Building Out a Separated Bicycle Lane Network

People are bicycling more and more in Cambridge. Bluebikes data, which represents ridership throughout every day (not just during commute hours), reached the highest number of trips in 2022. The percentage of Cambridge residents bicycling to work is at an all-time high of 9%, and 9.5% of commuters to Kendall Square go by bike. The number of child cyclists has also increased.

As the first-of-its-kind legislation, Cambridge’s Cycling Safety Ordinance sets ambitious requirements for the installation of about 25 miles of separated bike lanes. As of May 2024, 13.77 of 25 miles had already been installed or was under construction – surpassing the separated bike facilities installed over the prior seven years (pre-ordinance) by more than 2.5 miles.

Highlights of this work:

• Through the Brattle Street Safety Improvement Project, the City installed two-way separated bike lanes on Brattle Street between Mason Street and Mount Auburn Street, made improvements to pedestrian crossings, and improved safety and comfort for people walking, biking, and driving. The second phase, between Sparks Street and Mt. Auburn Street, was installed in summer 2023. The City also constructed pedestrian crossing islands between bike lanes and vehicle travel lanes at crosswalks near five street intersections.
• Through the Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project, the City added separated bike lanes to Hampshire Street, creating a more comfortable biking connection between Inman Square and The Port/Kendall Square. The project area included:
  • Hampshire Street from Inman Square to Broadway
  • One block of Broadway, from Hampshire Street to Portland Street
• The installation of new bike infrastructure on Mt. Auburn Street is complete. This was a part of the Mt. Auburn Street at Aberdeen Avenue Intersection Safety Improvement Project. This project includes several improvements, including a new, two-way separated bike lane on the north side of the street, upgraded signal equipment and improved signal timing, and extended Bus Only lanes and new turn-only lanes at Homer Avenue and Aberdeen Avenue.

Future work will include improvements on Cambridge Street from Oak to Second Street, Broadway between Quincy Street to Hampshire Street, and Main Street.

Later this fall, the City is looking into the passage of amendments to the Parking and Transportation Demand Management Ordinance and the Zoning Ordinance to allow for the sharing of off-site parking with nearby properties, if necessary, to mitigate the loss of parking resulting from the installation of separated bicycle facilities due to implementation of the Cycling Safety Ordinance.

• In Year 1, Cambridge completed or started construction on 4.19 miles of separated bike lanes.
• In Year 2, Cambridge completed or started construction on 2.15 miles of separated bike lanes.
• In Year 3, Cambridge completed or started construction on 3.67 miles of separated bike lanes.
• In Year 4, Cambridge completed or started construction on 4.21 miles of separated bike lanes.

To access Cycling Safety Ordinance Projects, please visit https://camb.ma/csomap.