MassPaths Bikepath Snow Plowing Report
Thursday, January 13, 2011

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.

We were only supposed to get 1-2 inches before it turned to rain, but we got 2-4 and the rain came later. Everything was a mess this morning, all but the most major roads not in much better shape than those bikepaths which remained unplowed

Please send updates and reports on the conditions of other paths in Massachusetts to Doug Mink.

Arnold Arboretum
1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic with no intersections
Boston Parks and Harvard University
By Thursday morning, the roads werer all plowed to packed powder over ice, with some bare spots beginning to appear on the east-facing hills. Late Tuesday morning, the plows were just starting to work. I was the first cyclist through sometime after 10:00am, and I was following a cross-country skier who was enjoying perfect skating snow. I didn't pass her until the flat by the cork trees. There wasn't much ice, but some of the fresh snow was on top of old hard snow.
Blackwell Footpath
A half-mile gravel path connecting the Forest Hills MBTA station and the South St. Arboretum entrance
Boston Parks and Harvard University
This didn't look plowed from Washington St. on Wednesday night.
Washington St. Bike Lanes
A mile of bike lanes on both sides of Washington St. from Forest Hills to Roslindale Square and beyond on Belgrade Ave.
Boston Public Works Department
You couldn't see bike lanes Tuesday morning, and the snow seems to be pushing parked cars even further out from the curb. By evening cars have parked on the bike lanes for much of their length.
Arborway "Bike Lanes"
1 mile of wide paved shoulder which is unmarked but usually clear of parked cars during rush hour
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
The last snow hasn't melted, so the shoulders are still totally covered with snow. I saw an Arboretum snow-blower on the Walter St. sidewalk on Peters Hill, so maybe the sidewalks along the Arborway will be cleared by evening. Tuesday morning, they were unplowed but bikeable, as was the north-bound sidewalk between Murray and Kelly Circles. The paved shoulders have totally disappeared under a pile of snow.
Franklin Park Roads
Much of the park loop road is closed to motorized traffic and there are bike lanes on the main road.
Boston Parks and Public Works Departments
Phil Linday reports: Parks has failed to plow the Glen Road section of Franklin Park as promised by Mayor Menino in 2009. They do Pierpont, but the vital Glen Road connection is iced over and very dangerous and slippery to cyclists and pedestrians alike.
Centre/South Bike Lanes
A mile of bike lanes through the heart of Jamaica Plain from Jackson Square and the Southwest Corridor to Forest Hills./I>
Boston Public Works Department
They're probably snow-covered, but the section through the main business district, despite the parked cars and narrow sidewalks, is usually the clearest.
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
Tuesday morning, the path was packed powder. It looked like a truck had been through without plowing. It was mostly bare pavement by Wednesday evening, but got a bit icy on Thursday after the temperature dropped overnight.
Perkins St. Bike Lanes
1.5 miles of mostly bike/ped-separated paths paralleling a busy 4-lane parkway; two intersections with traffic lights
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
All bike lanes were snow-covered Tuesday morning.
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 path is plowed between Willow Pond and Route 9, but it's icy.
Muddy River Path
12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections
Brookline Park Department and DPW
On Thursday morning, I followed a Brookline Public Works truck spreading sand on the path which should help a little bit. South of Longwood, the path has packed snow over the smooth ice from last week's storm. Between Longwood and Park Drive, the path never really got plowed by Thursday morning and it was hard going.
Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes
Connecting the B.U. Bridge to Boston University Boston Transportation Department
Fairly clear around the B.U. Bridge on Friday morning
Brookline Bike Lanes
Town of Brookline
Harvard St. bikelanes are mostly blocked by parked cars.
B. U. Bridge east sidewalk
Boston to Cambridge Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department or B.U.
Thursday morning, the bridge was pretty clear, but the thin snow from last night has been pressed into ice on the approaches. Tuesday morning, the sidewalk was way clearer than the road, with bare pavement much of the time.
Harvard (Mass. Ave.) Bridge bike lanes
Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
No report, but probably clear
Longfellow Bridge bike lanes
Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
No report, but maybe clear
Charles River Bikepaths
Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
I didn't try the Cambridge side path until Thursday morning. It had been plowed at some point but the surface is mostly rough ice: footprints in now-frozen slush. Don't bike it without studs!
New Balance has renewed a sponsorship agreement with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to ensure area runners, joggers and walkers have clear and safe running paths along the Charles River during the 2011 winter season. ... New Balance, recognizing DCRs commitment to outdoor enthusiasts, has pledged to provide funding to support snow removal efforts along the 17-plus mile Charles River path spanning from the Museum of Science area in Cambridge to the Galen Street Bridge in Watertown. Following DCRs normal priorities, the snow removal will be performed by DCR within 24 hours of the completion of a storm. Because the route runs in close proximity to the river bank, there is limited salting and sanding that can be performed, so the DCR and New Balance urge runners to continue to use caution.
J.F.K. Park
Wide, shared bike-ped path from river to Harvard Square
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
Plowed mostly to bare pavement. It's wet, though, so watch for ice when it gets cold Thursday.
N. Harvard St. bike lanes
Boston Boston DPW
They have been covered since the post-Christmas storm, except near Western Ave. The bike lanes on Harvard Ave. are clear between Cambridge St. and Brighton Ave., blocked by parked cars to Comm. Ave., then clear to the Brookline border.
Lincoln St. to Cambridge St. MassPike Bridge
Bike/Ped connection from Harvard Square to Allston's Harvard Ave. district via Franklin St.
Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
The bridge is clear, but the ramps up to it were exceptionally icy on Tuesday night. I had to walk on the edge and hold on to the railing to avoid sliding back down the north ramp.
Southwest Corridor Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
By Wednesday night, there was wet bare pavement from Roxbury Crossing to Forest Hills. The parallel sidewalk next to the street was often snow-covered, so everyone is walking on the bike path.
South Bay Harbor Trail
Bike/Ped path from the Federal Court House up Fort Point Channel to the Southwest Corridor
City of Boston
Not checked yet, but I suspect that the section in front of the Crosstown Development near Mass. Ave. will be done, and the path will be clear where it goes under the Expressway.
Neponset Trail
Mostly paved Bike/Ped path
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
Not checked but probably plowed after the snow stops. There is a Bombardier stationed at Pope John Paul II Park which is usually out as soon as the snow stops.
Somerville Community Path
Wide rail trail from Davis Square to Cedar St.
City of Somerville
Not checked, but probably plowed.
Red Line Linear Park Path
Alewife MBTA station to Davis Square over Red Line
City of Cambridge City of Somerville
Not checked.
Danehy Park Paths
City of Cambridge
Not checked.
Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
Main roads are clear, but the bike lanes are pretty much gone, and minor roads still are slippery with snow and some ice. Tuesday morning, the Brookline St. bike lane was gone, but the Green St. and Franklin St. unofficial bicycle boulevards parallelling Mass. Ave to Harvard Square were bikeable.
Fresh Pond Bike Path
Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet
Alewife Parkway Bridge Sidewalk
Connection from Minuteman Bikepath to Fresh Pond and beyond
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
Not checked yet.
Minuteman "Commuter Bikeway"

Towns of Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford
Probably not plowed. Details are usually posted at http://www.clearthetrail.org
Upper Charles Reservation
Watertown, Newton, Waltham
4+ miles of paved and unpaved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
Not checked.
Stony Brook Reservation
Hyde Park
4+ miles of paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
These paths aren't plowed because they get relatively little transportation use and because they are used by cross-country skiers like me. There are marked narrow bike lanes on Enneking Parkway through the reservation which are probably clear. The Friends of Stony Brook Reservation is leading a walk from Enneking Parkway at Smith Field Road at 1:00 pm on Sunday, January 30.
Former Metropolitan State Hospital
Belmont, Waltham
paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
Not checked yet.
Assabet River Rail Trail
Hudson and Marlborough, so far
Town of Hudson, City of Marlborough (so far)
Not checked, but probably not plowed.
Northampton Bikeway
East-west across the City of Northampton
City of Northampton
Craig Della Penna, who lives next to the path, reports that it is the intention of the DPW to make it passable ASAP after a storm. If the storm is significant, then they plow it repeatedly --sometimes 10-12 times during the course of the storm to ensure its usability.
Norwottuck Rail Trail
Northampton to Amherst
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of State Parks and Recreation
No report, but there was a ton of snow out west.