Tuesday, March 3, 2009

No-excuse zones


In Sidney Sydney, Australia, bike advocates have mapped no-excuse zones -- the areas around the city from which it is possible to commute to work in under 20 or 30 minutes. People who live within those zones are encouraged to bike to work a few days a week.

Newton's too far out to be within a no-excuse zone for Boston, but it is an intriguing concept.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Strange. That map looks a lot like Sydney. I have no idea where Sidney is.

Sean Roche said...

You know, Sidney, it's in Australya.

Anonymous said...

Newton IS a no-excuse zone - People who work in Boston can bike to the nearest T station like I do in the warmer summer months...

Steve R said...

Good idea: let's map 15-minute no excuse zones (one line for walking, another for biking) around all the t & commuter rail stops in Newton. I can offer you one data point: it takes me 14 minutes to go 0.4 mi. to Newton Highlands. On ice. I think we could safely draw a walking line at 0.5 mi.

Anonymous said...

There is no excuse for not having commuter bicycle paths into Boston. It is only 10 miles. It takes 30-45 minutes to get to boston by T, I could match that on a bike if there was a safe, straight route.

And no excuse for not having bike routes in Newton. Look at Madison Wisconsin, which is about the same density as Newton.