Want to Ride Your Bike On the Common? City Still Says No
After discussions among top city officials and leaders, you still can't ride bikes in three major Boston parks. South End Patch News
Q&A: Bill Walczak – More Charters, Bike Lanes, and Community Involvement
Bill Walczak founded the Codman Square Health Center and the Codman Academy Charter Public School – and he'd like your vote for mayor. South End Patch News
Is Parking Your Bike a Problem in the South End?
By: Bret Silverberg Many people who choose to ride bicycles instead of drive cars used to feel they were at an advantage when it came to finding parking in Boston. The Boston Globe reports that this may no longer be the case.
Report: Boston Getting More Bike Lanes, Hubway
Boston will be getting more bike lanes and Hubway bike share stations, the Boston Herald reported Tuesday, just two days after a visiting MIT scientist was struck and killed while riding her bike in the Kenmore Square area. The city plans to add up to 20 miles of new bike lanes and 20 new Hubway kiosks and might also look to install cycle tracks on major roadways from Roxbury to the Public Garden, Transportation Commissioner Tom Tinlin told the Herald. Last week, a new Hubway station opened at the recently built Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in the Charlestown Navy Yard, and Boston Bikes Director Nicole Freedman told Patch that another kiosk is planned in the Hayes Square area. With plans to install more stations in South Boston, Roxbury and other locations, the total number of Hubway options could soon approach 100, the Herald reported. Also in the works are more divided bike lanes, like the one on Western Avenue in Brighton, and cycle tracks—bike paths that separate bicyclists from motorized traffic—on Charles Street, Malcolm X Boulevard, Seaver Street and around the Public Garden, officials told the Herald. With plans to step up the bike-friendly features in Boston, there are still concerns about the safety of bicyclists, particularly following the May 19 death of Kanako Miura, an MIT researcher from Japan. Miura was reportedly struck by a motor vehicle while riding her bike near the intersection of Beacon Street and Charlesgate West at around 3:30 p.m. Several media outlets have reported that police are looking for a garbage truck that may have been involved. In March, officials announced plans to install new warning signs, reflectors and lane markings along busy Commonwealth Avenue in an effort to improve safety for bicyclists following the 2012 deaths of two Boston University students, both bicyclists who were struck by vehicles in separate incidents. The city also recently installed protective guards on 20 Public Works trucks to prevent bicyclists from getting crushed in a collision, the Herald reported. Boston Police Capt. John Danilecki told the Herald that most of the recent fatalities have involved trucks or buses and that, even when in a bicycling lane, cyclists should assume large vehicles can’t see them and use extra caution. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
With High Ridership, Bike Crashes Spike Slightly
Bike-related crashes spiked a small amount given the higher ridership in the Boston area over the course of the last two years. Mayor Thomas Menino’s office released the City of Boston Cyclist Safety Report May 15. The report, which analyzed data from the last four years, found that bicycle related crashes were up 2 percent according to the Boston Police Department and 9 percent according to Boston EMS between the period of 2010 and 2012. Boston Police data shows an increase of 11 bike crashes, from 477 to 488, between 2010 and 2012, and the EMS data shows a spike of 44 crashes, from 477 to 521, during the same period, according to the report. The discrepancy exists because The Boston Police Department reports crashes only on Boston roads, and EMS reports crashes at which Boston Police may not have been called, according to the report. During that same period ridership went from 47,600 riders per day in 2010 to 56,644 rides per day in 2012. The ridership increase is an estimate based on a 2000 ridership baseline which is then extrapolated to 2010 using American Community Survey data showing increased trips by year, the report says. As such, the report estimates ridership increased between 16 and 28 percent in the two-year span. The Hubway bicycle share system was launched during this time, which likely contributed to the increased ridership. Hubway estimates there were 675,000 total rides taken on the system between its launch in July 2011 and winter shutdown in 2012. There were nine bicycle-related deaths reported between 2010 and 2012, with five taking place in 2012, according to the report. Other key report findings, provided by the Mayor’s office: Injured cyclists are less likely to be wearing a helmet than the average cyclists. A majority of incidents that resulted in injury involved motor vehicles. Cyclist accident incidents involving and/or injuring pedestrians are minimal. Pedestrians comprised only 2-3% of incidents and injuries in all cyclist incidents. Key behavioral factors associated with accidents included cyclists not stopping at red lights or stop signs, cyclists riding into oncoming traffic, drivers not seeing cyclists and drivers/passengers opening doors. Young adults, particularly men between 19 and 31 comprise more than half of all injured cyclists. The report recommends that the city expand its efforts to provide helmets to riders. Currently, the city makes low cost helmets available at 32 retail locations and farmers’ markets throughout the area, the report says. The report also recommends the city look into one-day distribution options. Plans are underway to install helmet vending machines this year, according to the report. The city will […]
‘Bike Week’ Begins in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation along with several other public and private entities have banded together to tell you to get out of your cars and onto your bikes this week. May 11 to 19 is Bay State Bike Week, a week unique to Massachusetts which celebrates all things bicycle. There are bike-based events going on around the Bay State this week, and several in the Boston area. The Bay State Bike Week website has provided a searchable calendar to find dates, locations and times for events closest to you. What would a statewide bike week be without a little friendly competition? The MassCommute Bicycle Challenge will award those who log the most miles by bicycle. Other local bike facts: Massachusetts has been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as the sixth most bicycle friendly state this year, according to a Gov. Deval Patrick press statement. Also, Massachusetts has the only department of transportation in the country that organizes a celebration of bikes. “I applaud the bicyclists who ride to school or work regularly, and I encourage more people to give it a try,” Patrick said in the statement. “Together, we can make Massachusetts a greener, healthier and more sustainable state by decreasing traffic congestion, cleaning the air and enabling people to get some exercise in the course of their busy daily lives.” What do you like most about biking in Boston? Tell us in the comments. South End Patch
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