Tag: Boston
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My comments on the North Washington Street Bridge project
The comments below were addressed to Patricia Leavenworth, Chief Engineer at MassDOT. ATTN: Bridge Project Management, Project File No. 604173 Dear Ms. Leavenworth: I attended the 75% design about the North Washington Street bridge project on October 19, and I am commenting on that project. The quote below is on page 13 of the minutes…
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Forcing the right hook at Mass and Beacon
The installation of a separated bikeway on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, leading from the Harvard Bridge to Beacon Street, forces motorists to turn right from the left lane — and establishes as the norm, bicyclists’ overtaking on the right, just as in the crash which killed 38 year-old medical researcher Anita Kurmann at that location…
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Gillooly’s presentation
Deputy Commissioner James Gillooly’s presentation about the planned separate bikeways on Commonwealth Avenue is online at the URL below. I have prespred a version synchronized to his talk about it at the 2015 Massachusetts Moving Together conference. Gillooly, J. (2015, 11 01). Commonwealth Avenue Phase 2A… Retrieved June 25, 2016, from http://www.movingtogetherma.org/Pdfs/2015presentations/Gillooly-Issued_Move%20Together%20-%20Session%202D.pdf — deleted by…
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The 2015-2016 crop of bills in the Massachusetts legislature
My opinion on these proposals, in general: all well-intentioned, but the the law of unintended consequences comes into play with some. S. 1117, sponsored by Sen. Brownsberger of Watertown, by striking out the words “16 years of age or younger”, would require bicyclists of all ages to wear a helmet, and would encourage bicyclists to…
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Arlington Center Safe Travel Project update
Arlington Center has presented a major problem for the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway (rail trail) since its opening. For people who are not familiar with the situation in Arlington Center, the rail line passed diagonally through the middle of town, crossing the two largest streets in Arlington within a couple hundred feet of their intersection. The…
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For a real People’s Pike
“People’s Pike” is a group of citizens with concerns about the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s I-90 Allston Interchange project, the main goal of which has been to replace the deteriorating Massachusetts Turnpike viaduct. The People’s Pike group is concerned mostly with improvements to the project for local access. A new commuter rail and bus terminal…
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My opinions on the bills before the Massachusetts General Court
I can’t go to the Wednesday, January 6 hearing on transportation bills, because I’ll be out of town on business, but here’s my take (and be sure to read through to the last bill on which I comment: it’s one of the most important, and we should oppose it). My opinions are based on my…
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The Globe Screws Up on Nighttime Safety
The Boston Globe has published an article titled “Survival Guide for Running and Biking in the Dark.” This picture appeared with the article: you need it to understand my comments. The article addresses issues of retroreflector placement and motion, while not discussing when retroreflectors can work, or cannot work at all. The bicyclists in the…
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The Boston Globe’s photo album
Ah, the Boston Globe. On the one side we have conservative columnist Jeff Jacoby in the Globe of September 1, 2015, suggesting that bicyclists should all go for a nice ride in the park and stay off the streets. Though I’m a registered Democrat and liberal to centrist on most political issues, I often find…
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Boston Globe Article Falls Flat
My letter to the editor of the Globe today. To the editor: Yes, I know this is too long to publish, but I hope that you will find it informative. A major impediment to safe bicycling and good street design is lack of knowledge. In the feature article “Safer Passages”, on the cover of Globe…