Cycling in Boston

girv73

I've been in Boston (MA) for the past week with work so I've been missing the cycling (boo!). Though from the recent weather in NI that's probably a good thing!

The difference between here and home (& England from what I hear) in the numbers of cyclists, facilities for cyclists and how drivers, peds and cyclists share the road is remarkable. I'm based near the MIT campus so perhaps this is a particularly bike friendly area, but I took a walk around the city yesterday and I'm not so sure.

The major roads have dedicated, well signposted cycle lanes (not bus+cycle) and there are bike stands everywhere. There are bikes locked to everything and no-one seems to mind. Vehicles "yield" to cycles without fuss or cutting up. Cycles cross crosswalks in between peds and no-one complains. Cycling on the sidewalk is common practice and again, no-one minds as the cyclists generally go slow enough to not cause danger. In the city yesterday (Hancock Place) there were some kids doing tricks on BMXs on the busy sidewalk. I stopped to watch for a while (they were pretty good!) but none of the other peds seemed to bat an eyelid.

It's all just so ... harmonious. Nothing like the war on the streets that I read about on here!

downfader

I have read that in certain states its legal to ride on the pavements. :shock:

2wheelzgood

why is that such a bad thing. so many people do it here. I understand if people are riding like idiots but I do it for 200m to avoid a busy half mile loop in town.
why is it so taboo irrespective of the circumstance

karl j

2wheelzgood wrote:

why is that such a bad thing. so many people do it here. I understand if people are riding like idiots but I do it for 200m to avoid a busy half mile loop in town.
why is it so taboo irrespective of the circumstance

dunno. some people do get really up the a*se about it though. As far as i'm concerned so long as there's no-one else around, or if there is then you are riding sensibly, then there isn't a problem. But no doubt someone will disagree.

girv73

downfader wrote:

I have read that in certain states its legal to ride on the pavements. :shock:

I guess MA must be one of them, as there was a lot of it going on and plenty of cops about to do something about it if it was illegal.

downfader

girv73 wrote:

downfader wrote:

I have read that in certain states its legal to ride on the pavements. :shock:

I guess MA must be one of them, as there was a lot of it going on and plenty of cops about to do something about it if it was illegal.

Make sure you check before you do though.

Karl - ref on the pavements. To my own experience of it - has always been people cycling on the pavement to the detrement of the pedestrian, either nearly knocking people over or causing problems. I personally dont like the idea but I'll usually ignore it when theres no one else around, and mearly tut to myself when the cyclist causes problems at other times.

Nigeyy

Hmmm lived in the Boston area now for 18 years. Funny how things can look very different from another perspective. First of all, the college areas in Boston do have quite a few cyclists (students) so it's probably going to come off as being more cycle friendly.

However, Boston is not cycle friendly (also, not to be nitpicky, but MIT's main buildings are not in Boston, but Cambridge). It's been consistently voted as one of the worst US cities to cycle in -and for good reason. Drive for a week around Boston, and you'll find out why..... Bad junctions, bad road design, bad drivers and bad planning.

Recently the Mayor has been on a cycling kick, and as such he's pushed cycle lanes (which I'm not sure are a great idea by the way). Cyclists do go on sidewalks illegally -but hey you have to catch them first, and to be quite frank, the physical condition of some of the city's finest might...errr... cause problems there. Besides, other serious issues plague the city (actually, any city, it's not just Boston). And therein lies another issue with Bostonians -they aren't very good at following rules -particularly on the road -which makes road use somewhat exciting and challenging at times.

There are some beautiful bike rides outside Boston though -and even though I do cycle into Boston occasionally, it's not something I do often.

FYI: cycling on sidewalks can be legal or illegal per town, not just per state. It's up to the town you are in (I guess unless a state or federal law supercedes it.)

girv73 wrote:

I've been in Boston (MA) for the past week with work so I've been missing the cycling (boo!). Though from the recent weather in NI that's probably a good thing!

The difference between here and home (& England from what I hear) in the numbers of cyclists, facilities for cyclists and how drivers, peds and cyclists share the road is remarkable. I'm based near the MIT campus so perhaps this is a particularly bike friendly area, but I took a walk around the city yesterday and I'm not so sure.

The major roads have dedicated, well signposted cycle lanes (not bus+cycle) and there are bike stands everywhere. There are bikes locked to everything and no-one seems to mind. Vehicles "yield" to cycles without fuss or cutting up. Cycles cross crosswalks in between peds and no-one complains. Cycling on the sidewalk is common practice and again, no-one minds as the cyclists generally go slow enough to not cause danger. In the city yesterday (Hancock Place) there were some kids doing tricks on BMXs on the busy sidewalk. I stopped to watch for a while (they were pretty good!) but none of the other peds seemed to bat an eyelid.

It's all just so ... harmonious. Nothing like the war on the streets that I read about on here!

girv73

Nigeyy wrote:

However, Boston is not cycle friendly (also, not to be nitpicky, but MIT's main buildings are not in Boston, but Cambridge). It's been consistently voted as one of the worst US cities to cycle in -and for good reason.

Thanks for the local perspective, Nigeyy. Interesting indeed that one of the "worst" US cycling cities comes across as one of the best I've seen. Maybe you should come visit Belfast or London with a bike to compare

Yes, MIT is in Cambridge. I should have known that, since I was actually staying in Cambridge. Just shake your head and mutter "Bl**dy foreigners" or whatever your local equivalent is.

Nigeyy wrote:

Nigeyy wrote:

Drive for a week around Boston, and you'll find out why..... Bad junctions, bad road design, bad drivers and bad planning.

I didn't pay much attention to the road layout as the whole driving on the right thing freaks me right out at the best of times, never mind on a bike!

Nigeyy wrote:

Recently the Mayor has been on a cycling kick, and as such he's pushed cycle lanes (which I'm not sure are a great idea by the way).

I'm curious why you think that? They seem like a good idea to me, but I'll admit I haven't given it much thought. It seems better to have a dedicated lane?

Nigeyy wrote:

And therein lies another issue with Bostonians -they aren't very good at following rules -particularly on the road -which makes road use somewhat exciting and challenging at times.

hehe I never did figure out the rules for crosswalk use And the taxi drivers certainly played fast and loose with lane discipline.

Nigeyy wrote:

There are some beautiful bike rides outside Boston though -and even though I do cycle into Boston occasionally, it's not something I do often.

Yeah I read a few bike hire brochures in the hotel. I may be over again later in the year and intend to check it out.

Nigeyy

Well I'm from the UK originally, so cycled quite a lot over there -mostly in Nottingham -not London or Belfast. And yes, I was being pernickety with the MIT not in Boston comment, apologies!

Road design over here -particularly in Massachusetts -is just really bad and lacking complete common sense at times, but I digress. I used to like the idea of cycle lanes, but now I'm not so sure -the problem in a city is that you are just going to get so many junctions and parked cars -add in the fact that if they follow road design standards that currently exist -and I think you have a recipe ripe for accidents. I'd rather take my chances on a road without cycle lanes marked and be more assertive in my positioning. Besides which, I'm really not sure vehicle drivers would notice cycle lanes or take any of notice of them in Boston anyway (sorry, don't mean to sound negative, but that more than likely will be the case).

Oh yeah, check your PMs.