The first snowstorm of 2003 almost missed Boston and the area inside Route 128. I biked out of the city Friday night, in the opposite direction of my usual evening commute, and encountered only rain until I got to the top of the US 20 hill in Waltham. By the time I got around the Route 128 rotary, there were several inches of snow on the ground. It snowed all night, and some, but not much of that snow came down on the city. I didn't ride the paths until Monday morning, but which time they had all been plowed, making for a much more comfortable commute than the frozen-slush-narrowed streets provided. There was a fresh dusting of snow on everything, however, so the few remaining icy spots were especially treacherous.

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 park roads were plowed, but there is still a lot of ice on the shaded parts. Even the roads with eastern exposures had ice today, but the worst was along Hemlock Hill from the Walter St. entrance.
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	This path was well plowed, except for the snow banks between the bollards at Pinebank, though this time the truck plowed a path around them. Sand made the path pretty east to ride.
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	The bike and pedestrian paths were not plowed by Monday morning, at least on the Route 9 (northern) end.
Muddy River Path 12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections Brookline Park Department and DPW	This path was plowed and not too slippery despite the fresh snow on top.
B.U. Bridge	The Boston approach was clear, and the bridge sidewalk was plowed with at snowcat, but the Cambridge approach was very icy on Monday morning. The roadway is clear.
Charles River Bikepath Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections Metropolitan District Commission	This path was plowed by Monday morning. There were some icy stretches east of Magazine Beach, where the path is shaded, but the path seemed to be plowed a bit wider than last time.
Southwest Corridor Bikepath Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections Metropolitan District Commission	Not checked yet.
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.
Cambridge Bike Lanes Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets City of Cambridge	Cars are parking out from the curb due to the snow, so the lanes are narrowed.
Fresh Pond Bike Path Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park City of Cambridge	Not checked yet.
Red Line Linear Park Over the Red Line from Alewife Station to Cedar St. Cities of Cambridge and Somerville	Not checked yet.
Minuteman Bikeway From Cambridge through Arlington and Lexington to Bedford Each town	This path is not usually plowed.