Hubway Stations Being Installed

[courtney o'keefe]

During my travels today, I noticed that the Hubway Bicycle Stations are being installed throughout the City. This includes a brand-new station at Trum Field! As Alderman, I requested this location for consideration and I'm happy to announce that it was installed today!

To purchase a monthly or annual Hubway account, click here. Day passes can be purchased right at the kiosk.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Do you know if there is any possibility of bringing Hubway to Magoun Square this year?

[courtney o'keefe (from livejournal.com)]

It was installed at Trum Field today. I think that's as close to Magoun as we are going to get.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I would have thought the Maxwell's Green people would want one there, maybe by the Lowell St entrance. Also surprised they haven't put one by Alewife yet. There is plenty of space for it by the Russell Field entrance.

[ursamajor]

It shocks me that there isn't a Hubway station at Alewife. I see people pedaling them up the Minuteman every so often, despite that; I guess they get them at Cameron and Mass Ave and go from there, but it's still almost another mile to the start of the Minuteman.

(At 5'0, I am too short for Hubway bikes, or I would have joined the first day possible. Alas.)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

It has shocked me for a while, too, but I wondered if I was the only one, since they keep not putting one there. Glad to have some backup. :)

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Where would you go from Alewife? Hubway trips only makes sense if you can reach another Hubway station within 30 minutes, unless you don't mind racking up overdue fines.

I suppose you could joyride up the Minuteman to Arlington Center and back, but is there enough demand for that?

[jdh0625.livejournal.com]

You would go to Cambridge or Somerville from Alewife...

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Ok. I was thinking of people taking the Red Line out to Alewife.

Who are the people who would start somewhere near Alewife? It's not much of an origin/destination area.

[jdh0625.livejournal.com]

There are seven buses that terminate at Alewife. Two of them are reverse-commuter buses to Burlington and Bedford, but the other five funnel people from Arlington and Lexington to Alewife.

I used to work in Bedford and I drove by Alewife on my way home. There was always a ton of foot traffic heading north on the Minuteman every evening at rush hour. Alewife may seem pretty desolate, but there's a thickly-settled area of Arlington right around the corner.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

That sounds like an argument for a Hubway station in East Arlington.

Those buses don't have a lot of ridership in total. I'd estimate 125 people per hour at the peak, 40 per hour off-peak, and 20 per hour on weekends. So I don't see how there would be any significant Hubway traffic for them.

[jdh0625.livejournal.com]

I'm sure there are other locations in East Arlington that would make sense, but for now, the problem is that they are in Arlington -- a town that hasn't signed on to Hubway yet.

There's no question that the utility of a Hubway station at Alewife would be more valuable if it maintained bike-share connections to Arlington. But even as an end-of-the-line station, I think it could hold its own based on its location near a T station, a park-and-ride, and pedestrian connections to a reasonably sizable section of Arlington via the Minuteman.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

You could also go down the community path, right to the next Hubway stop on Mass Ave, then on to Davis Square, and then further and further east. Note that it is not easy to go east in that direction, using the MBTA. A Hubway option from Alewife towards Union Square would enable lots more people to commute in that way.

[puffy-wuffy.livejournal.com]

As a Hubway user and a Somervillain, I have to say that I found using Hubway last year really convenient and convenient all over Cambridge during the winter. Get a bike helmet and ride!

[jimmyfergus.livejournal.com]

Agreed - as a bike owner and user I thought Hubway was not for me, but since I had a corporate membership through work, I used it last year. It turns out to be excellent. It fills in the gaps in the T system (Kendall to Fenway in 10 mins instead of 40), and gives flexibility to trips.

And if you don't have a helmet, don't fret it. Helmets are a good idea, but not essential. Cycling really isn't nearly as dangerous as people think. Mile for mile you're more likely to get a head injury walking, and you don't fret about not having a helmet when going for a stroll (much, much higher when strolling home after a few drinks at the pub too). But like I say, helmets are a good idea, just the lack of one shouldn't have you losing sleep.

[theloriest.livejournal.com]

There is another new location on Packard Ave at Powder House Blvd.

[jdh0625.livejournal.com]

I believe that went in sometime last year, actually.

[sjcap.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to everyone on their new Hubway racks. Meanwhile in Ward 1 . .

During the launch of the Hubway Somerville expansion, there was the expected PR blitz about community and connection, and about how people all across Somerville could now enjoy this great new program and yadda yadda. Six wards across the city got a new Hubway rack. Which is great.

Problem is, Somerville has seven wards. And as soon as he was alerted about how East Somerville got the shaft, Alderman Roche immediately called from his job at NStar over to City Hall and read somebody the riot act. Because within 2 hours, there was a promise from Hayes Morrison that East Somerville would definitely absolutely be included in the next round of Hubway expansions. It was definitely coming, City Hall was going to make absolutely sure of it.

MmHmmm . . . . okay.

[ron_newman]

Hubway is supposed to come with the East Broadway streetscape improvement, which is still in the middle of construction. To be useful there, it also needs to be installed at the Sullivan T stop in Charlestown.

[ifotismeni]

it's really disappointing how east somerville got completely neglected on this. i was really looking forward to grabbing a hubway at lechmere to get to winter hill but that's basically not an option at all. a shame too, as i see lots of cyclists in the area on their own bikes.

[ron_newman]

There's a Hubway station at Somerville City Hall, which may be useful for your particular purpose.

[joelbikesalot.livejournal.com]

Just to clarify the Hubway Kiosks are being installed but the they will not be operational until April 2nd.

https://www.thehubway.com/news

Alderman are not the only ones who can recommend Hubway Station locations you can do that here:

https://www.thehubway.com/stations

Joel

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that link doesn't include the Trum field location. A Trum field-> Sullivan Square trip would be a great way to avoid taking a bus on Broadway, and in a lot of cases faster. Hopefully they get a station at Sullivan Square soon.

[jdh0625.livejournal.com]

They only have the Cambridge stations on the map right now, which have been active year-round in the Cambridge winter pilot program. The closest thing to a map of the entire system at the end of 2013 can be found here (http://www.thehubway.com/stations), although you'll probably have to look at the individual PDFs to get a good view. It's also slightly outdated; for example, it doesn't show the station that popped up at Somerville Hospital on Highland Ave.

I agree that Sullivan is a key missing link right now. That being said, the corner of Somerville abutting Sullivan (incl. East Somerville, Assembly, parts of Winter Hill) is pretty crappy for riding a bike. Broadway, McGrath, Sullivan Sq, Mystic Ave are all unpleasant routes.

[ron_newman]

Pearl Street is quite pleasant for bicycling, and is my preferred route through East Somerville. Broadway will be great once the construction is finished.

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

Which side of Trum field is it on? The Cedar St side or the one closer to Magoun?

[jdh0625.livejournal.com]

I saw it from the bus yesterday. It's on Broadway near the intersection with Cedar, just up the road from the bus shelter. It's too bad that they couldn't find a spot on the other side. It would have served Trum just as effectively, but had a closer connection to Magoun. I know it's not a huge difference, but proper spacing/location seems particularly important for bike sharing schemes. Certainly, it's better than nothing.