Transportation
Rush hour at Murray Circle on Monday, May 17, 2021.

State Blames Arborway Gridlock on Ill-Timed Traffic Light

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Traffic engineers have changed the timing on a light near Murray Circle, a tweak they say should ease gridlock for car drivers. The state recently painted lanes at JP's largest rotary as part of an overhaul of the whole Arborway. The change has won wide acclaim among bicyclists but raised blood pressure among drivers. The gridlock has been worst along Centre Street from the Faulkner Hospital to Murray Circle. In a press release Friday, the Department of Conservation and Recreation said they've received "some complaints about congestion on the Arborway and Centre Street northbound in the afternoon rush hour."

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Transportation
Rush hour at Murray Circle on Monday, May 17, 2021.

New Murray Circle, Arborway Lane Markings Spark Anger, Delight

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At evening rush hour on Monday, the cars inching into JP's busiest rotary moved slower than a woman pushing a stroller along the sidewalk. Bikes, however, zoomed through via a new bike lane.  

Arborway Cycletrack! The broken link in the Emerald Necklace bicycle network has been eliminated! @EmNecklaceBos @bostonbikeunion @MassBike @StreetsBoston @StreetsblogMASS pic.twitter.com/clPBy9y8r0
— Peter Cheung (@bostonaruban) May 18, 2021

Murray Circle, the rotary that links Centre Street and the Arborway, received new lane markings this week.

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Transportation

Car Lanes Going Bye Bye for New Buffered Bikes Lanes on Arborway as Early as This Fall

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While the Department of Conservation and Recreation work on a longterm plan to improve the Arborway, some short-term changes, including buffered bike lanes are coming as early as this fall. 

"We are proposing to remove travel lanes in three locations. Before making this
proposal, we carefully reviewed pre-pandemic traffic volumes (on which we have collected data on several occasions over many years) for the corridor," wrote Jeffrey Parenti, Deputy Chief Engineer for DCR. The short-term improvements could also begin in spring 2021. Parenti provided a list of short-term improvements and the intended goals of the changes. The changes include:

Adding clear lane lines to Murray Circle.

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Transportation

This Is What It’s Like to Bicycle to Work from Jamaica Plain

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Jamaica Plain resident Kyle Vining regularly bicycles to work from the Woodbourne neighborhood and shared his helmet cam of his riding in the Boston Bike to Work Day. Vining has been a vocal proponent for the city to improve road safety for bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers. He's documented numerous occasions of unsafe driving, including MBTA drivers riding through red lights, pedestrians almost getting hit and more. "I regularly commute year-round by bike to work in Longwood Medical Area. I enjoy commuting by bike because I enjoy the outdoors and it saves me time.

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Neighborhood Life

11th Annual JP Bikes Family-Friendly Spring Bike Ride May 19

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Celebrate spring with JP Bikes' annual family-friendly bike tour of the neighborhood on May 19. This is a free bike tour of Jamaica Plain geared for kids to be able to ride. Before the ride there will be bike decorating, fun stuff for the kids (and adults), music, and refreshments. Please meet at the South Street Mall (South Street and Carolina Avenue) at 10 am and the ride gets rolling at 11 am.

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Transportation

After Police Officer Struck in Forest Hills, Councilors Continue Push to Make Area Safer

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Is it only a matter of time before a pedestrian, bicyclist, driver or passenger dies in an accident in the Forest Hills area that could've been avoided? After a Boston Police officer was hit while working a detail on Monday, residents, city councilors and the MBTA are pushing hard to make the area safer. Thankfully, it appears the officer did not suffer life threatening injuries after a dump truck collided with a van, which then hit the vehicle the officer was in at Ukraine Way and Hyde Park Avenue, reported WCVB. Local resident Kyle Vining has witnessed safety issues in the Forest Hills area, and has complained to the city to improve the area since at least 2016. Vining tweeted after the accident:

"My heart is heavy and my spirit is sad today to hear that a @bostonpolice officer was struck today at the very intersection I have been complaining to @BostonBTD and @marty_walsh to fix for the last 3 years since I moved to Forest Hills."

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Transportation

Forest Hills Doesn’t Have a Bluebikes Station…But It Will…

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You would think that one of the major MBTA stations, a hub of transportation for the area if you will, would have a Bluebikes station. But alas, Forest Hills doesn't currently have a station for anyone to get on a bicycle and pedal away. Bluebikes is a public bicycling sharing system and there are more than 260 Bluebikes stations across Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville, with more than 2,500 shareable bicycles. But currently there isn't a station at Forest Hills. Currently, the nearest Bluebikes stations to Forest Hills are located at Williams and Washington streets (about .5 mile away); Curtis Hall (about .6 mile away); and Archdale Road and Washington Street in Roslindale (.8 mile away).

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Transportation

Petition Calls for Protected Bike Lanes on Centre Street

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An online petition is circulating asking to have protected bike lanes installed on Centre Street. "If the City takes Vision Zero seriously, major thoroughfares that have the street space available should have protected bike lanes installed. Let's start small and practically by choosing Centre Street to install parking-protected bike lanes," says the petition. The petition is being formally submitted to Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and also asks for comments to be specifically directed to Boston's Transportation Department. "The bike lanes already exist and, due to road construction, have been in dire need of repainting.

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Bicycling

2-Day Bike Maintenance Workshop for Women+

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Vie Cycle and Bikes Not Bombs are putting on a bike maintenance workshop for women+*. This is a 2-day workshop where participants will learn about fixing flats, replacing chains, adjusting brakes and troubleshooting bike problems.

For more information and to register, visit www.viecycle.com/upcomingcourses

Check out www.bikesnotbombs.org to see what this great organization is up to. Dates:
​October 9 & 10
7:00pm - 9:30pm

​Location:
Bikes Not Bombs
284 Amory Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Tuition: $60

Register at www.viecycle.com/upcomingcourses

*Women+ includes people who identify as female, trans, intersex, queer and gender non-conforming. Basically, all those folks who aren't represented in the Tour de France. If you aren't sure if the "women+" label includes you, please contact us!

Neighborhood Life

10th Annual JP Bikes Spring Roll Ride on May 13th

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The 10th Annual JP Bikes Spring Roll Ride is this Sunday -- and it's family friendly! Gather at the South Street Mall (at the corner of South Street and Carolina Avenue, across from Fiore's Bakery) at 10 am on Sunday, May 13 for fun activities, snacks and bike decorating. Then bike parade down Centre Street to the Hyde Square Rotary and back with stereo-bike accompaniment. Children are extremely welcome and helmets are must for kids and adults. Click here for more information on the Facebook event page.

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