“Day 1″ of bloggin “cyclin Comm. Ave.”
Welcome all! Yesterday I made it from Packard’s Corner almost all the way to Kenmore Square without one car parked illegally in the Comm. Ave. bike lanes… until a Boston University Housing Authority truck passed me to the left of the bike lane close enough to scare the heck outta me, then pulled over and parked in the bike lane in front of Warren Towers. When I explained to the driver and two passengers that they weren’t supposed to park there (and that BU has actually created a new loading area behind Warren Towers to avoid this problem), they seemed rather uninterested. So I called BUPD and asked them to do something about it. BUPD has recently been VERY supportive of cyclists and dealing with cars and trucks parked illegally in the bike lane(s)… I hope they did their part regarding this truck as well!
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October 1st, 2010 @ 11:20 AM
*i* experienced the usual: segmented bomb down corey/brainard (i didn’t catch the light) to avoid the washington & warren lights but then the usual backup from packards to the GSU. seeing some of these helmetless “bat out of hell” fixy fecks frenetically bobbing & weaving in *bike* traffic and run petty reds in order to save two seconds makes me rethink my stance on *always* siding with cyclist’ judgment. sliding through during the downtime between the perpendicular green and green arrow on all those lights between packards & the BU bridge, especially at t anthony’s and landry’s is still ok on my book but since both pedestrians and drivers currently seem hypersensitive in our neighborhood, best to back off, take your place in line and practice your tension balance, or just let that messenger bag swing low while you catch your breath and i take you on the hill in front of 808, my salty shortbrims
October 1st, 2010 @ 2:02 PM
Abram: Thanks for sharing!
On my commute this morning and evening I encountered a number of cars and commercial vehicles parked or stopped in the lanes (many more during the evening commute – probably because it was a friday night). On the way in (eastbound in front of Warren Towers) an undercover police vehicle appeared and started addressing commercial vehicles (including a USPO truck)… which sorta made my day! In general, most folks were responsive and if in their vehicle moved it within a minute or two of me taking a photograph of their license plate(s). So I decided to give vehicles parked illegally in the Comm. Ave. bike lane a break… a one day hiatus from posting pics, calling BTD and/or commercial dispatchers/owners. My new technique a/o 10/1/10: stop and dismount bike, take pic of license then of vehicle showing location, if someone is in or near vehicle and seems to be fairly rational explain why I’m taking pictures, call BTD and/or BPD if vehicle is left unattended or illegal parking is particularly offensive (e.g. parked illegally in bike lane next to a legal spot) or driver or others become confrontational and threatening. Commercial vehicles will be reported to appropriate agency, dispatcher, owner if drivers leave vehicle unattended and/or respond to me inappropriately. I will likely start carrying a summary of the BTD regulation to share drivers at some point. I may also start carrying a small flyer that says something like: “Please don’t park illegally in the bike lane – you are putting my life and/or personal safety at risk (along with a citation to the BTD ordinance).”
In the future, I will post pics here that I think may be of interest… stay tuned!
October 2nd, 2010 @ 8:49 PM
Lets be honest. The cycling lanes in Boston are poorly designed. Rushed. Hashed up to appeased cycling advocates. No signage for motorist or cyclists stating the rules. Running parallel to busy car parking spaces. No signs saying right of way for cyclists on bike lane. No warnings telling motorist to look before opening their doors. No signs informing inexperienced cyclists to beware of their surroundings i.e other cyclists who may want to pass, pass on left etc. Then we have the Storrow drive cycle path….I mean come on it was cheap tarmac poured beside trees, which roots, now make it useless. What vision there?!! I just don’t get it?. If you visit the subway in London. Slow people keep to the inside. Allowing for a constant flow in both directions. Given anyday at Park Street and its a free-for-all, with people walking in all directions without flow. Same as the bike paths and lanes. When is the City going to inform the public how systems work. Wether its telling T-riders who are going in and down, to stay right and those leaving and up keep left. Or having simple signs telling path users on how to keep the bike paths flowing (i.e keep right passing on left). Instead of having a cyclist/walker/runner hugging the middle line care free with no knowledge as to how the system should work. Then again they probably feel it’s easier to run/walk in the middle to avoid those tree root cracks!! 🙁
October 6th, 2010 @ 8:18 PM
It is certainly not true that the Charles River Bike Path is useless. Please don’t exaggerate like that. I ride that path every day to and from work. It’s nice.
I have asked the Bike Czar to put up more signs regarding the rules for bikes. I have even asked her to put up signs in Spanish and Portuguese, because in Allston the great majority of violators are Hispanic or Brazilian. Maybe more people could send her suggestions at Nicole.Freedman.bra@cityofboston.gov.
October 6th, 2010 @ 9:38 PM
A-Bbikes has been working with Nicole Freedman to improve the cultural/lingual capacity of the Boston Bikes literature and programs. Please keep an eye out for an online version of the Boston Bike Map (can be found at: http://www.cityofboston.gov/Images_Documents/bostonbikesmap_tcm3-14074.pdf) in Portuguese and Spanish coming sometime soon! We agree that more signage is needed, preferably in a form that is easily understandable to cyclists from all cultures/lingual preferences. Please continue to send your requests and suggestions to Nicole Freedman (and we invite you to cc us at ABbikes@gmail.com as well)!