It snowed a couple of inches last night, so light and fluffy that I could shovel
my walk in a few minutes. It covered all the dirty snow with bright white and
drifted a bit on some bike paths, but mostly conditions remained the same as
yesterday, so I'm taking advantage of this for a complete update 10 days after
the last major snowstorm. Everything is either icy or clear. If you don't
have studded tires or good ice biking skills, stay off the paths and learn
to communicate with other street users so you can share streets narrowed by
high piles of snow.
Arnold Arboretum
1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic
with no intersections
Boston Parks and Harvard University
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The road from the Visitors Center entrance to the Forest Hills entrance is
relatively smooth packed powder, not very icy at all. I rode it pretty fast
on studded tires. It looks pretty skiable, too.
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Blackwell Footpath
A half-mile gravel path connecting the Forest Hills MBTA station and the
South St. Arboretum entrance
Boston Parks and Harvard University
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Not checked yet, but probably close to impassable on a bike.
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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. and buffered and
wide bike lanes along American Legion Highway
Boston Public Works Department
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Mostly gone.
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Centre St. and VFW Parkway Bike Lanes
DCR, plowed by MassDOT
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Not checked, but probably snow-covered.
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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
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Kelly to Murray Circle: Mostly covered by snow near the rotaries, but ridable in between.
Murray Circle to Forest Hills: mostly clear and quite usable.
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Morton St. Buffered Bike Lanes
Cemetery Rd. to Harvard St.
MassDOT
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The bike lanes are buried under three feet of snow, but the buffers are
mostly uncovered and usable.
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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
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Not checked yet.
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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
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Pretty much totally gone under parked cars; clearer when there is no parking.
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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
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Between Kelly Circle and Perkin St., there's a lot of drifted snow on very
rough ice. From Perkin St. to Rt. 9, there is a lot of ice, and I wouldn't
bike it without studded tires.
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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
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Under snow, except parts of the southbound lane between
Chestnut St. and Prince St., which I have been using instead of the
Jamaicaway Path.
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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
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Plowed but pretty much all rough ice. I rode it once, but no more.
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Parkway and Netherlands Rd. Contraflow bike lanes
Two one-block contra-flow lanes plus and contraflow cycle
track
Brookline Park Department and DPW
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Still under a pile of snow.
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Muddy River Path
12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections
Brookline Park Department and DPW
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Pretty much solid rough ice, and I'm now using streets instead.
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Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes
Connecting the B.U. Bridge to Boston University
Boston Transportation Department
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Pretty much gone.
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Brookline Bike Lanes
Town of Brookline
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Harvard St. lanes are mostly clear.
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B. U. Bridge Bike Lanes
Boston to Cambridge
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
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Starting to return.
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B. U. Bridge west sidewalk
Boston to Cambridge
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department or B.U.
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Both sidewalks were cleared to bare pavement, but the connections on the
Cambridge side aren't very good.
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Harvard (Mass. Ave.) Bridge bike lanes
Cambridge to Boston
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
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Nick Carlisle reports on Thursday, February 26:
Cambridge-bound bike lanes are moderately plowed, definitely usable
in some spots but not as a whole. Advise taking the right lane.
Boston-bound bike lanes are non-existent as of this morning.
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Longfellow Bridge bike lanes
Cambridge to Boston
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
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Not checked recently, but maybe starting to get clear.
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Charles River Bikepaths
Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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On the Boston side, it's clear to bare pavement along the Esplanade,
but pretty narrow and snowy upstream from the BU Bridge to River St.
I had to get off and walk a few times. The Dartmouth St. footbridge was
bare pavement.
On the Cambridge side, it's rough ice from the BU Bridge to Western
Ave., then pretty clear to the Weekes Footbridge, then rough ice upstream
to Hawthorn St.
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J.F.K. Park
Wide, shared bike-ped path from river to Harvard Square
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Plowed to rough ice with occasional pavement, about the worse I've ever
seen it this long after a storm.
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Western Ave. Cycletrack
Cambridge
Cambridge DPW
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Not checked yet, but it's being used by pedestrians because the city
plows it.
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Western Ave. Cycletrack
Boston
Boston DPW
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Not checked yet.
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N. Harvard St. bike lanes
Boston
Boston DPW
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Pretty much totally under three feet of snow.
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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
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Plowed to bare pavement.
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Southwest Corridor Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Mostly bare pavement between Ruggles and Jackson Square, but not consistently
clear south from there. I wouldn't ride from Forest Hills without studded tires.
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South Bay Harbor Trail
Bike/Ped path from the Federal Court House up Fort Point Channel
to the Southwest Corridor
City of Boston
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Beverley Strain reported on Monday (2/23):
South bay Bike Path is clear, but slick from Gillette to Summer St., and
there is a path clear at the Children's Museum to the courthouse, but
it's very narrow and slick. The connector streets in the area (A St.,
Melcher, Summer) are cleared, but narrow with on street parking.
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Neponset Trail
Mostly paved Bike/Ped path
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Lee Toma reports:
The Neponset trail from Brush Hill Road to Stop and Shop was cleared on Monday,
and was rideable, but had some icy patches.
The Neponset from Central east was still covered and being used by hikers
and snowshoers as of Tuesday night.
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Somerville Community Path
Wide rail trail from Davis Square to Cedar St.
City of Somerville
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Not checked, but probably bikeable.
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Red Line Linear Park Path
Alewife MBTA station to Davis Square over Red Line
City of Cambridge
City of Somerville
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Jonathan Sainsbury reports on Thursday morning:
Rough, but walkable and rideable.
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Danehy Park Paths
City of Cambridge
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Jonathan Sainsbury reports on Thursday morning:
A little rough, but walkable and rideable.
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Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
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Sometimes they're slightly usable, like on Brookline St. from the BU
Bridge to Central Square, but mostly they're under snow. Some of Mass.
Ave. is clear because of selective parking bans.
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Vassar St. Cycle Track
Buffered bike lanes from Main St. to Memorial Drive (almost)
City of Cambridge
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Nick Carlisle reports on Thursday, February 26:
plowed and clean, but advise riders to be especially careful in both
directions where the lane "spits" you out back into the road, both
because a) on-street lanes are not plowed and b) snowbanks obstruct
drivers' view of incoming cyclists.
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Green St./Franklin St. Bicycle Boulevard
Narrow one-way streets parallel to Mass. Ave. from Central Square to<
Harvard Square/I>
City of Cambridge
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I've been using Green St. instead of the river paths, and it's been
amazingly clear considering that there is nowhere to put the snow. It
has been lots worse in past winters.
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Fresh Pond Bike Path
Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park
City of Cambridge
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Jonathan Sainsbury reports on Thursday morning:
erfect. Good for walking and biking all around the pond. Great for dog
walkers.
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Alewife Brook Trail
DCR
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Boardwalk sections aren't plowed.
No report on the rest.
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Fitchburg Cutoff Trail
DCR
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Jonathan Sainsbury reports on Thursday morning:
Not plowed. Rough pedestrian path. Not rideable.
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Concord Ave. Cycle Track
Buffered bike lanes from Belmont to Fresh Pond Parkway
City of Cambridge
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Not checked yet.
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Alewife Parkway Bridge Sidewalk
Connection from Minuteman Bikepath to Fresh Pond and beyond
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Jonathan Sainsbury reports on Thursday morning:
Cleared for challenging walking. Not rideable from Terminal Road to
Rotary.
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Minuteman "Commuter Bikeway"
Towns of Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford
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Rod Holland reported on Saturday (2/21):
The Minuteman was actually in pretty good shape between Arlington Center
and Lexington Center in the early afternoon on Saturday: well plowed, a
few very localized problems caused by careless plow or snow-blower
operation by people who apparently had other priorities, easy to deal
with if you noticed them before hitting them at speed. That's all moot
now, with some new snow, perhaps some new ice, a brief thaw, and another
freeze coming in rapid succession, but at least it suggests that the
next plowing job will proceed from a good baseline.
Jonathan Sainsbury reports on Thursday (2/19) morning:
Perfect. Good for walking and biking.
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Upper Charles Reservation
Watertown, Newton, Waltham
4+ miles of paved and unpaved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Not checked yet
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Newton Bike Lanes
City of Newton
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On Thursday, Walnut St. lanes were mostly covered by snow, but when they
weren't, it was sure nice to have a bit of extra space to go past long
lines of cars.
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Revere Beach Reservation
Revere
Shared use paths (or very wide sidewalks)
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Not checked yet.
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Northern Strand Community Trail
Everett and Malden
Shared use path
Everett and Malden DPW
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No Report.
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Stony Brook Reservation
Hyde Park
4+ miles of paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
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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. Though after this snowfall, the paths
should be pretty bikable, and there usually isn't any ice.
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Former Metropolitan State Hospital
Belmont, Waltham
paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Not checked yet.
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Assabet River Rail Trail
Hudson and Marlborough, so far
Town of Hudson, City of Marlborough
(so far)
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Not checked, but probably not plowed.
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Northampton Bikeway
East-west across the City of Northampton
City of Northampton
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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.
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Norwottuck Rail Trail
Northampton to Amherst
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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No report.
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