I work in this area and just walked by to check it out. This design is going to cause more harm than good. It looks less-than-safe for anyone leaving the 180 Beacon street garage, traffic is squished, the parking lane is awkward, and I have no idea how anyone is supposed to move in and out of these homes along Beacon Street. Or legally get deliveries or have someone come hook up their cable, especially now that Mayor Walsh is planning to increase fines for double parking. The bike lane has a fair amount of debris and is sloped towards the curb which, even though I'm a very new cyclist, can't be a good option for anyone. I have no idea where they're going to put plowed snow.
I appreciate the City's desire to become more multi-modal but I think this particular project makes it worse for everyone
R
Rita M Malloy
8 years ago
Will create more problems and be more dangerous than anyone could imagine
S
Samantha Webb
8 years ago
The new bike is causing too much congestion and accidents. The bike lane should start on beacon at Dartmouth or Exeter, not start at Arlington or Clarendon. There are other routes bikers can take if they don’t feel safe on Beacon Street. Beacon has heavy traffic at all times and shouldn’t be condensed to just two lanes.
M
Matt Wunderlich
8 years ago
I’m for restoring Beacon Street to its past glory, if by that you mean bringing it back to the days of horses and buggies. There was a time before American cities were car centric and there will be a time after.
If you’re concerned about 1/6 of the road being used for “a low percentage of travelers” on bikes, how about nearly 40% of the public road being used for private vehicle storage? Many also refer to this as “parking.” That doesn’t seem like a fair use of space which you seem to be so concerned about.
Also, more people bike than you think. Often times the cars are all backed up not moving, while the bikes are flying by. This creates an illusion that they are fewer bikes, but you need to consider flow rates, not sitting vehicles. Additionally, in many parts of Downtown Boston, over 10% of the vehicles during rush hour are bicycles; in some areas it's over 20%. These numbers only continue to grow.
T
Trish Russo
8 years ago
The goal of this redesign was to reduce speeding to make it less dangerous for pedestrians. In creating this bike lane, I think it has become even MORE dangerous. Yesterday I witnessed a commercial vehicle trying to parallel park, who most likely didn’t understand why cars were parked so far out on the right side of the street because he wasn’t a resident and wasn’t aware, and he came a few inches from hitting two bikers in the bike lane who screamed in horror at him. It’s not right - it does not even look like a bike lane with the way the city has it set up. Comm Ave has a bike lane that is well thought out - isn’t that enough to direct bikers to that street? While I know the effort of having speed traps and police giving out tickets at one point to speeders didn’t make a difference, nor did the blinking speed sign, there must be another way to accomplish enforcing the speed limits here without redesigning the street like this.
C
Charles Denison
8 years ago
It sounds to me like the main issue that people are having is pulling in and out of the driveway/garage at 180 Beacon St. The City may need to remove a parking space or two just before the entrance to increase the visibility.
Also, keep in mind that the City hasn't finished painting all the roadway markings, installing flexposts between the parking lane and bike lane, and adjusting the signal timing at intersections. They are waiting for a few consecutive days of warm weather so that the paint will stick properly. They are very open to feedback and comments and will be evaluating what is working and what is not.
Overall, I think the plan is a very good one for improving safety for everyone. Speeding drivers have killed people walking along Beacon St and drag racing has been a big problem. Having two lanes instead of three will do a lot to keep people from treating Beacon St like a raceway. Let's all give the new plan a chance and work with the City to solve any issues that come up rather than scrapping the whole thing.
B
Bill Cool
8 years ago
There certainly is a solution that benefits and placates all parties involved - residents near the affected area, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Those directly impacted should make suggestions on how to improve sight lines, safety, and ease of use for all parties. Taking a position on any extreme is not beneficial.
(I have little skin in this game, and am not intimately familiar with the area, else I would make suggestions myself)
J
Jon Ramos
8 years ago
Most people commenting here are concerned about the safety of pedestrians & bicyclists. The primary concern seems to be about poor visibility of people walking and biking. I couldn't agree more! We should work to eliminate the visual obstacles preventing drivers from seeing people. In this case, the removal of the on-street car parking would greatly improve the sight lines and help keep people who walk and bike as safe as possible. Sidewalks and bike lanes MUST be separated from moving motor vehicles in order to be safe. Putting the bike lane between the travel lane and the parked cars is NOT a safe solution.
A
Alan Wright
8 years ago
Beacon street has been a race course for too many drivers, which is encouraged by three lanes, for too long. Two is more than enough. Adding to and improving infrastructure for pedestrians and bicyclists cuts down on the congestion created by everyone trying to drive. Separated bike lanes are much safer than painted door-zone lanes.
H
Henry Ancona
8 years ago
Given lack of visibility, it's only a matter of time before a biker gets hit by a car entering or exiting 180 Beacon Street
D
David Musket
8 years ago
I am a biker and find the inability to see riders in the Bike Lane as it is currently configured extremely dangerous. With parked cars and especially large trucks blocking the view of any bikers traveling in the Bike Lane, drivers entering the 180 Beacon garage cannot see bikers. It is just a matter of time before a serious accident occurs. If there must be a bike lane on this street it should be on the OUTSIDE of the parked cars where drivers can see bikers and vice versa.
A
Alice J Isenberg
8 years ago
180 Beacon Street resident
J
Jean-Yves Loizance
8 years ago
Whoever originated and implemented this new traffic bicycle lane made serious errors in their analysis and I hope that remediation will be forthcoming.
This is a total handicap for anyone accessing and departing from 180 beacon street garage and others living in this area.
This decision should be reversed for safety reasons involving those riding bikes, driving cars and just walking.
Few bicycles use their specific lane as they often prefer to be in the center car lane especially in the evening; if you’re driving during the day the back of the queue on Beacon Street is often a dangerous place, especially when the speed of traffic decreases as a result of busy traffic and uncontrolled double parking.
Creating handicap like this does not benefit anybody in anyway!.
P
Paula stahl
8 years ago
It is not IF but rather a matter of TIME SOMEONE IS KILLED OR MAIMED IN FRONT OF 180 Beacon exiting or entering the garage. I urge the Transportation Department to address this risk to all members of the community. A good idea without understanding the risks now on Beacon st between Berkeley and Clarendon sts
G
Gjertrud Schnackenberg
8 years ago
The new bike lane and park lane are dangerous and have made it absolutely impossible for us to see either oncoming bicycles or oncoming cars when we are either exiting or entering the garage at 180 Beacon Street. The new configuration presents a serious and frightening threat of collision to both bicyclists and to drivers. This is an extraordinarily unsafe and badly thought-through change to traffic on Beacon Street. The design is not merely awkward and bizarre -- it's a menace. Please help us.
B
Barry Solar
8 years ago
180 Beacon Street
4G
L
Lili Gottfried
8 years ago
Beacon St. has been a major one way thoroughfare, including a truck and evacuation route, for at least the 32 years I have lived on it. The newly implemented bicycle lane, which reduces access from three to two lanes clearly increases traffic. While I am sympathetic to bicyclists, this particular impingement, on a route which was already congested, seems ill advised and frankly feels as though it was enacted without input from those who live on the route, considering only the vast minority who ride on Beacon St., usually the wrong way. There are bike lanes on Commonwealth Ave. as well as the esplanade.
I would like some explanation of how this intrusion on the existing traffic pattern occurred without input from the neighborhood as well as an indication of how many bicyclists actually use the lane. While I am sympathetic to the idea of reducing automobile traffic, this restriction is premature and dangerous.
The access to my garage has been severely compromised. I cannot see oncoming traffic as I exit onto Beacon St. As I look to turn into my driveway, I stop all traffic behind me as I try to see around parked cars to avoid hitting someone on a bicycle.
This should be reversed for safety reasons involving those riding bikes, driving cars and walking.
While I understand the desire to make bicycle transportation safer, this particular effort is ill concieved, dangerous, and unnecessary as there is a bike lane on Commonwealth Avenue as well as on Storrow Drive.
M
Marcia Schwartz
8 years ago
This new driving pattern for the exit and enter of cars from the garage at 180 Beacon is totally dangerous and a recipe for imminent disasters!
H
Harry Alverson
8 years ago
Very dangerous for bikers and for automobiles exiting 180 Beacon St
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
This bicycle lane installed across an active driveway for a 109 unit building could easily result in fatal accidents. Remove the bicycle lane now in order to prevent tragic loss of life.
I work in this area and just walked by to check it out. This design is going to cause more harm than good. It looks less-than-safe for anyone leaving the 180 Beacon street garage, traffic is squished, the parking lane is awkward, and I have no idea how anyone is supposed to move in and out of these homes along Beacon Street. Or legally get deliveries or have someone come hook up their cable, especially now that Mayor Walsh is planning to increase fines for double parking. The bike lane has a fair amount of debris and is sloped towards the curb which, even though I'm a very new cyclist, can't be a good option for anyone. I have no idea where they're going to put plowed snow. I appreciate the City's desire to become more multi-modal but I think this particular project makes it worse for everyone
Will create more problems and be more dangerous than anyone could imagine
The new bike is causing too much congestion and accidents. The bike lane should start on beacon at Dartmouth or Exeter, not start at Arlington or Clarendon. There are other routes bikers can take if they don’t feel safe on Beacon Street. Beacon has heavy traffic at all times and shouldn’t be condensed to just two lanes.
I’m for restoring Beacon Street to its past glory, if by that you mean bringing it back to the days of horses and buggies. There was a time before American cities were car centric and there will be a time after. If you’re concerned about 1/6 of the road being used for “a low percentage of travelers” on bikes, how about nearly 40% of the public road being used for private vehicle storage? Many also refer to this as “parking.” That doesn’t seem like a fair use of space which you seem to be so concerned about. Also, more people bike than you think. Often times the cars are all backed up not moving, while the bikes are flying by. This creates an illusion that they are fewer bikes, but you need to consider flow rates, not sitting vehicles. Additionally, in many parts of Downtown Boston, over 10% of the vehicles during rush hour are bicycles; in some areas it's over 20%. These numbers only continue to grow.
The goal of this redesign was to reduce speeding to make it less dangerous for pedestrians. In creating this bike lane, I think it has become even MORE dangerous. Yesterday I witnessed a commercial vehicle trying to parallel park, who most likely didn’t understand why cars were parked so far out on the right side of the street because he wasn’t a resident and wasn’t aware, and he came a few inches from hitting two bikers in the bike lane who screamed in horror at him. It’s not right - it does not even look like a bike lane with the way the city has it set up. Comm Ave has a bike lane that is well thought out - isn’t that enough to direct bikers to that street? While I know the effort of having speed traps and police giving out tickets at one point to speeders didn’t make a difference, nor did the blinking speed sign, there must be another way to accomplish enforcing the speed limits here without redesigning the street like this.
It sounds to me like the main issue that people are having is pulling in and out of the driveway/garage at 180 Beacon St. The City may need to remove a parking space or two just before the entrance to increase the visibility. Also, keep in mind that the City hasn't finished painting all the roadway markings, installing flexposts between the parking lane and bike lane, and adjusting the signal timing at intersections. They are waiting for a few consecutive days of warm weather so that the paint will stick properly. They are very open to feedback and comments and will be evaluating what is working and what is not. Overall, I think the plan is a very good one for improving safety for everyone. Speeding drivers have killed people walking along Beacon St and drag racing has been a big problem. Having two lanes instead of three will do a lot to keep people from treating Beacon St like a raceway. Let's all give the new plan a chance and work with the City to solve any issues that come up rather than scrapping the whole thing.
There certainly is a solution that benefits and placates all parties involved - residents near the affected area, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Those directly impacted should make suggestions on how to improve sight lines, safety, and ease of use for all parties. Taking a position on any extreme is not beneficial. (I have little skin in this game, and am not intimately familiar with the area, else I would make suggestions myself)
Most people commenting here are concerned about the safety of pedestrians & bicyclists. The primary concern seems to be about poor visibility of people walking and biking. I couldn't agree more! We should work to eliminate the visual obstacles preventing drivers from seeing people. In this case, the removal of the on-street car parking would greatly improve the sight lines and help keep people who walk and bike as safe as possible. Sidewalks and bike lanes MUST be separated from moving motor vehicles in order to be safe. Putting the bike lane between the travel lane and the parked cars is NOT a safe solution.
Beacon street has been a race course for too many drivers, which is encouraged by three lanes, for too long. Two is more than enough. Adding to and improving infrastructure for pedestrians and bicyclists cuts down on the congestion created by everyone trying to drive. Separated bike lanes are much safer than painted door-zone lanes.
Given lack of visibility, it's only a matter of time before a biker gets hit by a car entering or exiting 180 Beacon Street
I am a biker and find the inability to see riders in the Bike Lane as it is currently configured extremely dangerous. With parked cars and especially large trucks blocking the view of any bikers traveling in the Bike Lane, drivers entering the 180 Beacon garage cannot see bikers. It is just a matter of time before a serious accident occurs. If there must be a bike lane on this street it should be on the OUTSIDE of the parked cars where drivers can see bikers and vice versa.
180 Beacon Street resident
Whoever originated and implemented this new traffic bicycle lane made serious errors in their analysis and I hope that remediation will be forthcoming. This is a total handicap for anyone accessing and departing from 180 beacon street garage and others living in this area. This decision should be reversed for safety reasons involving those riding bikes, driving cars and just walking. Few bicycles use their specific lane as they often prefer to be in the center car lane especially in the evening; if you’re driving during the day the back of the queue on Beacon Street is often a dangerous place, especially when the speed of traffic decreases as a result of busy traffic and uncontrolled double parking. Creating handicap like this does not benefit anybody in anyway!.
It is not IF but rather a matter of TIME SOMEONE IS KILLED OR MAIMED IN FRONT OF 180 Beacon exiting or entering the garage. I urge the Transportation Department to address this risk to all members of the community. A good idea without understanding the risks now on Beacon st between Berkeley and Clarendon sts
The new bike lane and park lane are dangerous and have made it absolutely impossible for us to see either oncoming bicycles or oncoming cars when we are either exiting or entering the garage at 180 Beacon Street. The new configuration presents a serious and frightening threat of collision to both bicyclists and to drivers. This is an extraordinarily unsafe and badly thought-through change to traffic on Beacon Street. The design is not merely awkward and bizarre -- it's a menace. Please help us.
180 Beacon Street 4G
Beacon St. has been a major one way thoroughfare, including a truck and evacuation route, for at least the 32 years I have lived on it. The newly implemented bicycle lane, which reduces access from three to two lanes clearly increases traffic. While I am sympathetic to bicyclists, this particular impingement, on a route which was already congested, seems ill advised and frankly feels as though it was enacted without input from those who live on the route, considering only the vast minority who ride on Beacon St., usually the wrong way. There are bike lanes on Commonwealth Ave. as well as the esplanade. I would like some explanation of how this intrusion on the existing traffic pattern occurred without input from the neighborhood as well as an indication of how many bicyclists actually use the lane. While I am sympathetic to the idea of reducing automobile traffic, this restriction is premature and dangerous. The access to my garage has been severely compromised. I cannot see oncoming traffic as I exit onto Beacon St. As I look to turn into my driveway, I stop all traffic behind me as I try to see around parked cars to avoid hitting someone on a bicycle. This should be reversed for safety reasons involving those riding bikes, driving cars and walking. While I understand the desire to make bicycle transportation safer, this particular effort is ill concieved, dangerous, and unnecessary as there is a bike lane on Commonwealth Avenue as well as on Storrow Drive.
This new driving pattern for the exit and enter of cars from the garage at 180 Beacon is totally dangerous and a recipe for imminent disasters!
Very dangerous for bikers and for automobiles exiting 180 Beacon St
This bicycle lane installed across an active driveway for a 109 unit building could easily result in fatal accidents. Remove the bicycle lane now in order to prevent tragic loss of life.