[*BCM*] new Longfellow Bridge bike and pedestrian lanes

[John Kerr]

The only acceptable lanes are separated from the street and are not right
next to parked cars.  All other lanes, IMO are death traps that prevent me
from my right to take a full lane. For example, the Mass Ave bike lanes
through Central Square should be adjacent to the sidewalks, not the parked
cars/idling taxis/MBTA buses who can pull out at anytime.

For the busiest interections, their should be a bike light, such as in the
Netherlands.

On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 10:55 AM, Charvak Karpe <charvak at alum.mit.edu>wrote:

> Not wanting to cross a lane of traffic is a reason to not use the
> center lanes on the Longfellow.  Why else do people not use them?  One
> rainy morning, I saw joggers getting splashed on, running on the
> shoulder, instead of moving in to the safety of the center lane.  Do
> people assume that the lane being blocked off means it's dangerous, as
> if a work truck will appear out of nowhere and steamroll them or there
> will be a gaping hole in the pavement?  Or are people just obedient
> and think it's better to obey the law and stay out of a blocked lane?
> How many people have asked themselves why a lane would be blocked for
> weeks without any work being performed?
>
> I think the lane may be blocked off for a while.  A few months ago, I
> commented on the new signs that restrict trucks to the right lane of
> the bridge and how I'd sometimes ride the left lane for this reason,
> even before it was blocked off.  The shoulder would be covered in
> debris from construction trucks, making it unsuitable for bicycles.
> Now, the bridge is close enough to falling down that they've had to
> block a lane to limit weight on the bridge and slow the T down to 10
> mph to reduce vibrations.  It will probably be a while before they fix
> the bridge or reassess its load capacity, so my prayers for a
> separated bike lane have been answered.
>
> http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/398137071_24bb5f0492.jpg?v=0 is a
> bike lane.  A shoulder with a bicycle painted on it is still a
> shoulder designed to satisfy regulations on road construction.  But
> some MassBike person once told me that the consensus is that turning
> shoulders into bike lanes is safer than having separate bike lanes
> because it helps traffic see the bikes and not hit them on right
> turns.  After living in Amsterdam, I tend to prefer having a separate
> lane for cyclists.  I think raised bike lanes could be a reasonable
> compromise, because that would at least keep the debris and water from
> accumulating there, which is the function of a shoulder, and prevent
> cars from driving in them.
>
> http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=raised%20bike%20lanes&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
>  What kind of bike lanes would CMers like to see?  Make sure you talk
> to your representatives or MassBike about your opinions and they don't
> impose theirs on all of us because we don't speak out.
>
> Westbound on the bridge, there are often lots of cars turning right
> from Cambridge street to Storrow drive or I-93.  I've been nearly
> clipped by people who speed up and try to go around often enough that
> it makes more sense to move to the left while still on Cambridge
> street and occupy a lane all the way to the bridge, where I can now
> conveniently stay in the left lane.  The Motorcycle Safety
> Foundation's course on motorcycling taught me to always consider my
> position within my lane on the road.  A motorcyclist must always
> evaluate potential hazards from both sides, consider speed
> differentials, ensure there's room to move around, etc.  The same
> mentality keeps bicyclists safe too.  We pay taxes and are entitled to
> a safe place to bike, even if we don't have a motor spewing pollutants
> as we make our way.  It's fine to occupy a lane, while being courteous
> and letting people pass when safe because we're nice people.
>
> I want to see more cyclists acting like tax-paying citizens who
> courteously, yet assertively share the roads instead of crawling along
> the sidelines covered in dirt and glass, in fear of autos, hoping they
> don't get shoved into the kerb.
>
> Charvak
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 26, 2008 at 12:00 PM,  <>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:57:53 -0400
> > From: "Ron Newman" <rnewman at thecia.net>
> > Subject: [*BCM*] new Longfellow Bridge bike and pedestrian lanes
> > To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
> > Message-ID: <488a1421.2ff4.0 at thecia.net>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >
> > A couple of weeks ago, the state closed the left lane on each side of the
> Longfellow
> > Bridge to motorized traffic.
> >
> > Which makes those lanes an excellent place to walk, or run, or ride a
> bicycle.
> >  People don't seem to realize that yet.  This morning I saw at least 20
> bicyclists
> > still hugging the narrow eastbound shoulder instead of using the empty
> left
> > lane.   I often see joggers on the shoulder, too.
> >
> > These lane closures won't last, but let's take advantage of them while we
> can!
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:05:08 -0700 (PDT)
> > From: Jon Ramos <jontramos at yahoo.com>
> > Subject: Re: [*BCM*] new Longfellow Bridge bike and pedestrian lanes
> > To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
> > Message-ID: <839312.55506.qm at web50001.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >
> > EXCEPT THAT, you have to cross over the vehicle lane at each end of the
> bridge just to take advantage of this very short "safe lane".? I dont think
> its?worth crossing in front of speeding motorists for such a short
> distance.? I'll stick to the bike lane.
> > I am, however, annoyed that the city closed the sidewalk portion...
> resulting in joggers / pedestrians in the rather narrow bike lane.
> >
> > I hope we ride the longfellow tonight...? taking over the single lane
> bridge?would be fun!
> > See you?at Copley!
> >
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Boston Critical Mass mailing list
> list at bostoncriticalmass.org
> http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list
> To unsubscribe email list-unsubscribe at bostoncriticalmass.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.bostoncoop.net/pipermail/bostoncriticalmass/attachments/20080730/5b5c10ef/attachment.htm