org.

On Monday, August 6, our Program Associate Sam Markovitz and I went out to Franklin County to help local residents and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) perform a Bikeability Assessment in Greenfield, Colrain and South Deerfield. There were roughly a dozen people present to help with the assessment, which was undertaken to inform a regional Complete Streets Plan being drafted to address priority intersections and corridors for bikeability improvements.

After the assessment, we turned the raw data collected by our volunteers into a report on major barriers to bicycling and ways to improve the bicycling environment in these locations. Among these recommendations were adding bicycle facilities like bike lanes or sharrows, increasing the bike parking supply around businesses, and reducing motor vehicle travel speeds through traffic calming measures. These recommendations will inform the Complete Streets Plan being put together, which ultimately will guide decision making for future road investments in the region. This assessment is a tangible example of how concerned local citizens can directly impact the decisions made in their community.

We are in the process of scheduling future assessments in Hampshire County and the Berkshires. This work is being supported by Mass in Motion, and we are looking forward to supporting the efforts not only of the Mass in Motion communities, but also complement the work being done by our chapter in the Pioneer Valley. If you have any questions, send me an email at Price@MassBike.org.

Click here for a copy of Shifting Gears

MassBike is proud to present a brand new resource to help advocates around Massachusetts make their communities’ roads better for biking. This guide, Shifting Gears: An Introduction to Better Biking for your Community, is designed to open the door for people who want to make things better for bicyclists, but don’t know how to start. This document is the product of 35 years of advocacy experience, and we hope that the collective wisdom of our staff, board, and active members will help others learn from past lessons.

Shifting Gears begins by giving an overview of the different layers of government and, more specifically, who it is that you should contact to address your issues or concerns. The document goes on to explain best practices and helpful tips for maintaining a good relationship with public officials and other advocates. In the final section, the guide gives an introduction to the specific kinds of policies, programs and infrastructure projects that can help to overcome barriers to bicycling. Together, these three sections provide the tools to begin a conversation with municipal staff or elected officials, and gives guidance on how best to achieve a meaningful solution.

Shifting Gears is the companion document to our Bikeable Communities Training, which is being offered through the Department of Public Health’s program Mass in Motion. The Bikeable Communities Training is a two-part training, each section taking three hours. The training augments the guide by providing case studies from around Massachusetts on successful bicycle initiatives, and includes discussion and exercises to brainstorm strategies for specific bicycle initiatives in the host community.

Paper copies are currently only available through the Bikeable Communities Training, but the digital copy can be found by clicking here. If you have any questions about the guide or would like to learn more information about the Bikeable Communities Training, please email price@MassBike.org, or call (617) 542-2453.

Thanks to the hard work of MassBike and many other advocacy organizations (most notably the Boston Cyclists Union, and also the Livable Streets Alliance and WalkBoston), the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced earlier this month that the Casey Overpass will be brought at-grade. As Transportation Secretary Richard Davey stated, “The decision was made after an extensive public outreach campaign consisting of five public meetings and 12 Working Advisory Group meetings over a nine-month period. That process has led us to determine that the at-grade alternative reconnects the neighborhood, provides more open space, incorporates more design elements that are pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly, and allows for more efficient bus movements through the area.”

Currently, the Casey Overpass is significantly deteriorated and at the end of its serviceable life. With the decision to bring the overpass at-grade the project has been unofficially dubbed the “Casey Parkway,” as it will include several small green spaces in the currently proposed plan. MassDOT expects construction to begin in October 2013.  This is a momentous victory for a more livable, bicycle friendly street design throughout the Forest Hill community. We look forward to keeping you updated as this story progresses.