A "bomb cyclone" hit Boston with 17 inches of snow in an all-day storm on
Thursday, followed by a temperature drop to single digits which kept a lot
of cyclists off the street for a few days, but not everyone. I covered a lot
ground on Friday, but stayed home, except for a two-mile ride to our
farmers market and back, on Saturday and shoveled. Sunday, I took off for
3 days in 60F temperatures in Austin, Texas, but I biked all over metro
Boston after I got back. As usual, I found out that some paths, tracks,
lanes were well-plowed, and that others, even in the same town, were not.
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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Lower road from Forest Hills to Visitor Center clear by the time I used it
on Friday, a week after the storm. I expect that all of the roads were clear
by then.
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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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It didn't look plowed when I biked by on Washington St. and can be pretty icy.
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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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They need repainting pretty badly in a lot of places, and cars tended to be
parked on them, where parallel parking was allowed next to them. Belgrade Ave.
and Cummins Highway bike lanes were clearer than Washington St.'s.
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Centre St. and VFW Parkway Bike Lanes
DCR, plowed by MassDOT
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Not checked but probably partly clear.
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Arborway Bike Lanes
Bike lanes through Forest Hills
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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The two-way cycle track which is complete along the Arborway west from
South St. remained totally unplowed for a week, but the rain may have
melted it.
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Arborway sidewalks
1 mile of wide paved shoulder which is unmarked but usually clear of
parked cars during rush hour
Department of Conservation and Recreation and Boston Parks
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They were mostly clear a week after the storm, except where the plow missed
the sidewalk west of the Arboretum main entrance and an unplowed stretch
in front of a couple of houses on the southbound side between Jamaica Pond
and the Arboretum. I bypassed the second by using May St. to Pond St.
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Morton St. Buffered Bike Lanes
Cemetery Rd. to Harvard St.
MassDOT
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Not checked
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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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Mostly blocked by parked cars.
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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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Immediately after the storm, they were plowed to ice and hard-packed snow,
but by the following week, they were totally clear despite continuing
sub-freezing temperatures which kept the snow around.
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Prince St.
A future contraflow lane around high-speed Parkman Drive which feeds into the Perkin St.
bike lanes
Boston DPW
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I used this most mornings. It was plowed edge to edge and sharable with cars.
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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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Barely plowed except at intersections, but travel lanes were wide enough
to share.
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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 and icy right after the storm, but mostly clear the next week.
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Brookline Ave. Path
Mixed-use path from Riverway ramp to Riverway intersection
Brookline Park Department
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Packed snow the day after the storm, but clear a week later.
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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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The bike lanes were pretty clear, but the cycle track had snow piled on it.
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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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Very icy, but with 40 years of ice biking experience, I biked it without
studded tires. The surface was a mixture of packed snow and white and
black ice, and mostly clear the next week.
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Brookline Ave. Bike Lanes
From Longwood Ave. to Park Drive
Boston Transportation Department
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Not clear the day after the storm.
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Boston Bike Lanes
Boston Transportation Department
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Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes
Not very clear, at least around the B.U. Bridge.
N. Harvard St. bike lanes
Not fully plowed except near intersections
Harvard Ave. bike lanes
Cars parked into bike lane much of the time.
Sullivan Square buffered bike lanes were clear to curb
through rotary and Alford St. (Rt.99) to Mystic River bridge,
which was also clear to curb and quite ridable.
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Brookline Bike Lanes
Town of Brookline
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By a week after the storm, the Harvard St. bike lanes were pretty clear.
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B. U. Bridge Bike Lanes
Boston to Cambridge
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By MassDoT
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Two-thirds clear on the day after the storm
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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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Fairly clear the morning after the storm.
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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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Clear a week after the storm
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Longfellow Bridge bike lane
Cambridge to Boston
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
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A week after the storm, inbound lanes and outbound sidewalk were 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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The Cambridge side upstream from the BU Bridge looked impassable on
Friday morning, but it was clear by the next week
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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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Clear a week after the storm
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Western Ave. Cycletrack
Cambridge
Cambridge DPW
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Not checked.
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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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Totally clear by the next week
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Southwest Corridor Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Not checked yet
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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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Not checked yet.
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Neponset Trail
Mostly paved Bike/Ped path
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Plowed to packed snow. Probably to pavement by the next week.
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Beacon St. Cycle Track
Parking-separated path from Park St. to Oxford St.
City of Somerville
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No report yet.
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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 yet
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Mystic River Paths
A variety of paths in East Somerville and Malden
Mostly DCR
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Not checked yet.
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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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Not checked yet
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Danehy Park Paths
City of Cambridge
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Not checked yet, but probably fairly clear.
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Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
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Brookline St. bike lane not clear day after storm
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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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Clear except at intersections a week after storm
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Brattle St. Cycle Track
Parking-buffered bike lanes between Brattle Square and Mason St.
City of Cambridge
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Clear on morning after storm except at Mason St. end where there was a big pile
of snow which forced cyclists into narrowed main lane.
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Mass. Ave. Cycle Track
Parking-buffered bike lanes outbound before and after Harvard Square
City of Cambridge
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Bike lane cleared, but big piles of snow blocked path at every intersection.
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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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Streets mostly clear and quite ridable
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Fresh Pond Bike Path
Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park
City of Cambridge
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Not checked yet.
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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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Not checked yet.
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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
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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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Not checked yet.
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Minuteman "Commuter Bikeway"
Towns of Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford
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Watertown Bike Path
Town of Watertown
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Not checked yet.
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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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Not checked yet.
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Medford Bike Lanes
Town of Medford
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Not checked yet.
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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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Not checked yet.
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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. After this snowfall, the paths
should be pretty bikable, though there will be 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 yet.
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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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