bikenewton - new forum threads

Weekend Rides

Sat, 02 May 2009 00:27:20 +0000

Ideally, round-trip rides should be in the vicinity of 4-6 miles. The point of these rides is not to get a workout: it's to have a nice time, see Newton from the point of view of a bike, spend some time with like-minded people, perhaps stop for ice cream or coffee, and talk about where the roads work for us, and where they work against us.

The rides might be linear (start at point A, go to point B, and return to A) or convergent (several groups start at A, B, and C, meet at D, and all ride to E) or something else I haven't imagined. Where should we go?

Biking to and from Lower Falls

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:03:52 +0000

Lower Falls is physically isolated from the rest of Newton due to I-95/Rt. 128, and this creates difficulties for bikers and non-bikers alike. Because the T does not cross to the western side of the highway, bikers who commute to the T must traverse treacherous car-oriented overpasses. Biking along Route 16 from Lower Falls to the Woodland T Station, for example, can be very dangerous and is an accident waiting to happen. The Route 16 bridge over I-95 lacks cross-walks for pedestrians, and is one of the most bike-unfriendly sections of road in the city. Route 16 has great potential for being bikable. It crosses the beautiful Charles River and links to many Wellesley bike trails. It also connects to various shops, parks, and colleges. If Newton is trying to decide which roads to upgrade to make more bike-friendly, the Route 16 bridge over I-95 should be at the top of the list.

Safe Cycling

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:28:08 +0000

I'm amazed daily and especially on weekends when I see all types of cyclists in Newton blow through red lights and stop signs, ride on the side walks, and ride the wrong way down streets. These cyclists range from "in kit" club cyclists to commuters, weekend riders and students. Full disclosure: When I'm out between 4:30am and 5:30am on a weekday morning and stopped at a red light, no vehicles in sight, I ride through the red light. (My excuse: I need to get home to get to work.) I'm especially keen on doing this in the cold weather. Otherwise I wait for the light. Every cyclist I've had ride up behind or towards me in recent memory rides through the light often around moving cars.

Today I saw a teen riding West on Washington Street to Walnut Street and pause at the light before crossing Walnut. She was on the sidewalk and dodging pedestrians. I counted 11 adult cyclists blowing through red lights this past Sunday morning between 9:30 and 11:00 am riding West from Newton to Natick Center and back. Several of these riders were together and all were riding high end bikes.

I'm all for traffic calming and bike lanes, but what about basic traffic laws? How do the improvements we're planning impact cycling safety and common sense (let alone citations?) You can bet motorists see you blow through those lights and fume. I think the police could issue tickets (not warnings) starting at $100 to start changing behavior. I'd support that. Nothing short of some stiff fines or carnage on the road will change this behavior.

Pedestrian Malls

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:28:35 +0000

The retailers in Downtown Crossing are surely hurting, but this article is pure scapegoating. Pedestrian Malls are not the cause of the economic downturn. It's the economy, stupid.

Riverside Development

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:10:54 +0000

The inside process of MBTA contract bidding were partially revealed by developers BH Normandy at the 2/25 public meeting in the Auburndale Community Library. According to developers Justin Krebs and Paul Ferriera, the batch of proposals that are considered by the MBTA to choose a winning firm are not much more than exercises. Once the winner is chosen, the proposal used to win the bid is pretty much discarded and the real planning process begins in earnest. The developers thus said not to take the specifications of square footage allocation in the media as firm numbers. - Nathan Phillips

Share the Road signs

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:53:23 +0000

"Share the Road" signs have been sprouting up all over. I've seen several on Walnut and on Beacon. I spotted another on Winchester the other day, and one on Parker just south of Rt. 9. They make me smile.

Bike Blogs & Sites

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:27:01 +0000

Oh yay! a place for me to share blogs and videos.

First up is my favorite b/c it's based in boston. She mainly writes about Old bikes, biking with "style" and will snap photos of other commuters in the city while on her bike. I even snapped a picture of a Newton man on a bike by Shaws in newtonville. He was wearing a long camel coat on a freezing sunday afternoon. Very dapper.

Here she is: Chic Cyclist

Xtracycle anyone?

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:13:01 +0000

Hello. I just got an xtracycle this past October. I love it. One problem though is that there aren't a lot of Xtra owners on the East coast. The only dealers in Mass are on the Vineyard, in Salem and Great Barrington. My father lives in Great Barrington and checked out the Xtra there and it was not really test ridable. So it took me a long time and a lot of thinking and imagining before I bought it without being able to test ride.

I know there is another Xtra in newton b/c I saw it outside of Whole Foods at four corners the day before mine arrived. I thought we could connect, start some visability and perhaps provide test riding for anyone else interested. I'm rather short and my seat height is locked due to the baby seat, but I would welcome connecting with someone who wanted to see it or take it for a quick spin

Recumbents and Folding Bikes

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:31:07 +0000

I( have over 7 years experience in studying the advantages and disadvantages of both Recumbent and folding bikes. I am adept at repairing, tuning and customizing recumbent bikes. Recumbent advantages offer many physical advantages over conventional diamond frame bikes, especially for those who have seen there youth start to fade away. Less stress on shoulders, neck, wrists, and easier on the derriere. I am happy to share my experiences with anyone needing more information.

Biking in the news

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:02:03 +0000

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/12/14/bikeway_to_be_plowed_1229236701/

Bike Newton gear for loan

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:51:43 +0000

I have, for short-term loan:

- One trail-a-bike
- Two "co-pilot" kids seats and one rear rack that goes with the co-pilot
- A 2-kid burley trailer

contact me by posting a reply to this posting, or at ude.ub|nahtan#ude.ub|nahtan

- Nathan Phillips

Bike Newton Loaner Gear

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:47:04 +0000

An ultimate dream is to have a physical repository for this gear, but in the meantime, our nascent inventory 'floats' among bike newton members. I am in possession of the following for short term loan:

- Bike work stand
- 36 piece bike tool set (includes chain degreaser and other basic cleaning equipment)
- One Ortleib pannier that will fit most rear racks.

Contact me by posting to this web site or email me at ude.ub|nahtan#ude.ub|nahtan

- Nathan Phillips

Traffic Calming and Roundabouts

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:00:13 +0000

Traffic calming can result in dangerous situations for bicycles. Note fuller st. For parts of the street bicycles have clear going and then the sidewalk get bumped out and the bicycle lane disappears.
(This was a response to a general mention of traffic calming measures).

- Ruth Nemzoff

Inspiring Peter Furth Talk

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:08:12 +0000

The other day, Prof. Peter Furth, Civil Engineering Professor from Northeastern University, spoke at the Newton Main Library about connecting Boston bike greenways. A key point he made is that there are truly excellent stretches of bike lanes in Boston - but they are disconnected from each other, often by only 1/4 to 1/2 mile or so. With very modest investment, an interconnected bikelane network can be achieved. And if you can imagine what it would be like to go from driving a car around a bunch of dead end streets to being actually able to get somewhere useful, that is the same sense of liberation and purpose bikers would find with a connected bike lane network. You could actually get somewhere on a bike as a means of transportation! Ridership would not increase incrementally, but would take a quantum leap. In Newton, I think of the numerous places along the Charles River bike path where the awesome trail is severed by roads (e.g. Bridge Street connecting Newton to Watertown) that are very hostile to bike crossing. If we can fix those few places, ridership would skyrocket.

-contributed by Nathan Phillips

Envisioning a bike friendly Newton

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:04:42 +0000

One of the most important functions of this community web space will be to share dreams and visions of a bike friendly Newton. For now, as the site is just getting started, we don't have the functionality for full community input, but that is a very short term goal. But in the spirit of getting creative juices flowing, for now I would like to contribute just a few ideas for a bike friendly Newton:

— An on-street parking space filled with bikes, in front of an ice cream shop, cafe, or bookstore in a Newton village center. Shop owners in Portland Oregon fight to get these coveted parking areas in front of their shops!
— The Commonwealth Ave carriage lane converted to a bike lane, from Rt. 128 all the way to Boston Common. Low hanging fruit!
— A bike library; loaning out bikes, burley trailers, trail-a-bikes, co-pilots, and bike tools for community tuneups/maintenance. Take a look at www.arcata.com/greenbikes/
— City-hall funded bike couriers delivering parcels and packages around town for city businesses and residents.
-contributed by Nathan Phillips

Bike Sharing/Library ideas

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:02:33 +0000

An example of a successful bike library can be found in Arcata, California (www.arcata.com/greenbikes). Could Newton have a successful bike sharing or bike library program? If a bike library program were adopted, it might suit Newton to loan, more than just bikes, accessory items like bike panniers and racks, burley trailers, trail-a-bikes, or co-pilot type kids seats. Kids bikes might be more popular items since the turnover for kids bikes is large. In addition, bike tools could be loaned out as well.

Unconventional greenways

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:00:38 +0000

Some of the best open space in Newton is one of the least frequently visited: the Newton Cemetery. I ride by it on Beacon Street five days a week on my commute from Auburndale to Boston. I got to thinking about how centrally this piece of land is, nestled between Commonwealth Avenue, Beacon Street, and Walnut Street, and how convenient pedestrian and bike access across the diagonals of this land would be. Think of an X-configured bikeway, more or less with vertices near the pharmacy (walnut and Beacon), library (Homer and Walnut), cold spring park (Beacon), and the gardening part of the cemetery at comm ave.
-contributed by Nathan Phillips

Newton Center

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:27:57 +0000

On my commute home I arrive (westbound) on Beacon in Newton Center and turn left onto Centre, then left again onto Parker. How to get from the light in front of Cold Stone to Parker without injury is a puzzle every time. And I've just come from Northeastern U. via the Fens/Park Drive. There's a proposal to put rotaries in Newton Centre that sounds really smart. You can find a link to it here at Newton Streets and Sidewalks. Rotaries, if they sufficiently slow traffic (to 20-25 mph) have been shown to reduce car-pedestrian and car-bike conflicts and accidents substantially.

Cycle Rikshaws

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:22:12 +0000

I travel to India frequently. There have been some new developments in cycle rikshaws (if you want, I'll post a link) that make them lighter and easier to pedal. Indian versions are about 1/10th the price of domestically produced ones. Wouldn't it be great to travel by rikshaw from the T to your house?