By: Petru Sofio

Arlington is currently planning to reconstruct the Massachusetts Avenue Corridor between Quinn Road and Richardson Avenue. Arlington’s consultant, Stantec, has opened an online open house that people can use to let the consultant know what they hope the new corridor may look like. Make your voice heard & let them know you want separated bicycle lanes! 

On this corridor, in 2020, Charlie Proctor, and his partner, Alison, were biking home when Charlie was struck by a left-turning driver who crossed in front of their path. The crash was fatal for Charlie. He died just three weeks before his 28th birthday. Because of this fatality, the town implemented a quick-build bicycle lane in this corridor. While the bike lane the town installed is an improvement, it’s not perfect as it isn’t continuous and doesn’t fully protect bicyclists.

The reconstruction of this corridor would allow the town to install sidewalk level dutch style separated bicycle facilities, that would be safe for all users. The town is also considering raised intersections and a brand new traffic signal with bicycle signals at Appleton Street. 

Please access the open house before the end of July, to let the town know what you’d want Massachusetts Avenue to look like in 2025. The last time this area was significantly reconstructed was in the 1960s, over 50 years ago. 

To access the board, you must create an account with Mural and sign in. 

Make Mural Account & then visit the open house here: Mass Ave/Appleton Street Safety+ Accessibility Coordidor Project Open House

• Add dots to ideas you like. 
• Add to the project goal lists, they will be used to create conceptual design plans that will be presented in the fall. 
• Make comments with sticky notes. We would ask you to make comments in support of continuous sidewalk level separated bicycle lanes (Cycle Tracks)  in both directions, with bicycle priority at intersections.

You can learn more about Stantec’s redesign proposal here: Stantec Hired to Design Safety Improvements for Mass Ave/Appleton and Chestnut Street

Belmont is currently considering installing parking-protected bicycle lanes on Concord Avenue. Your support is needed today to ensure these lanes can be installed with the planned repaving of Concord Avenue.

The bicycle lanes that currently exist discourage inexperienced riders from biking on Concord Avenue. They leave people on bikes between parked cars and the busy travel lane with buses. Right now, students who may be biking to school could experience blocked bike lanes, car doors opening into their bike lane, and other hazards as they are left unprotected. Parking protected bike lanes reduce the risk of dooring, eliminate the risk that vehicles can block the bike lane, prevent bicyclists from being passed too close, and invite riders of all ages and abilities to cycle. 

Progress on these plans was held back by neighbors concerned with the minimal parking loss these new lanes would create. The process is now starting again, but we need your support to make sure these lanes can be installed this year with the planned repaving of Concord Avenue. 

Take Action

• Attend the remote meeting on Monday April 25th at 7PM, to make sure that Belmont knows that there is strong support for these safer bike lanes. 
  • Learn more about the public meeting here: https://www.belmont-ma.gov/select-board/agenda/select-board-revised-24 
  • The zoom link for the public meeting is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84245176834
• Email the Select Board in support of this here: [email protected].
  • Write about how these separated bicycle lanes would improve your safety. A few personalized sentences can go a long way.

Cambridge is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world because of the Cycling Safety Ordinance. This ordinance, created by our advocacy partner, Cambridge Bike Safety, requires 2-4 miles of separated bicycle lanes to be built every year on Cambridge streets with quick build materials. The network is set to be finished by 2026, but certain streets have stricter deadlines, like Porter Square.

Porter Square is popular for bicycle commuting, but it’s also dangerous.

The bike lanes that currently exist along Massachusetts avenue discourage inexperienced riders from biking on Massachusetts Avenue. They leave people on bikes between parked cars and the busy travel lane with buses and trucks. This area has a history of vehicle-bicycle conflicts, one in 2016 sadly resulted in a fatality. It is crucial that the bicycle lanes in Porter Square become separated.