Tag Archives: bicycling

2014 Boston Bikes Update

Bike czar Nicole Freedman gave her sixth annual report on the state of cycling in Boston in the Great Room at Faneuil Hall this Monday evening. Hundreds of bicyclists and bicycling advocates listened to her describe what Boston has accomplished and what the city proposes to accomplish in the coming years.

Mayor Marty Walsh was billed as attending, but he cancelled for reasons that were not disclosed. City Councillor Ayanna Pressley arrived late. She was the only elected official present.

Mayor Walsh did send a representative, chief of policy Joyce Linehan. Linehan noted that bicyclists made themselves known during the mayoral campaign and the candidates noticed. Advocacy organizations such as Livable Streets Alliance and the Boston Cyclists Union have made a difference in this town.

Joyce Linehan, the Mayor's Chief of Policy, speaks in Fanueil Hall at the Boston Bike Update.
Joyce Linehan, the Mayor’s Chief of Policy, speaks in Fanueil Hall at the Boston Bike Update.

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Meeting on the Cambridge Street Overpass

Over 120 people packed the Jackson Mann Community Center in Allston Tuesday night for a public meeting on the reconstruction of the Cambridge Street overpass. This was the second public meeting on the project — the first had taken place on June 17 — although both meetings were scheduled after the project was at 100% design. I attended this meeting because I occasionally bike over the overpass to get from Jamaica Plain to Harvard Square, risking my life in the process.

The organizers appeared to have been caught off-guard by the attendance. Folding chairs were added to accomodate more people. A lack of microphones and speakers meant that each person had to speak loudly to be heard by all.

A packed hall for the meeting on the Cambridge Street Overpass.
A packed hall for the meeting on the Cambridge Street Overpass.

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Biking Cape Cod Part 2

After our longer-than-expected bike ride to Truro, we spent the night at the Hostelling International (HI) hostel in Truro ($42 a person).

HI - Truro
HI – Truro

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Biking Cape Cod Part 1

The Cape Flyer, a summer weekend train that runs from South Station in Boston to Hyannis on Cape Cod, started running this year. We pounced on the opportunity to travel from Boston to the tip of the Cape car-free. We took the train leaving at 8am and arriving in Hyannis at 10:18am.

Bicycles are permitted in a special bike car at no extra charge. 20 bikes rested on racks in our train car, with space for quite a few more. The ride was smooth and pleasant.

Bike car on Cape Flyer train
Bike car on Cape Flyer train

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Boston Naked Bike Ride 2013

Boston’s Naked Bike Ride passed by me near the Public Garden last night. About 75 people in various states of undress, some completely nude, rode their bicycles as part of a protest:

“By riding in the WNBR we face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil, and other forms of non-renewable energy.” – ride facebook page

Semi-nude bicyclists ride near Boston's Public Garden
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2013 Boston Bikes Update

Steve Miller of Livable Streets and Nicole Freedman, Boston’s bike czar, spoke yesterday evening on the state of bicycling infrastructure in the city of Boston at a well-attended meeting at the public library in Copley Square. Boston City Councillors and mayoral candidates Felix Arroyo and Mike Ross supported this fifth annual event with their presence. City Councillor Ayanna Pressley may also have been present.

Nicole Freedman next to a slide 'State of the "Hub"'
Nicole Freedman presenting on the state of bicycling in Boston.

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