It was just barely starting to snow when I walked home around 9 Sunday night,
but by Monday morning, there were 8 inches of very wet snow on the ground. After
shovelled my sidewalks, I biked to work on clear streets (with snow shovelled
off cars and out of driveways onto them) and fairly clear bike paths.
The paths I took were well-plowed, with lots of bare pavement, no ice, and no
problems on the occasional unplowed sections with my studded snow tires.
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 between the two Arborway entrances was plowed to bare pavement as
was the part of the road up Bussey Hill that I could see
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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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Still snow-covered on Monday night
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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. was totally clear, but the paths around the station were only
occasionally clear in the morning. The southbound cycle track along
Washington St. was well-plowed, but the ramp to the Washington St. bike
lane was blocked by a pile of snow, which was OK because the bike lane was
still covered by snow Monday night.
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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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Not clear between Arboretum entrances in the morning, but clear to Murray
Circle and from Murray Circle all of the way to Jamaica Pond. It was clear
all of the way by Monday night. The sidewalk across the Murray Circle median
was unplowed Monday morning, but clear by Tuesday morning.
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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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Narrowed by cars parked into them and left lines worn out, but often bikable.
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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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Plowed to bare pavement in the morning.
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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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The street is probably clear, but I avoid it when the temperature
is below freezing because I have a hard time on the patch of slick ice which
often stretches all of the way across the road at the intersection with
Perkins St.
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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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Still mostly covered by snow Friday night.
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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
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Brookline Ave. Path
Mixed-use path from Riverway ramp to Riverway intersection
Brookline Park Department
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Bare pavement except unplowed ramps to Aspinwall intersection.
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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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Bike lane clear but cycle track totally unplowed.
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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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Clear to bare pavement on MOnday morning. Watch for ice after it freezes Monday
night.
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Brookline Ave. Bike Lanes
From Longwood Ave. to Park Drive
Boston Transportation Department
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Not checked.
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Boston Bike Lanes
Boston Transportation Department
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Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes
Snow piled in westbound bike lane at BU Bridge intersection
N. Harvard St. bike lanes
Clear by evening.
Harvard Ave. bike lanes
Mostly covered by snow Monday evening
Mass. Ave. buffered bike lanes
Partly clear by Wednesday night, but really only OK between river and Beacon St. and
across from Christian Science Center when it's grade separated.
Eastbound Sullivan Square buffered bike lanes
Not very clear at all from the Somerville line to the Scrafft Center, but
east of the rotary to the Everett, the lanes are clear, including on the
grating over the narrowed Route 99 bridge over the Mystic River
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Everett Bike Routes
Everett Public Works Department
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Westbound Sullivan Square cycle track
Clear through Everett east of the casino, then unplowed through the rotary,
which is probably mostly in Boston.
Beacham St to Chelsea
The Everett part of this street through the oil tank farm is in as bad shape as I've ever seen it with more potholes than normal(!) and metal sheets and big
trucks. For the first time ever, I took a longer route back from Chelse to
Sullivan Square (2nd St. to Rt. 99) to avoid it.
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Brookline Bike Lanes
Town of Brookline
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Harvard St. clear from Allston to Brookline Village. Cypress and Chestnut St.
not as clear to Jamaica Pond.
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B. U. Bridge Bike Lanes
Boston to Cambridge
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By MassDoT
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Clear to curb.
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B. U. Bridge sidewalks
Boston to Cambridge
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department or B.U.
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Downstream (east) sidewalk clear.
Upstream (west) sidewalk Boston approach packed snow, but clear from
Storrow Drive bridge to Memorial Drive.
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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 by Wednesday night.
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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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Not checked
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Charles River Bikepaths
Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Plowed wide all of the way from the BU Bridge to Hawthorn St. light.
Longfellow park sidewalk was plowed Tuesday.
Boston side from Weeks Footbridge to N. Harvard St. plowed narrower than Cambridge side.
John Allen reported on Thursday about upstream conditions:
As of Tuesday, Riverwalk (Charles River Greenway) between Moody
Street and Prospect Street, Waltham: not plowed, 12 inches of snow
cover. Mt. Feake Cemetery -- continuation of route between downtown
Waltham and Brandeis-Roberts commuter rail station: All roads plowed,
clear and dry. Trodden snow where youwalk your bike around the gate
at the Brandeis end. Brandeis University: All paths plowed and clear.
Some snowmelt which could form black ice if it freezes. Gray (easy to
miss) bollards at path intersectiosn with paths have been removed to
enable plowing.
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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 clear.
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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 Monday evening.
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Southwest Corridor Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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I got off the Orange Line early to bike from Green St. to Forest Hills
on Friday night and found the path very clear except for a few small
shallow frozen puddles.
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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 by Wednesday night from Port Norfolk to Mattapan Square with a few icy patches.
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Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
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Parking-protected lanes around Harvard Square were fairly clear, but
Mass. Ave. protected lanes from Main St. to the river had some bad stretches.
Otheri bike lanes were often under snow or parked cars.
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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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Not checked yet.
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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 enough for two bikes to pass, but not plowed to full width
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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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Not checked yet, but they were clear after the last storm
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Flagstaff Park Bike Path
Short bikelane to route outbound bikes and pedestrians past 3-way
split of northbound Mass. Ave. and Broadway.
City of Cambridge
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Clear after the last storm.
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Green St./Franklin St. Bicycle Boulevard
Narrow one-way streets parallel to Mass. Ave. from Central Square to
Harvard Square
City of Cambridge
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Not checked, but these streets are often less plowed after big storms like this.
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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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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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No report yet
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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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Wellington Greenway
Malden
Shared use path
Malden DPW
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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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