The Boston Cyclists Union will be out petitioning on Mass Ave this weekend, and during the afternoons next week. They sent out an email with details, which will hopefully be on the website soon.
Mass Ave is a major Boston artery and a major component to any potential all-city network of bicycle infrastructure. What’s specifically at stake here is whether or not bike lanes (already slated to be added to parts of Mass Ave) will go from Symphony Hall to the bridge. This is a key section of the street that would connect Mass Ave to the nice Comm Ave lanes and the lanes on Mass Ave in Cambridge and the Esplanade bike path (not seamless for that last one but still). Clearly, the Back Bay section of Mass Ave is key for creating a truly useful network of bike infrastructure that will help cyclists travel into and through Downtown from points all over. Seriously, open up Google Maps and select the option for bicycling and start tracing routes to/from Allston, Somerville, Cambridge, JP, Dorchester, Roxbury, etc. There are a lot of routes that could benefit from this link.
This stretch of road is part of my daily commute, and may well be part of yours. I think this is exactly the sort of project that needs to get done if we want a successful bike share program in this town, and if we want to be – as the mayor says – “world class.” See you Thursday.
