Mass Ave Protected Bike Lane Demonstration Begins December 2016


12/1/2016 • 8 years ago

caution sign The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 8 years ago.

Protected bike lanes

Through a number of Policy Orders and other discussions, the City Council and the Cambridge community have made clear the strong desire for a demonstration of temporary protected bike lane infrastructure prior to the winter season. Such a demonstration would allow the City to gain experience with the installation and maintenance of the flexible delineators that are typically used for these types of bike lanes, as well as the ongoing maintenance and operations associated with street sweeping and snow clearance. At the same time, this will provide an opportunity for a short-term expansion of the bicycle network, while pointing towards more significant projects that we plan to implement next year.

The City has selected two locations that were identified as priority locations for protected bicycle lanes in the Cambridge Bicycle Plan and where we believe that installing protected bike lanes will add meaningfully to the safety of the system. These locations are also maintainable through the winter season.

Based on these goals and criteria, we will implement the following demonstrations of protected bike lane infrastructure using temporary materials before the winter season.

temporary protected bike lanes mass ave

  • Massachusetts Avenue Northbound (east/odd side of the street) from Sidney Street to Douglass Street: This is the area in front of the proposed Mass+Main residential and retail development project, and would involve creating a parking-protected bicycle lane in this area, with the use of flexible delineators to further separate the parking from the bike lane.
  • Massachusetts Avenue Northbound (east/odd side of the street) from Waterhouse Street to Everett Street: This location runs in front of the Harvard Law School, in an area with an existing bike lane located adjacent to parking. The proposed improvement would involve removing the parking to provide a separated bike lane protected by flexible delineators while maintaining two travel lanes on Massachusetts Avenue.

City staff will monitor these locations carefully over the winter and decide whether these can be retained or expanded, whether further adjustments are needed, or whether one or both should be removed.

Information on bicycle facilities, including a description of protected bicycle lanes (also known as separated bicycle lanes) can be found here: www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Transportation/bikesincambridge/biketoolbox.

For More Information

For more information on the bike lane demonstration, please contact the Traffic Department at 617.349.4734 or trafficengineering@cambridgema.gov, or visit www.cambridgema.gov/visionzero.