-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Meta
Tag Archives: Massachusetts
Massachusetts traffic law, the nation’s most disorganized and confusing
A major revision of Massachusetts traffic law has been overdue for decades. It is the most disorganized and unreadable body of traffic law of any state and the only one not based on the Uniform Vehicle Code. In preparing comments … Continue reading
Posted in Laws
Tagged bicycle, Bicycling, law, Massachusetts, motor vehicle, pedestrian, traffic signal
3 Comments
Parklet: win-win or win-lose?
Near the right side of the photo below is a “parklet,” a seating area which replaces a couple of parking spaces on Somerville Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. A parklet may also contain a planting, as this one does. A … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bike lanes
Tagged bicycle, Bicycling, bike lane, Boston, Forge Baking Company, Massachusetts, park.et, pedestrian, safety, Somerville
4 Comments
Motordom and the Mohawk Trail
Relentless promotion, political and business manipulation by “motordom” (follow the money…) have been held largely responsible for the triumph of motoring in the USA in the early 20th Century. Peter Norton’s book Fighting Traffic is the best-known work making this … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycling, Books, Reviews
Tagged advocacy, Berkshire Country, Berkshires, book, Hoosac Mountain, Hoosac Tunnel, Massachusetts, Mohawk Trail, motor vehicle, New York, North Adams, Route 2, Taconic, Vermont
Leave a comment
Jim Melcher and America’s Perestroika
Jim Melcher was one of my professors at MIT. He was also was a year-round bicycle commuter and in 1977, one of the first 25 members of the Boston Area Bicycle Coalition, In the 1980s, his activism expanded into issues … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycling
Tagged bicycle, Bicycling, Boston, cancer, Course 6, E.E., EE, electrical engineering, Electromagnetic field theory, Electromagnetism, energy policy, engineering, Iraq War, James Melcher, Jim Melcher, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Insitute of Technology, Middle East, Military policy, MIT, oil, Politics
3 Comments
Say what?
Click on the photo for a larger view. Your comments are welcome. This is yet another of Boston”s bike boxes, where bicyclists are expected to advance in a bike lane at the right side of the street, than to prepare … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bike box, Bike lanes
Tagged bicycle, Bicycling, bike box, bike lane, Boston, collision, crash, crosswalk, Massachusetts, safety, traffic
1 Comment
The “Dutch Reach”
I have sent the following message to Dr. Michael Charney, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, promoter of the “Dutch Reach”. The “Dutch Reach” is motorists’ opening the driver’s side door with the opposite hand, so they must look back for bicyclists riding … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycling, Bike lanes
Tagged bicycle, Bicycling, bike lane, bikeway, collision, crash, cycle track, cycle tracks, door zone, dooring, Dutch Reach, law, Massachusetts, mirror, rear-view, rear-view mirror, safety, side-view, side-view mirror, traffic
24 Comments
Boston expert design
Here’s a video of the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and St. Mary Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, an example of the design expertise which earns Boston its place with the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle Friendly City. The video … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bicycling, Bike box, Bike lanes, Traffic Signals
Tagged advanced stop line, ASL, bicycle, Bicycling, bike box, bike lane, Boston, Boston University, Commonwealth Avenue, crosswalk, encroachement, Massachusetts, safety, St. Mary's St., St. Mary's Street, traffic, traffic light, traffic signal
6 Comments
Duck Boat crashes
We had a duck boat run into a motor scooter from behind on Saturday, May 7, 2016 in Boston, killing one of the riders. It isn’t clear from the news story why this happened, though I expect that the poor … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycling, Crashes
Tagged bicycle, Boston, collision, crash, duck boat, Massachusetts, moped, motor scooter, motor vehicle, safety, traffic, vehicle
Leave a comment
Lane Control on Lexington Street
Here’s a video showing a bicycle ride on a constant mile-long upslope, at speeds of 10 to 12 miles per hour (16 to 20 km/h), on a suburban 4-lane speedway with narrow lanes and no shoulders, the most challenging street … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycling
Tagged bicycle, Bicycling, Boston, lane, lane control, law, Lexington, Massachusetts, motor vehicle, pedestrian, safety, traffic, vehicle, Waltham
4 Comments
Bike Box at Charlesgate East
This post is about the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue eastbound and Charlesgate East in Boston, Massachusetts, an intersection with a “bike box” — a waiting area for bicyclists downstream of where motorists stop for traffic signals. More generally, this post … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycling
Tagged bicycle, Bicycling, bike box, bike lane, Boston, crash, crosswalk, law, Massachusetts, motor vehicle, Oregon, pedestrian, safety, sidewalk, traffic signal, vehicle, vehicular, video
10 Comments
