NU capstone projects connect Boston's bike ways
Marc Larocque
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: City Pulse
Throughout the spring semester, senior civil engineering students at Northeastern have been deployed throughout the city to survey streets and take measurements of sidewalks. Two dozen students were split into six groups by a Northeastern professor to count cars at well-trafficked intersections, sketch potential bridges, reconsider rotaries and develop plans for reconfigured traffic signals to alleviate stress on the streets.
Their mission: to make Boston safer for bikes.
Four groups are creating plans for bike lanes that would connect to existing ones on city streets.
The other two groups are developing plans to connect Emerald Necklace parks with the Charles River greenway. This includes a bikeway from the Southwest Corridor to the Back Bay Fens, which bisects Northeastern in what they call "the World Series Path."
The four projects focusing on the street bike lanes will span from the Esplanade to Copley Square on Dartmouth Street going through the Back Bay; from Summer and L streets where it continues past South Station into South Boston; from Kenmore Square to the Public Garden near Arlington Street; and from the Boston University Bridge to Warren Street in Allston on Commonwealth Avenue.
"We are designing bike lanes for reduced stress travel for cyclists without changing the geometry of the road, but just adding an extra lane for cyclists," said Zachary Wassmouth, who is working with three other civil engineering students. "We've gone out to the streets to measure the road. We want to add bike lanes without trying to affect the roads too much."
Instead of altering sidewalks, the bike lane plans call for the road markings to be repainted to allow for about five feet of space for bikes, Wassmouth said.
Wassmouth's group is focusing on the Commonwealth Avenue stretch starting at Kenmore Square. His portion of the group work is unique because it calls for left-side bike lanes and "bike boxes."
"Since Commonwealth has the median in the middle," Wassmouth," and one side goes one way and the other side goes another, this would make it so that bikes don't have to worry about double-parked cars, or if a car parked on the right opens up his door in front of the bike."
Their mission: to make Boston safer for bikes.
Four groups are creating plans for bike lanes that would connect to existing ones on city streets.
The other two groups are developing plans to connect Emerald Necklace parks with the Charles River greenway. This includes a bikeway from the Southwest Corridor to the Back Bay Fens, which bisects Northeastern in what they call "the World Series Path."
The four projects focusing on the street bike lanes will span from the Esplanade to Copley Square on Dartmouth Street going through the Back Bay; from Summer and L streets where it continues past South Station into South Boston; from Kenmore Square to the Public Garden near Arlington Street; and from the Boston University Bridge to Warren Street in Allston on Commonwealth Avenue.
"We are designing bike lanes for reduced stress travel for cyclists without changing the geometry of the road, but just adding an extra lane for cyclists," said Zachary Wassmouth, who is working with three other civil engineering students. "We've gone out to the streets to measure the road. We want to add bike lanes without trying to affect the roads too much."
Instead of altering sidewalks, the bike lane plans call for the road markings to be repainted to allow for about five feet of space for bikes, Wassmouth said.
Wassmouth's group is focusing on the Commonwealth Avenue stretch starting at Kenmore Square. His portion of the group work is unique because it calls for left-side bike lanes and "bike boxes."
"Since Commonwealth has the median in the middle," Wassmouth," and one side goes one way and the other side goes another, this would make it so that bikes don't have to worry about double-parked cars, or if a car parked on the right opens up his door in front of the bike."
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Chris Knighton
posted 4/10/08 @ 9:49 AM EST
I really hope Boston becomes more accomodating to bicycles soon. I believe Boston is 2nd in the country for bike theft, and there are practically zero bike lanes. (Continued…)
Will
posted 4/10/08 @ 12:49 PM EST
On monday, waiting for a red light in my car on the corner of columbus and mass ave, i counted 8 people on bikes waiting for the light with me (if i didn't work 25 miles away i would have been the 9th). (Continued…)
Matt
posted 5/06/08 @ 12:45 AM EST
Oh man ... PLEASE do this on Comm Ave! I ride my bike to BU every day and I HATE Comm Ave. I'm always so worried someone will open their car door in front of me and I'll go flying. (Continued…)
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