MassBike Boston Bikepath Snow Plowing Report
January 14, 2002

Bikepaths are an integral part of the bicycle transportation network, and these reports are provided to encourage their use by bicyclists who might otherwise not venture out in the snow, and to encourage their proper maintenance (which includes snow plowing) by the responsible agencies given in bold type below. Paths with significant foot traffic become unskiable within a day, and remain a mess for everyone if they are not plowed while the snow is still soft.

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.