Most of the proposed bike lanes would not be safe to ride in at any speed above 5 mph. You need to be at least 11′ away from the curb when there are parked cars to be completely out of the Door Zone. The proposed parking lane (7′) + bike lane (5′) together are 12′. So only the last 1′ of the bike lane is a safe place to ride. But most people, especially the new riders who we hope to attract, will ride in the middle of the lane — smack in the door zone.

(Note about Hampshire St [Cambridge] Study: this only showed that putting in a line dividing parking from travel lane on a narrow st made bicyclists think they could move a little left, since they would not be in the official ‘car lane’. It did not however pull many of them FAR ENOUGH out to be outside of the door zone.)

Moreover, through most of this area, and especially Green St to the Monument, traffic moves at less than bike speed most of the day. The bike lane would encourage cars to stay left and encourage unwary bicyclists to pass on the right — even though cars can and do turn right at any time to enter a side street, driveway, or parking space. That’s how you actually get hit, not from behind!

The city & state should do a lot more to tell people that bicyclists have equal rights to the road. Too many people believe that bicyclists should not be in the way (but feel free to block everyone when making a left turn or waiting for parking in your car!). But if you want to do a special treatment for bicyclists in a commercial district with lots of parking turnover and little street space, than make bike stencils in the lane, just like Corinth St in Roslindale Square. IT ALREADY IS A BIKE LANE, as much as it is a car lane or a truck lane or a motorcycle lane!

I could be wrong, but I don’t think people will support removing any substantial amount of parking in this corridor to put in bike lanes. In my nearly 18 years of experience in Boston, I have only seen on-street parking removed 3 times: Huntington Ave near the MFA and Wentworth, a few blocks of Mass Ave near MIT, and, more recently, N. Harvard St near the Harvard Business School. These cases demonstrate the rule: removing on-street parking will be acceptable only when the sole abutters are large institutions with off-street parking. That circumstance doesn’t exist in this corridor.

I advocate parking prohibitions from 7 am to 9 am on the inbound side and 4 pm to 6 pm on the outbound side, with the parking lane reserved at those times for buses, bikes, and right turns. In the morning, at least, the removal of parking would not conflict with businesses, since few are open. It would make cycling much easier at the busiest times, and would greatly speed buses. And motorists would merge into to the right lane to make a right turn — eliminating the right hook danger for bicyclists — since it would actually be a lane big enough for motor vehicles and since if they did otherwise they would be crushed by a bus.

I also think we should (restore) metered parking to increase turnover, decrease double-parking, make driving slightly less attractive, and to create a fund for neighborhood and streetscape improvements. However, earmarking any part of even new parking meter revenues for any one purpose is VERBOTEN in Boston, at least under the current Mayor.

Have a nice day
GlenStef

Have a nice day
GlenStef