MassPaths Bikepath Snow Plowing Report
Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Bike paths and lanes are integral parts 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. If they are not plowed while the snow is still soft, paths with significant foot traffic become unskiable within a day, and remain a mess for everyone until the ice melts.

It started snowing Tuesday afternoon and stopped by Wednesday morning, though it got pretty cold through the night. I biked from North Cambridge to Back Bay in Boston in a period of pretty high snow fall, and the cities of Cambridge were keeping up pretty well with Mass. Ave., at least. I took my bike on the T back to Forest Hills and froze riding the last mile home. The streets were clear when I biked to work late Wednesday morning in 10F, and the paths were all plowed, too.

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

Arnold Arboretum
1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic with no intersections
Boston Parks and Harvard University
Not checked, but I'm sure that it is plowed, though the surfaces will be icy.
Blackwell Footpath
A half-mile gravel path connecting the Forest Hills MBTA station and the South St. Arboretum entrance
Boston Parks and Harvard University
I didn't check it, but it is certainly not plowed and icy
Roslindale Bike Lanes
Two miles of bike lanes on both sides of Washington St. from Forest Hills to Roslindale Square and to West Roxbury on Belgrade Ave.
Boston Public Works Department
Not checked yet
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,
Not checked yet.
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
Not checked
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
Boston Public Works Department
Pretty clear by Wednesday morning. There was little enough snow that cars parked pretty close to the curb, too.
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
Wednesday midday, it was plowed with a thin layer of drifting snow amd occasional bare pavement and salt from the boathouse to Route 9. I felt stable with studded snow tires, because the snow packed pretty hard.
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
Clear after last storm; not checked yet.
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
Plowed to packed powder by Wednesday night.
Parkway and Netherlands Rd. Contraflow bike lanes
Two one-block contra-flow lanes plus and contraflow cycle track
Brookline Park Department and DPW
Lanes clear, cycle track not plowed.
Muddy River Path
12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections
Brookline Park Department and DPW
Plowed to packed powder, but a bit icy.
Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes
Connecting the B.U. Bridge to Boston University Boston Transportation Department
Pretty clear Wednesday mid-day
Brookline Bike Lanes
Town of Brookline
Essex St. contraflow lane totally clear; others not checked.
B. U. Bridge Bike Lanes
Boston to Cambridge Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
Clear almost all of the way across.
B. U. Bridge west sidewalk
Boston to Cambridge Department of Conservation and Recreation, Clear to wet pavement on Monday.
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department or B.U.
It looked plowed but could be a bit icy.
Harvard (Mass. Ave.) Bridge bike lanes
Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
Pretty rideable while snow was falling Tuesday night.
Longfellow Bridge bike lanes
Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
Not checked yet, but probably narrowed.
Charles River Bikepaths
Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
By noon on Wednesday, the Cambridge side was plowed with a thin layer of drifting snow upstream from Harvard Square. When I rode downstream to the B.U. Bridge Wednseday evening, the lane was plowed to packed powder and very rideable.
J.F.K. Park
Wide, shared bike-ped path from river to Harvard Square
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Wednesday mid-day, it looked like bare pavement.
Western Ave. Cycletrack
Cambridge Cambridge DPW
Not checked yet.
Western Ave. Cycletrack
Boston Boston DPW
Not checked yet
N. Harvard St. bike lanes
Boston Boston DPW
Pretty clear from Cambridge St. to the Charles River.
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
Not accessible northbound, so not checked.
Southwest Corridor Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Green St. to Forest Hills was plowed to packed poweder, with some bare pavement showing through closer to Forest Hills.
Franklin Park Roads
closed to motorized traffic or bike lanes
Boston Parks Department
Not checked yet.
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.
Neponset Trail
Mostly paved Bike/Ped path
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet.
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, but probably plowed
Danehy Park Paths
City of Cambridge
Not checked, but probably plowed
Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
The Mt. Auburn St. and Mass. Ave. lanes were bikeable, though snow-covered, from Harvard Square to the Charles River on Tuesday night.
Vassar St. Cycle Track
Buffered bike lanes from Main St. to Memorial Drive (almost)
City of Cambridge
Not checked.
Fresh Pond Bike Path
Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet
Alewife Brook Trail
DCR
Stone dust and boardwalk sections are never plowed. No report on the rest.
Fitchburg Cutoff Trail
DCR
No report on this trail which runs west from Alewife MBTA station.
Concord Ave. Cycle Track
Buffered bike lanes from Belmont to Fresh Pond Parkway
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet.
Alewife Parkway Bridge Sidewalk
Connection from Minuteman Bikepath to Fresh Pond and beyond
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet.
Minuteman "Commuter Bikeway"

Towns of Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford
Rod Holland reported Wednesday night: Rode the Minuteman tonight between Arlington Center and Lexington Center. Both the Arlington and Lexington stretches had been plowed, with a thicker layer of packed, dry snow remaining in Lexington and Arlington Heights than elsewhere. The consistently cold weather since the storm seems to have delayed the customary freeze-thaw-freeze cycle: no thaw, therefore much less ice than usual at this remove from a storm.
Upper Charles Reservation
Watertown, Newton, Waltham
4+ miles of paved and unpaved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
No report yet.
Revere Beach Reservation
Revere
Shared use paths (or very wide sidewalks)
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
No report yet.
Northern Strand Community Trail
Everett and Malden
Shared use path
Everett and Malden DPW
No Report.
Stony Brook Reservation
Hyde Park
4+ miles of paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation 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.
Former Metropolitan State Hospital
Belmont, Waltham
paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation 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, has reported 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
No report.