Slightly off topic, but here goes.
Soon-to-be Governor Patrick is opposed to eliminating tolls because of the lost revenue ($114 million if you just get rid of the tolls west of Springfield).
Here's my take:
Tolls are good because they capture from motorists some of the costs of car/truck travel. The tolls on the Mass Pike are not good because they unfairly tax some drivers while other drivers, particularly those on I-93, get to ride for free on roads built and maintained, in part, with Pike toll money.
An ideal solution would be to put tolls on all the interstates through Massachusetts. Ain't. Gonna. Happen.
An acceptable solution would be to get rid of all of the tolls in Massachusetts in exchange for an increase in the gas tax that would offset the loss of toll revenue. Earmark some percentage for mass transit.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Tolls on the Pike
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Infuriating, but instructive
This weekend, the otherwise sainted mother-in-law of NS&S shared with me her deep frustration with bikes on the road, triggered by one not-so-recent incident: four guys riding side-by-side on one of the country roads near her home and holding her up. (To be fair, I think this was an example of incidents that happen to her periodically, but far from frequently.)
As a cyclist, I deal with much more infuriating -- and potentially dangerous -- driver behavior almost every time I get on my bike. My impulse was to tell her to get a grip. She's wrong to be so frustrated. The relatively minor negative impact cyclists have on her life pales compared to the impact that motorists have on cyclists'.
Objectively, we cyclists are far more put upon than putting upon. But, practically speaking, it's irrelevant.
It's a tough pill to swallow, but if we want to live in a world that is more bike friendly, we really have to be model citizens. Being model citizens is not enough. We have to be active in our communities to create a more bike-friendly infrastructure and culture. But, if we want allies (or at least neutrals) in our activism, we also have to be nice to motorists. The world is generally hostile to us. Nice people like my mother-in-law are looking for reasons to dismiss our concerns.
It isn't fair. It isn't right. It just is.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
New Bike Accommodations
The new striping on Winchester, Nahanton, and Beacon Street is only part of the plan. There will be signs. DPW Commissioner Rooney is evaluating possibilities.
I suggest a new sign: Bikes by Right. In fact, that should be the underlying message of all bike accommodation efforts by the city. Bicyclists have a right to be on the road and travel safely.
I also think the best strategy would use more than one sign type. Nirvana (the section of Beacon Street between Washington Square and Cleveland Circle) has a "Share the Road" sign every block or more. The quantity is right, but the message loses its effectiveness with repetition. I'd mix in a few "Share the Road" signs with my "Bikes by Right" signs.
At last night's Bike/Pedestrian Task Force meeting, I spoke at some length with a bike-lane opponent. His "ghetto" argument is compelling (though I'm not entirely sold). If you create bike lanes, you create the expectation that bicyclists will only travel in those lanes. However, bike lanes can be dangerous (and sometimes blocked). The woman who died in Central Square a few years ago was travelling in a bike lane when a driver opened the car door into her path (knocking her into traffic).
But bike lanes/no bike lanes should not end the on-street marking debate. The new bike accommodations need some clarification. Cars can't go over the line. Bikes can travel on either side (though they will, out of self preservation, stay in the gutter when its safe to).
I don't have the complete answer, yet. But, I think that on-street markings should be an important tool in the effort to get the "Bikes by Right" message across.
Teacher's aide hit by car near Angier
According to the Tab blog, a teacher's aide was hit by a car while she was crossing Beacon Street.
Key question: did this happen during drop-off?
For Shame, II
Went to a Pedestrian/Bicycle Task Force meeting at City Hall last night. By a side entrance there was a car (red Pontiac, tag # 6167 JP) idling unoccupied in a parking space reserved for aldercritters.
Surely no aldercritter would do something so socially and environmentally unacceptable, so I'm assuming the miscreant was not just irresponsible but a flouter of parking restrictions, too.
Previously:
For Shame, I
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Cranking it up
Not exactly on topic, but 120 volunteers rode a bike to power an 1500-light LED reindeer on a billboard in Vancover. From Core77.
Small irony: it appears that motorists are the billboard's intended audience (as opposed to, say, a Times Square billboard). Bikers powering a billboard for the entertainment (okay, education) of drivers.
Parking Lots
The worst treated pedestrians in the world may be those who have just stepped out of their cars on their way to shop.
I have come to this conclusion while considering the proposal to build a pedestrian bridge across Route 9 connecting the to-be-developed Chestnut Hill Square and its across-the-street neighbor, the Mall at Chestnut Hill. The bridge dumps pedestrians at the far edge of the parking lot. From there, the walkers-over-from-Chestnut-Hill-Square join the just-parked-at-the-Mall folks to negotiate the vast expanse of tarmac.
Why aren't there sidewalks in parking lots? Every two rows of spots should have a sidewalk between them. You get out of your car, walk to the front (of the car), and walk along the sidewalk to the building. Out of traffic.
Ideally, the sidewalk would continue across driving lanes as a raised sidewalk. But, that's not a requirement.
Okay, I know the answer. Four feet of sidewalk for every two rows of cars would seriously reduce the number of spots in a lot. Tough to argue that you want to make it better for parking lot users by providing more space for them as pedestrians at the expense of space for them as drivers. A transportation/land use policy conundrum.
No such conundrum with regards to the proposed pedestrian bridge across Route 9. I have my doubts about the value of the bridge. But, if a bridge there will be, there must be a protected sidewalk from the end of the bridge, across the parking lot to the front door of the Mall at Chestnut Hill.
It would be ideal if the sidewalk across the parking lot were shaded with photovoltaic cells like they are about to do in the parking lots at Google's headquarters.
As goes Chicago ...
As if we needed another reason to emulate Chicago -- beyond an extensive network of bike lanes and grass rooftops -- here's another: following the death of a four-year-old, Chicago has mobilized to crack down on pedestrian- threatening/-unfriendly driving. From Streetsblog.
Direct comparisons to Chicago are tough. It's a city of 2.8 million v. Newton's .08 million. And, the density is different. But some of these solutions scale. And, leadership always scales.
The Mayor of Chicago leads the call for bike and pedestrian accommodation. In Newton, it's a task force that's never been officially commissioned as a standing committee, a couple of vocal aldercritters, a generally well-disposed DPW department, unconnected citizens, and yours truly. Not a recipe for decisive action.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Striping on Beacon, pictures
Here are some pictures I took of the new striping on Beacon Street.
Looking east on Beacon near Waverly:
Looking west on Beacon near the top of the BC hill:
I can't tell you how difficult it was biking along here with cars that couldn't figure out if it was two lanes or one.
Looking west on Beacon near Wilde Street.
Looking east on Beacon near Holly Street:
Previously:
Striping on Beacon
Winchester, III
Updated: More on Winchester
No Bike Lane on Winchester
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Woman Struck on Washington Street
A 70-year-old woman was hit by a car last night.
Safe streets aren't necessarily good streets. But unsafe streets are, by definition, bad streets.
Striping on Winchester and Beacon
Awesome!
I drove the lengths of Beacon and Winchester yesterday. The striping made me giddy. The section of Beacon east of Boston College before the Hammond Pond Parkway intersection has always been a problem for bikers. It was not clear if there are two traffic lanes or one. No question now.
There are sections of the west end of Beacon where the gutter -- if that's the right word -- is almost as wide as the lane itself.
There are some open questions:
- Where exactly are bikers supposed to go? Where the gutter is wide, to the right of the stripe makes sense. But, the gutter is not uniformally wide. Maybe some signs would help.
- Is parking allowed or encouraged near the JCC on Winchester? The stripes create what looks like a nice parking zone. What's the relationship between parking and bikers?
- Are motorists going to obey the striping? Maybe some signs would help.
- Why no striping on Beacon between Angier to the west and Waverly to the east? That's a route of regular bike traffic. Some clarification would be helpful.
Previously:
Winchester, III
Updated: More on Winchester
No Bike Lane on Winchester
Kevin Flaherty
I haven't posted anything about Kevin Flaherty's death and the safety of Woodland Road, primarily out of ignorance. I need to learn more.
But, if you missed it, do read this article about Kevin's friend Randy Stillman from last week's Tab and the letters to the editor in this week's Tab.
Welcome Tab readers
If you are visiting after reading my column in the Tab this week, welcome.
Click here to read about the objectives of this blog.
Please leave a comment or e-mail me at newtonstreets {at} gmail [dot] com.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Winchester Street, III
We didn't have to wait until Spring to get the striping on Winchester and Beacon.
The roads are striped with pretty wide gutters. Very clearly, there is a narrower car-travel lane, which should have some effect on average speed.
Not clear how they accommodate bikers. Are bikers supposed to stay in the gutters? Are cars/trucks going to fight for space in the narrower travel lane?
Pictures to come.
I'll do some more research.
Also, pace the Newton Blog item on JCC parking, parking on Winchester appears to be legal. It's not legal in the now blocked-off entrances to the JCC from Winchester, presumably for fire access, but it's legal elsewhere. With the new stripes, the parking appears to be more legitimate, not less.
Previously:
Updated: More on Winchester
No Bike Lane on Winchester
