1 Traffic-Intolerant Bicyclists and Boston’s Greenway Network Peter G. Furth Professor Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Northeastern University

2 Bicycle Ridership Depends on Traffic Stress degree of traffic stress Riders Unimproved Low stress facility draws high ridership Many improvements serve only traffic- tolerant riders X3X3 X2X2 X1X1

A Test: Could we design a network for Brookline intended for traffic-intolerant cyclists? 3

4 Proposed Safe Routes Network, Brookline, MA Accepted in 2007 as plan by Brookline Transportation Board

5 Expanding the Toolbox of Low-Stress Facility Types 1.Off-road path 2.Shared lane* 3.Wide outside lane 4.Bike lane* * New criteria developed for traffic- intolerant riders 5.Contraflow lane 6.No-Passing-Bikes zone 7.Separated paths or “Cycle tracks”

BICYCLE CONTRAFLOW One-way for cars, two-way for bikes Excellent safety record Bikes do it anyway!

Recommended Contraflow Site (observe contraflow cyclist) 7

8 Recommended No-Passing- Bikes Zone (Carlton St.) Self-enforcing Removes stress from cyclists Removes pressure motorists feel to pass unsafely

9 Cycle Track or Separated Path Stress-free between intersections Design for safe crossings and endpoints Separation is vital on high-speed roads Cycle track on Vassar St., Cambridge

Refuge Cycle Tracks Carry routes through dangerous intersections

11 Could We Design a “Safe Routes” Network for Brookline? YES. Greenways Quiet Local Streets, 15 of them with contraflow 5 No-Passing-Bikes Zones 4 Refuge Cycle Tracks at busy intersections Separated paths along high speed arterials Implementation Schedule???

Boston’s Developing Greenway Network

Arborway: 8 lanes of highway, no path 13 Jamaica Pond Kelley Circle Murray Circle Arboretum

Engineering Students’ Design, Regional Traffic Concentrated in Inner Raodway Continuous Paths in East & West Side Medians Net New Greenspace = 4.45 Acres Newly Accessible Greenspace = 5.60 Acres

Greenway Segments (2+ mi long?) Arborway Route 9 Crossing Sears Rotary “Harbor- Ride” S. Bay / Harbor Trail Harbor Walk Southampton & Old Colony Watertown Branch Community Path Charlesgate Path World Series Path Grand Junction Earheart Dam / Bike to the Sea Downtown Boston South Boston UMass Boston Dorchester Cambridge Watertown Somerville Charlestown Jamaica Pond Brookline Forest Hills Brighton Fresh Pond Missing Mile Bridges

World Series Path SW Corridor (at Ruggles) to Back Bay Fens 50% on NU campus

SW Corridor Ruggles Station Huntington Ave MFA NU & first World Series site (1903)

Shifted median Back Bay Fens Mass. Pike Charles River Mass.Ave. Muddy River Comm. Ave. CHARLESGATE PATH

Proposed Conditions This is a rendering of what the southbound lanes of the Bowker Overpass will look like. Existing Conditions This is an image taken from the Bowker/Boylston Intersection looking at the southbound lanes of the Bowker Overpass. Moving The Median

Down & Across the On-Ramp from Comm. Ave. –Ramp Narrowed to 1 lane for entering Bowker Overpass –Signalized crossing, coordinated w/ Comm Ave –No negative traffic impact –ADA ramp to Charlesgate West and Newbury St. Comm Ave

Coming down to Commonwealth Ave.

Shifted curb line on Beacon Street crossing the Muddy

Proposed Path Layout: Connections AND a New Acre Park

LMA MGH E. Cambridge BU Back Bay NU MIT JP BMC Harvard Sq Allston/Bri U Mass S Boston Roxbury

Boston’s Future Greenway Network (in part)!