Somewhere between one and two inches of snow fell on the Boston area during the early morning hours of Monday, January 12. It was just enough that sidewalks had to be shovelled, and it was soft enough to pack and cause travel to be difficult on foot or bicycle. The City of Boston and the Town of Brookline did an OK job, not bare pavement, but very ridable, but the Division of Conservation and Recreation continued to ignore the bikepaths they are supposed to maintain.

Note the addition of the Northampton Bikeway this year

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 not to pavement. It was mostly smooth going with bare spots on south and east facing hills by Tuesday morning. The hairpin turn at the northern base of Bussey Hill remained slippery Tuesday.
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 plowed on Monday morning, but not to pavement. There was little enough snow that it was easy to ride right through the bollards at Pine Bank where the path was unplowed. The plow followed the pavement past Daisy Field, so no dirt biking was necessary this time. By Tuesday morning there was a lot of bare pavement.
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 on 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, but not to bare pavement. It was rideable for its full length. By Tuesday morning, there was a lot of bare pavement.
B.U. Bridge	The sidewalks were totally unplowed on Monday morning, so I got to find out just how hard it can be to ride on an inch of packing snow. Tuesday morning, the sidewalk looked like it had been plowed during the day on Monday.
Charles River Bikepath Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Urban Parks and Recreation	This path was not plowed on the Cambridge side at all; it will be ridable until the hard freeze scheduled for Tuesday night, at which point it will become quite treacherous. If you want it plowed, let the DCR know at their feedback web page.
Southwest Corridor Bikepath Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Urban Parks and Recreation	It was unplowed Monday night, except for a short stretch around the Jackson Square MBTA station which allowed me to avoid the Centre St./Columbus Ave. intersection. It was ridable on soft snow, but when it freezes Tuesday night, the path will become dangerously slippery. If you want it plowed, let the DCR know at their feedback web page.
Melnea Cass Bikepath Separated Bike/Ped path Boston Parks or Transportation Deparment	Not checked yet.
Neponset Trail Mostly paved Bike/Ped path Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Urban Parks and Recreation	This path is not plowed.
Cambridge Bike Lanes Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets City of Cambridge	This time there was not enough snow to force cars away from the curb, so the bikelanes are pretty usable.
Fresh Pond Bike Path Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park City of Cambridge	Not checked yet.
Minuteman Bikeway From Cambridge through Arlington and Lexington to Bedford Each town	It may be plowed in Arlington, as far as Varnum Street, but don't count on it. The rest of the path westward is unplowed on purpose.
Northampton Bikeway East-west across the City of Northampton City of Northampton	No report yet.