What makes for a bikeable street, neighborhood, and community? There are many factors, and we've been busy collecting data and observations for a number of Boston neighborhoods to revisit the findings from our very first Bikeability Assessment.

In 2009, MassBike completed a Bikeability Assessment of key street segments in Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, East Boston, Mattapan, and Roxbury. Thanks to the generous support of the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness, and in partnership with East Boston's NOAH (Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Inc.), this report determined what was working and not working for current and "would be" bicyclists. Four years later, we have the opportunity to take a look at the same areas to assess how much progress has been made.

In 2009, we gave a number of overall recommendations, which stressed the importance of bike network connectivity, access to multi-modal transportation, and infrastructure that will accommodate bicyclists through tricky intersections. Bicycling from neighborhood to neighborhood can be a challenge, especially when there is a highway or railroad track separating one from another. Providing a way to overcome these types of barriers to bicycling is critical. This updated assessment is our opportunity to take a look at how far we've come, and how far we have to go.

Bikeability Assessments are just one service of our Bikeable Communities Program. We also provide Bicycle Planning Assistance to facilitate a strategy for implementing bicycle-related projects and bicycle communities trainings to help local advocates engage with key stakeholders and understand how to improve local infrastructure conditions.