riding bike on community path/minuteman trail in the winter

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

Does anyone commute on the community path/minuteman trail into Arlington who would like to comment on its bikability after snowstorms?  Do Cambridge/Arlington sections differ from Somerville?

Comments

[squirrelitude]

When I lived in Arlington Center and commuted to Alewife, I was impressed by how quickly the Minuteman was cleared of snow. They usually cleared it just as quickly as the roads.

[ron_newman]

For the last few years, Arlington has agreed to clear the entire path within its boundaries. Lexington signed on to do this as well, but has not been nearly as competent.

Cambridge and Somerville both clear their sections of the path quickly.

[ethanfield.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, I find the Minuteman most treacherous if it's been over a week since the big snowstorm. It's cleared immediately following a storm, but it isn't cleared or salted if there hasn't recently been a storm. So frequently, the big drifts on the side of the path will start to melt, flowing across the path, then freeze, then thaw... after about a week of that, there are sometimes large, hard, dark, ice floes across the path that are hard to see and navigate.

[jimmyfergus.livejournal.com]

I commute the Minuteman year-round.

Somerville and Arlington do a decent job clearing usually, though if it's a very heavy storm Arlington does seem to treat it as lower priority than the roads. Winter before last at one point the path got in a mess of slushy ruts and footprints which then froze solid, and then couldn't be cleared for quite a while in many places and was not really passable on a bike.

Various cities and entities try to plow the entire length of the path. Arlington salts it as far out Lake St, or perhaps to Arlington Center(?) my memory is foggy since it's 18 months since a snowy winter. As others have noted this can be unreliable, and there can be icy patches. Otherwise it's just plowed with no salt. If you're prepared for the $100 or so, studded tires are a very good idea. Frozen puddles, runoff and frost patches are no worry with studs, and otherwise they can result in broken wrists or collarbones or worse.

Lexington city does not clear the path at all, and instead it is cleared privately, funded by donations. Before this got in full swing Lexington was shamed by Arlington. More recently it's been better cleared in Lexington (IMO).

I highly recommend trying to ride year-round, with studs. You can be comfortable with decent gloves (esp mittens), stout shoes, windproof outer layer etc.. If you feel chilled just pedal harder, but always carry more layers in a bag in case of problems. For me it makes winter much more pleasant because I'm getting fresh air and daylight every day. I much prefer it to the hot sticky summer commutes.