Rain turned to snow in the afternoon of Sunday, January 13, and then froze hard after sunset, leaving a coating of an inch of hard ice on everything. The Jamaicaway path in Boston, but not Brookline, was plowed, but the Arboretum was an icebiker's paradise, and the Charles River paths were bare. Boston seems to have plowed before it froze, and then sanded.
Please send updates and reports on the conditions of other paths in Massachusetts to Doug Mink dmink@massbike.org.
Arnold Arboretum 1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic with no intersections Boston Parks and Harvard University | The roads were unplowed and unsanded. There were a few bare spots on the back of Bussey Hill, but the rest of the Arboretum was rough, slippery ice. I fell once, my first time this year. |
Jamaicaway Bikepath 1.5 miles of mostly bike/ped-separated paths paralleling a busy 4-lane parkway; two intersections with traffic lights Boston Parks Deparment | Plowed to bare pavement and sanded. The Boston Parks Department must have gotten out Sunday afternoon before the slush froze. The bollards at the entrance to Pinebank still need to be removed to make this a safe winter path. |
Olmsted Park Paths 3/4-mile of mostly bike/ped-separated paths built over Riverdale Road, across Leverett Pond from the Jamaicaway. Brookline Park Department | Unplowed and unsanded as of 10:00 am Monday. By 7:00 pm, the section from Route 9 to Willow Pond Ave. was mostly clear; it was either plowed or salted, or the salt from the last storm helped melt the ice. |
Muddy River Path 12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections Brookline Park Department and DPW | Totally clear by evening. |
B.U. Bridge | Clear because it may never have snowed here. |
Charles River Bikepath Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections Metropolitan District Commission | The riverbanks were bare of snow, and the path was totally clear and dry, at least upstream from Harvard Square. It must not have slushed here like it did at higher elevations. |
Cambridge Bike Lanes Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets City of Cambridge | Because of the lack of snow, the bike lanes I saw this morning were as rideable as they get. |
Southwest Corridor Bikepath Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections Metropolitan District Commission | As of the next morning, there were clear blocks and totally iced over blocks. Travel with care. |
Melnea Cass Bikepath Separated Bike/Ped path Boston Parks or Transportation Deparment | Not checked yet. |
Neponset Trail Mostly paved Bike/Ped path Metropolitan District Commission | This path is not plowed and was icy, but David Wean biked it from Central Ave. to Butler St. anyway. |