Bike path

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

I've gotten off my butt and started biking again and I've been taking the bike path that parallels Highland westbound into Davis. Once I hit Davis, there's the sign about the bike path picking up again on the other side of Davis. Where exactly does it do this, considering there are something like 23 billion streets leading out of Davis.

And I am grateful to those of you who have politely stifled chuckles as a large man with a shaved head and no shirt goes whizzing sputtering past.....

Comments

[ron_newman]

Just ride down the busway into the Square, then between the Somerville Theatre and the T station entrance on Holland Street. The path takes you to Russell Field in North Cambridge, next to Alewife station.

follow the path

[cthulhia]

down the T-only access road, in front of JP licks, and through to linear park (between the movie theater/T and the au bon pain.)

Re: follow the path

[ron_newman]

but please do not ride through the plaza in front of JP Licks. Officially it's not allowed because it's a sidewalk, and it's always full of people walking and standing around. Stay on the street.

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

Strictly speaking, you're not supposed to ride your bike on the plaza in front of JP Licks or through Seven Hills Park (though pretty much everyone does). The legal alternative is to go across Davis (with the traffic) and onto Day Street (there's a green "bike route" sign there), first right onto Meacham, right again onto Buena Vista, and then left onto the bike path to Alewife. Coming back is a complete pain in the neck if you want to stay on the bike - I think the approved route is Buena Vista to Holland, through Davis to Grove, and then back onto the path behind the drug store. Or you could just get off your bike and walk it across the park and the plaza.

Don't even get me started about crossing Mass Ave. (And yes, I do all this running around - a little more, actually, since I'm going up College so I take Highland back into the square before heading north.)

[ron_newman]

Seven Hills Park is fine for bicycling, but the JP Licks plaza is not.

Going eastbound, it's usually fairly easy to turn left from Holland Street into the busway. Just wait for a break in cross-traffic and scoot over.

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

It may be "fine" in the sense of "you won't run into too many people" but if you look you will see "no bikes" symbols painted onto the bricks at both ends of Seven Hills. (And I'd rather dodge gridlocked cars on Holland than unobstructed buses on the busway, but that's just my preference.)

[fanw.livejournal.com]

Yup, the bike path continues just past the Holland St T entrance. You should know that it gets a little tricky again around Mass Ave. If you have the Boston Bike Map it has a neat inset showing you how to find the bike path again. If you don't here's the gist:

The big intersection to your left as you come out from behind the new bright yellow condos is Mass Ave. Cross Mass Ave at the light. Follow the street to the right about a block until a second light. You will see the bike path continuing to your left. This will take you all the way to Alewife and beyond.

Re: follow the path

[hdaemon.livejournal.com]

Or alternately, get off your bike and walk through the park.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

no, it's not fine. the brick path through the park is not a bike path in the official sense of the word. that is the beginning of the business district and is considered a sidewalk.

it doesn't bother me, but as far as officially, the bike path does not run through seven hills park.

[ron_newman]

I've always consdidered it to be part of the bike path, since it has all those bike racks on either side near the T station.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

the signs at the end of the brick path indicate the direction of the bike path. they have just recently put the new bike path signage up (w/in the last two months) indicating the path direction out on to the street. there also used to be a sign clearly stating that one was entering a business district (which means no bike riding on the sidewalks) and that the path continues on the other side of the square. that sign got vandalized and knocked down at some point.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I would rather see the large, sputtering man riding a bike than still kicking around on his butt :). good for you!

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I assume you've already run into the other two breaks? One's in North Cambridge around the old bus graveyard and the other is in Arlington. The one in Arlington is a pain because you have to cross Mass Ave and 60 to find where it picks up again. The other one only necessitates crossing Mass Ave.

[magpiefirefly.livejournal.com]

It'll take you up to Arlington, past Lake Street, where Capitol Theatre and a bunch of cute shops, including Quebrada bakery, is on Mass. Ave & Lake. I believe it may take you all the way up to the pond/beach/resevoir in Arlington. There is a path up towards Mr. Sushi in Arlington as well, but I'm not sure if they are connected.

On Crossing Mass Ave

[sly-salkie.livejournal.com]

I live right on Mass Ave a block from where the bike path crosses, and I have to put in that Mass Ave is quite easy to cross. The light patterns are VERY pedestrian-friendly, so when traffic stops on one side, it is usually stopped on both.

Unrelated to original post, but I wanted to throw it in since it's been brought up a few times.

[ceo]

There's also the tricky bit getting around Alewife.

Even farther

[avjudge]

Actually, the bike path will take you out to Bedford, 15 miles one way, according to my husband who's done it (without me!)

Re: Even farther

[ron_newman]

And from Bedford, there are unpaved paths that lead in two directions -- to the Old North Bridge area of Concord, and to an office park in Billerica, just beyond the Bedford town line.

Re: Even farther

[avjudge]

Wow. He would have liked to know of the Old North Bridge option. I don't think the office park would have been as appealing! :-) (I know, it's GREAT that those who work there have the option of a safe bike commute - just for us it's a leisure ride.)

Here you go, Stevie Z, something to strive for!

Re: Even farther

[ron_newman]

The path to the office park is quite pretty and wooded, and is also useful if you want to continue riding further north, such as to North Billerica (where you can get a train back to West Medford or Boston) or to Lowell.

From the end of the path to Concord, it's a short ride to the Concord station where you can get a train back to Porter Square or Boston.

Friends of Bedford Depot Park have a page about the three trails that meet at the depot. That page has links to detailed PDF trail guides:

Narrow-Gauge Rail Trail to Billerica
Reformatory Branch Trail to Concord

If you want to ride either of these, I recommend a hybrid or mountain bike.

[insignia11.livejournal.com]

Is there a map somewhere showing exactly where the path is around Alewife, rather than relying on text directions?

[herbert42.livejournal.com]

here's a Gmaps version of how to get from Mass ave through the Alewife and Arlington Center interchanges.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1091835

Re: On Crossing Mass Ave

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I think the issue is that it's not very easy to see where the bike path continues on the other side

[herbert42.livejournal.com]

ok, here's an extension of that map, showing all the way out to the Depot park

[herbert42.livejournal.com]

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1092272

[turil.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if there is some discrepancy in the different official departments about what exactly, that area is. As a member of the city's bicycle committee, I can couch for the fact that we believe that Sevin Hills Park is officially a part of the path. DPW, on the other hand, might not.

So, it could be officially open to cyclists while also officially not being open to cyclists.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, with the typos! Sorry.

Somerville Bicycle Map!

[turil.livejournal.com]

This may also help you...

Somerville By Bicycle (http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/CoS_Content/documents/somervillebybicycle-%20Curtatone.pdf) (PDF download)

(The second page is the map.)

[julishka.livejournal.com]

looks like you've got a new agenda item for the next committee meeting then! hehe.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I meant to make that past tense. I'm not on the committee anymore. How about you Ron?

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

The bike path is a great thing, and it is confusing in the city because of its' interruptions. I do feel that I need to comment on this comment which appeared near the beginning of this thread:
"Going eastbound, it's usually fairly easy to turn left from Holland Street into the busway. Just wait for a break in cross-traffic and scoot over."
When a bicycle is travelling on the road, it is meant to follow the rules of traffic. People 'scooting over', because it's easy to do is one of the problems pedestrians and motor vehicles encounter with bicyclists. There is no left turn there for a reason, and the busway, besides being posted 'buses only' is also one way (and not in the direction you're proposing). So I don't understand why you would ask people not to bicycle on the plaza in front of Store 24, but would advocate that bicyclists take an illegal left turn, and travel down a private roadway in the wrong direction!
I would also ask that all bicyclists on the path be vigilant of pedestrians and young children. I have had several encounters with people on bikes who are more concerned with their speed than with looking out for someone else on the path.

[ron_newman]

I'm still on the committee, and I think of Seven Hills Park as part of the path.